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" July 11. She had always liked those numbers, seven and eleven. In charada, the mystical significance of dream images. There were charadas all around the world. In the santería charada, Angayú was eleven and Yemayá was seven. In the Cuban charada, matchbox was eleven and excrement was seven. In the American one, mechanic shop was eleven and socks was seven. In the Chinese one, rooster was eleven and seashell, seven. In the Texas charada, horse was eleven and hog, seven. In the Indian charada, rain was eleven and sleep was seven. In the Aztec charada, factory was eleven and mariachis, seven. "
― Zoé Valdés , Dear First Love
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" Why is it called tierra and not tierro? Why is it round, like two breasts sewn together, like the two halves of an orange—a naranja—or the belly of a pregnant woman, and has never had any phallic tendencies, even while it was first forming? Why do we say naturaleza, in the feminine, and not naturalezo? Why did the old poets prefer to write la mar and not el mar, the way most people do today? Why is it la noche, night, la madrugada, dawn, la soledad, solitude, la ternura, tenderness, la felicidad, happiness, la luz, light, la luna, the moon, las constelaciones, the constellations, la voz, a person’s voice, las caricias, caresses, las flores, flowers, la melancolía, melancholy? Why would it seem that the really poetic words are in the feminine? But that’s nonsense. Mentira, lie, is feminine, and that’s not so poetic. And there are lots of poetic words that are masculine: el cielo, the sky, el alba, another word for dawn, el misterio, mystery, el desea, desire, el parto, childbirth, el bien, good as opposed to evil. And speaking of evil, that’s masculine in gender, el mal, and so is power, el poder. Although we shouldn’t forget el querer, loving, a word that belongs to the strategy of desire. And also has a little bit of goodness in it. Bondad, goodness, is a very pretty word, and very feminine—it’s conjugated in the feminine. On the other hand, muerte, death, which is feminine, no matter how she gets herself up to look attractive and profound, could she ever seduce anyone? "
― Zoé Valdés , Dear First Love
