Olga Garcia is one the few authors bold enough to do things her way. She is a strong spirit whose words are empowering when read, and even more riveting when recited aloud.

Every year, Mesa College invites a speaker, activist, writer, artist, or musician to convey their works on the topic of Chicano Heritage Celebration. Each presenter comes to represent and address the struggles, heritage, and history of Chicano culture in past and present society.

This year, Mesa had the pleasure of enjoying a reading by East Los Angeles poet Olga A. Garcia.

“I, unlike my government, do not own and harbor weapons of mass destruction.Just for the record, war is not a football game.” An excerpt from Garcia’s “Poem in Protest,” describes her thoughts on issues she firmly opposes, like War.

Aside from being a published poet, Garcia is an English teacher and an activist in the Chicano community. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz and received her Master’s in Fine Arts and Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Garcia effectively captures the essence of growing up in a bilingual community. She writes about living between two cultures and two languages, which gives readers a sense of who she is. When reciting a poem aloud, the audience can hear sincerity and passion in not only her words but also her voice.

Humor is another aspect of Garcia’s work that can be seen in poems like “Mama Azucar (Mother Sugar)” and “Assault with a Deadly Donut.” The humor helps ease the tone, while addressing serious issues and embracing Chicano Heritage.

Her words flow beautifully in a mix of Spanish and English as she integrates both into her poems and writings. She refers to encompassing Spanish and English as “code-swapping.” When hearing this aloud, one can start to truly appreciate the beauty of other languages.

“When I was in the graduate program at the University of Texas, they tell you many things you cannot do. You can’t mix languages (so of course I did that); you can’t mix genres (so of course I did that too).”

As she incorporates colorful and descriptive language, she vividly grasps the reader’s attention and imagination.

In regard to her unique writing style, she says “I feel like I don’t fit into the boxes that literature is supposed to be.”

In her poem “Assault with a Deadly Donut,” Garcia embraces childhood memories while incorporating fiction; as well as actual national events of police brutality. Fluctuating between humor and the darkness of hate crimes, this poem accurately highlights Garcia’s brilliance as a writer.

When asked what inspires her, Garcia mentioned not only being enthused by anything and everything around her, but specifically African American literature.

During the Q&A part of the poetry reading, Garcia was asked if she was ever condemned for writing in two languages. She explained that criticism is automatic because some do not consider her writing to be “standard English.” Garcia also conveyed that she is proud of her work and wants readers to not only gain a perspective on what it is like to be bilingual, but for fellow multi-cultural people to embrace it with her.

Garcia left listeners with something to think about: “I think language is fluid, and it is constantly changing and evolving as we progress. We have to be open to that.”

Her book “Fallen Angels” was originally her Master’s thesis. The book is considered a ‘flip-book’ because one half contains poetry and the other embodies short stories. While she was living near the border town of El Paso, she became inspired her to write about her experiences in East L.A.

Olga Garcia is a truly talented poet and writer whose work shines light on bilingual culture. Her book “Fallen Angels” is fascinating and appealing. Her poetry readings provide audiences with a great appreciation and understanding of the Chicano culture and community along with a fresh, innovative perspective on creative writing.