Featured Writers

Bob Gómez and Claudia Ramires Flores

La muerte de Demetrio Gómez

By Bob Gómez

Jaliciense nació,
se fue a Guanajuato,
y a su esposa encontró
felizmente enamorado.

Antes de la gran Revolución,
a California se trasladó,
para una familia que inició
en minero se convirtió.

Un día en la mina ocurrió
que se había puesto dinamita,
y Demetrio sin vacilación
con la muerte hizo cita.
Al llegar al hueco oscuro
la explosión furiosa cayó
y una montaña hecho muro
a Demetrio destrozó.
…to be continued

Enough

By Claudia Ramires Flores, 7/09/2025

Mi abuelito Chente crossed the border for a better life
The US began militarizing the border
Pushing migrants to harder terrain
Their policy—scare them away —make it dangerous to cross

I remember that call
La mirada de mi apa
Les queremos informar que Vivente Ramirez Serrato fallecio en la frontera.

We waited for days
Mi abuelito Chente quedó muerto 1 mile north of the border.
It was his last breath

Mi abuelito está en el desierto
Busca agua buscan aliento
He watches over migrants, guides them to a safe place
He died on American soil- killed by the American policies
El dio la vida por mi
We don’t migrate for fun
We migrate for a chance to live
They continue their tactics
Dusting
They fly airplanes close to land to dust the migrants blind to hurt them
They detain them in schools, graduations, while they buy the very produce they pick, en el fil, at the clinics
They jail them inhumanly in concentrations camps

Mock and humiliate hard working people
Gente con corazón de oro
The very people that feed them

They’re
Kidnappers
Murderers
Enough is enough
Ya basta!

WOC Community Poem

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

By WOC

DEI - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
DEI is Dead On Arrival.
The government can legislate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion but the law is mostly dead letters.
But still, we cannot be canceled like a check

Humanity represented,
Divinity demonstrated, Exquisitely exposed, Injuries ignored
Dangerous to Exclude us Immigrants

DEI is
      taking down the curtain of myth to reveal the truth.
      the oxygen, food, and water that keeps me motivated, hopeful, and alive
      Breathing life into dreams
      the way fire moves beneath the earth, ready to again ignite

Together, we form warm soil, helping neglected seeds with the chance
to flower, to succeed, to be seen, to belong
warmth uplifting your body, smiles uplifting your cheeks
Unique perspectives. One heart.

WOC Mission Statement:

To nourish a community of writers of color, to bring our stories forward and share

Events

Noche Bohemia

SATURDAY AUGUST 16 | SABADO 16 DE AGOSTO, 6PM @ SHERWOOD HALL, 940 North Main, SALINAS CALIFORNIA


Círculo de poetas and

Writers Summer Conference!

August 23rd & 30th!
Registration Now Open
For information

Your Rights Inside the USA

The Fifth Amendment

no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law" by the federal government.

The Forteenth Amendment

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Because of news reports about legal immigrants being swept up in ICE raids and mistakenly deported, we have attached info about where to report ICE and how to respond to ICE agents.


Report and Defend Against ICE PDF


Reporta y Defencia Contra ICE PDF

Members' Page

Madeline Aliah

Madeline Aliah is a transfem teen—a poet, writer, and orator. A biracial South Asian woman baptized into Christianity and Ismaili Islam, she merges the insights of these identities to forge a voice that translates to diverse audiences. She holds a seat on the Santa Cruz Queer Trans Youth Council and speaks regularly to educators about the importance of an inclusive school culture. She was selected as a 2024 speaker at TEDx Santa Cruz for her speech, “Beyond the Safe Space: The Importance of Pre-emptive Pride.” Her first chapbook, This is My Body, Poems by a Teen Trans Fem was published by Jamii Press in January 2024. Aliah continues to use her voice, both spoken and written, to inspire empathy and understanding for trans people and to let trans kids know that they are not alone.

