Home > Work > Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina
41 " Sometimes opposites attract, or so they say, but Paloma and Rocío were like arroz and mangú: they didn’t really mix well. "
― Raquel Cepeda , Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina
42 " The hospital room was as cold as dead skin, the hallway crowded with lost souls and reeking of illness. "
43 " The Dominican Republic is my holy land, my Mecca. "
44 " The gaping hole in her heart is amplified when she catches a glimpse of the strands of silver hair framing her once young face in the mirror. "
45 " Traveling further ingrained my desire to connect to a place other than an island that is slightly older, in a New World way, than the United States, especially after I found characteristics of my face in the faces of the people in my global community. "
46 " There are things in our blood that are just naturally passed down to us, whether we want to recognize them or not. "
47 " Our identities are as fluid as our personal experiences are diverse. "
48 " A mother isn’t the person who births you; it’s the person who rears you and shows you love. "
49 " In reality, Eduardo hoped the mask would make him appear vulnerable and self conscious, like a wounded animal these stupid women would fight each other over to mend. "
50 " We travel with the same clan over and over again, from one life to the next, until some ultimate purpose is fulfilled and we no longer need to return. "