Claudia Rodriguez

So excited that my poem "las beisbolistas" will be featured in the book "Mexican American Baseball in Pomona Valley." Thank you Richard Santillan! They played in fields smaller than the men’s, right before the men hit the lots. These mujeres were no warm up acts! Across the Southwest, las Tomboys, Aztecas, Rock-etts y las Moreloettes, traded their aprons for a chest protector y un bat. Not torteando tortillas on Sunday, punching their glove-pocket ready for the heat of the grounder. Las beisbolistas took me down memory lane. My little arm hooked around my Ama’s elbow walking safely down the street. Little arm that could throw a ball fast, directly at a bully’s right calf. “Don’t tell me girls can’t play ball! Next one will be a homerun. I call right field.” Mujeres beisbolistas? They did it for the fun, the winning,   the friendships and the aches. Filled many fields with their dreams with each round of the ba

This here post goes out to my folks from the City of Compton. Just a few to show you Compton from my heart. 1.  Compton 2. Gang Boys 3. Compton O.G. 4.  The Parade 5.  Home Run Blues

Heather Locklear as Amanda from Melrose Place Amanda Woodward, god she is such a witch! She looks like she is so hungry with power. No she can’t be hungry if she already has it, cause she does. The way she stands up to men more powerful than her at D & D Advertising, the way she dismisses compliments from others in a “yeah, I know I’m good and don’t need you to tell me,” kind of way. I don't want to be like her really but definitely wish I had alot of her qualities.   Let’s face it, it’s been pretty fucken hard for me to try to emulate her with my prieta, swap meet-clothes-wearing self. She is after all Heather Locklear .   And honestly I don’t want to be HER just be like the character she plays on Melrose Place. I’ve never been to Melrose, it’s pretty close by my classmates say but I don’t have a car and I don’t think my mom will let me get there on the bus. It seems like a nice fancy place to visit, with nice young rich 20-somethings. Amanda Woodward,

Dear Friend, It finally happened. I did IT.   I ditched school on Monday and took the bus to Ignacio’s house.   He’s been talking about it for a while but I’ve been too scared, I’m not the kind of girl that skips school. But this year is almost over, high school is almost over and we have gotten closer. On Sunday night we had such a great talk on the phone.   We shared our feelings for each other. Believe it or not I even told him that I loved him. I know, I don’t believe it either that I let my guard down like that. It wasn't my hormones speaking either, it was his words and the way he spoke about me and how he felt about me that made me do it.   When I got to his house he looked nervous because his mom had come back to the house, she forgot her wallet! So he had to hide in his closet so she wouldn’t see that he skipped school.   He showed me around his house, then took me to his room.   We read together for a while, he had some poems he wante

California Raisins. Los Bukis (Mexican American Experience) It just happened day, at the University.   I was wearing a skirt, we were at lunchtime. He has access to the University Video Viewing Rooms because he’s taking a biology course at the University and sometimes he has assignments he needs to complete.   He went to the counter checked out the VHS he had to watch for class and the librarian escorted us to an empty room, he waited until we couldn’t hear the clanking of her heals. He dug into his backpack and pulled out a video he brought from home, it was porn! Can you believe that?   He popped the cassette in, sat on a chair then sat me on his lap. The video was on mute but I could still see it in the women’s faces, their mouths like blowing bubbles and the guys with their strained looks, they were doing it hard. I felt his hand on my side, moving up my arm and then caressed my cheek and he turned me into him. I kissed his lips, fine lips like strawberries just lush and sof

Date: 5-24-94                                                 Weather: Cold/Cloudy Dear Friend, Yes, it’s me again. You’re probably wondering why I decided to pick up the pen and write to you after almost two years. Well, a lot has happened since those little entries I used to write about Miguel and Luis. For one I am now 17 years old and a senior ready to graduate from C. A. M. S.  in ≈ 2 weeks. Remember how many times I told you   I got Fs in geometry, not anymore. I’m in calculus and getting a B. I already went through the tedious rigorous task of applying to college. To my dismay I didn’t get into my #1, best of all, dream school Stanford (by the way that’s where Gaby goes). I didn't take this very lightly, I was depressed and almost cried my eyes out. In the long run I had to choose between Occidental and UCLA….I’m a Bruin! I’m pretty anxious about the whole thing, college and all. I’ve worked at Honda Motors in the past and I plan to do the same thing this summer. I’v