Elbina Batala Rafizadeh

Elbina has been writing poetry since she was a teenager when she lived in Salinas, California, where her father retired after serving over 20 years in the American Army. Her family immigrated from Baguio City, Philippines, in the Cordillera Mountain Region in Northern Luzon, the largest island.

Vivian Vargas

Founder of the Heidelberg Writers Group in Heidelberg, Germany, Vivian has been writing for many years. Her short story, A Desert Tale, was published in the Porter Gulch Review. Her latest work is a collection of ten short stories of a Latinx family in the 1960s living in the Florence Community of Los Angeles. Each story takes on the ambiguity of one of the Ten Commandments. In an effort to support writers of color in Santa Cruz County, Vivian hopes to create a forum to bring our stories forward.

Amanda Linh Vong

Vong was born in Port Arthur, Texas. She is a first-generation, queer, Vietnamese/Chinese poet, sound artist, and filmmaker. She is the recipient of the 2019 Idstrom Family Prize for Creative Writing in Poetry. She designed, printed, and handbound her chapbook Body of Water at the Creative Writing program at UCSC. Her work has appeared in such publications as Matchbox Magazine, Chinquapin Literary Magazine, A3 Review & Press, Aurora Poetry Anthology, and more.

Tiffany Lynn Wong

Poetry! Non-Fiction.

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Victoria Banales

Victoria Bañales holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Feminist Studies from the UCSC. A Chicanx writer, mother, and activist, she teaches English at Cabrillo College, is editor of Journal X, and a member of the Hive Poetry Collective. Her writing has appeared in Beyond the Frame: Women of Color and Visual Representations, Translocalities/Translocalidades: Feminist Politics of Translation in the Latin/a Américas, North Dakota Quarterly, Acentos Review, Cloud Women’s Quarterly Journal, and more. She is the recipient of the 2020 Porter Gulch Review Best Poetry Award. Victoria is currently writing her first novel, titled Candelaria. Victoria was recently selected to serve as the 2025-2027 Watsonville Poet Laureate.

Shirley Ancheta

Shirley Ancheta co-edited the Filipino American poetry collection Without Names (Kearny Street Workshop Press, San Francisco), one of the first of its kind in Asian American literature. She grew up in Watsonville. While attending SFSU she was a part of the student movement and became a Third World community activist in San Francisco. She fought against eviction for the elderly at the International Hotel. Shirley was one of the original members of Kearny Street Workshop and founding member of the Bay Area Pilipino Writers Group. She received her BA from UCSC in American Literature. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals, including Premonitions (Kaya Press) Bamboo Ridge, Quarry West and Babaylan. She recently retired from Cabrillo Community College where she worked as an English lab instructor and tutor. She is the widow of poet Jeff Tagami and makes her home in Santa Cruz, CA. She has two sons, Miles and Travis Tagami.

Chloe Gentile-Montgomery

Poetry and non-fiction Raised in Santa Cruz, Chloe is a recent graduate of Santa Clara University where she studied Ethnic Studies and Environmental Science. She recently published her first poetry book, Rustlings of the Spirit, which covers topics of grief, healing, and self-acceptance. Winner of Hoefer Undergraduate Writing Prize, 2021, for her essay entitled Wellbeing and Self-care of Women and Nonbinary Student of Color Activists: 'Taking care of you means taking care of me.'

Christopher Soriano-Palma

Genres: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting. Christopher Soriano-Palma was born and raised in Watsonville, CA to Mexican-American immigrants. He holds an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco alongside a double BA in English and Philosophy from UC Santa Barbara. He is a contributor to Reclamation Magazine and has had his work appear in numerous publications. He continues to live in Watsonville, CA. He is currently at work on his first novel.

Sonya Pendrey

Sonya mostly writes short stories, prose, and poetry. She dedicates her work to her loved ones and fellow strong-minded women.

