Departures is KCET's hyper-local web documentary, community engagement tool and digital literacy program about the cultural history of Los Angeles' neighborhoods.

Mexican Girl in Chavez Ravine, Poems by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo

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on April 19, 2011 4:48 PM

Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo - Mexican Girl in Chavez Ravine

In the above video, Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo reads from her work at Poetic Arte!, an evening celebrating the career of cultural art historian and activist Shifra Goldman, at the Ave. 50 Studio, Highland Park, CA, 5/1/10. Video produced by www.Poetry.LA

A revised version of the first poem, now titled "Mud-caked," has since been published in The Los Angeles Review: Issue 9.

Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo is a poet, essayist, and native Angelino inspired by paint on walls and the unique and diverse history and culture of her city. She is a literary curator for Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center and was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Award. Her work has been published in The Los Angeles Review, PALABRA, and The Umbrella Journal. You can check out her blog on immigration and writing here.


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2 Comments

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BobbyD says :

Chavez Ravine, before Dodger Stadium had so steep of sides that I had trouble climbing them. Maybe this poem is supposed to be fictional.

April 21, 2011 12:36 PM
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Xochitl-Julisa says :

Hi BobbyD! Thanks for the comment. I have to share, this poem is based on a photograph of a little girl who once lived in Chavez Ravine. Before the Dodgers, the ravine was home to three small rural enclaves mostly inhabited by Mexican-Americans. The photographs by Don Normark act as evidence of these towns and this now extinct way of life. The photos are in the book Chavez Ravine: 1949 http://www.amazon.com/Chavez-Ravine-1949-Don-Normark/dp/0811840573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303872275&sr=8-1

April 26, 2011 7:47 PM

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