Adela Najarro

Adela Najarro is the author of three poetry collections: Split Geography, Twice Told Over, and My Childrens, a chapbook that includes teaching resources. With My Childrens she hopes to bring poetry into the classroom so that students can explore creative writing, identity, and what it means to be Latinx in US society. She teaches creative writing, literature, and composition at Cabrillo College. Adela holds a doctorate in literature and creative writing from Western Michigan University, as well as an M.F.A. from Vermont College. She is widely published in numerous anthologies and literary magazines.

Farnaz Fatemi

Genres: Poetry Farnaz Fatemi is an Iranian American poet, editor and writing teacher in Santa Cruz, CA. Her debut book, Sister Tongue زبان خواهر , was published in Sept 2022. It won the 2021 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, selected by Tracy K. Smith) from Kent State University Press and received a Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly. She is a member and cofounder of The Hive Poetry Collective, which presents a weekly radio show and podcast in Santa Cruz County and hosts readings and poetry-related events. Some of her poems and lyric essays appear in Poets.org (Poem-a-Day), Tab Journal, Pedestal Magazine, Nowruz Journal, Grist Journal, Catamaran Literary Reader, Crab Orchard Review, SWWIM Daily, Tahoma Literary Review,Tupelo Quarterly, phren-z.org, and several anthologies (including, most recently, Essential Voices: Poetry of Iran and its Diaspora, My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices of the Iranian Diaspora and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 3: Halal If You Hear Me).

Bob Gómez

Poet Laureate of Watsonville, California. Freelance Vocal Performer, Songwriter, Bilingual Teacher and Translator. Intercultural understanding, antiracism education, immigrant rights advocacy, music and multilingualism in the service of world peace. Bob served as the 2022-2024 Watsonville Poet Laureate.

Shirley Flores Munoz

Genres: Poetry

Dr. Shirley Flores Munoz, Born and raised in Watsonville, Flores-Muñoz received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in history and a doctorate in History of Consciousness from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been honored by numerous organizations including Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission, Latina Leadership Network, the National Women’s Political Caucus, and the California Wellness Foundation. She currently serves on the boards of MAIA and the board of the watsonville friends of the library. Shirley teaches history at Cabrillo College. She writes poetry, enjoys her grandchildren, travels, enjoys music, art, and other leisurely activities.

Sara Santistevan

Genres: Poetry, fiction and articles

Sara Santistevan was born and raised in Southern California, where she grew up around vivid storytellers. She fondly remembers listening to her family reminisce in Spanglish over merienda. Sara's latest book of poetry is, The Root from which Freedom Blossoms.

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News

Santa Cruz County celebrates Women’s History Month with HERstory event

by Ashley Harmon | March 6, 2025
Santa Cruz is set to honor Women’s History Month with the 2nd Annual HERstory Celebration, an inspiring community event dedicated to recognizing the incredible contributions of women past, present, and future. After a community call out for the “15 women to know in Santa Cruz County” – we’ll celebrate 15 women who have shaped, and continue to shape, our community in powerful ways. Get to know each of them below. Read the Article

Watsonville woman chosen as Poet Laureate

In January, Bañales was named Watsonville’s new Poet Laureate, a position she will hold for two years. She replaces Bob Gomez in the role. In his outgoing speech at a ceremony at the Watsonville Pubic Library Saturday, Gomez praised Bañales’s work and the value of poetry.
By Tarmo Hannula | February 20, 2025 Read the Article

Robert Gómez Marks Watsonville’s First Poet Laureate

WATSONVILLE—For the first time ever, the city of Watsonville has its very own poet laureate.
By Johanna Miller | December 31, 2021 Read the Article

An exploration of heritage:

Author links Santa Cruz, Japan through art, catastrophe in new novelLocal writer Andrew Kumasaka is a third-generation Japanese American who used the events of the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, which even affected Santa Cruz, as a key part of his plot line in “All Gone Awry.”
By Wallace Baine | October 22, 2021    Read the article

Santa Cruz’s Writers of Color tell stories we might otherwise never hear

On one level, the term “people of color” is a way to categorize people simply by what they’re not (white).
By Wallace Baine | September 17, 2022   Read the Article

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