Xitlalic Guijosa-Osuna, poet and educator from Maywood, uses art, activism, and storytelling to strengthen Southeast Los Angeles businesses and youth.
Xitlalic was born in the Los Angeles area. Her father, Doroteo, is from Zitácuaro, Michoacán, and her mother, María de los Ángeles, is from Escuinapa, Sinaloa. Xitlalic is proud of her roots and admires the connection that brought her parents together and has been passed down to her.
Xitlalic Guijosa-Osuna seems almost like the protagonist of the first story she wrote at the age of seven. It was the story of a kite that flew and told everything it saw on its way to the sky. She described the people, the houses, the colors, the streets of Maywood. The story was called: What Would a Kite Say? And now, one could write that her life is wrapped in stories, engravings, and an attitude that seeks to make solidarity and memory serve the community in these times.
What Would Xitlalic Say? could be the title of her everyday story.
She laughs, thinks, and shares her very clear views—as an educator, artist, poet, and writer.
“In these very dark times, what’s important is to find a light that illuminates that small crack in our lives that can make us happy, even if just for a moment. I can define myself as a ‘hopeless romantic,’” she tells Parriva.
Through her poems, she seeks to portray the stories that define the community, those memories that are part of our collective history.
“I know we are living through difficult times. I also know that art is not for everyone—each person processes their story differently. That’s why I don’t give lessons. My obligation is not to tell other people’s stories—they have to feel what they are living. But what is my obligation is to ask: How can I help you? Do you need anything?” she says in an interview with Parriva.
The artist performed as part of the Irresistible Resistance series organized by Ed Patuto and the SELA Arts Foundation at Birriería Barragán last weekend.
“It’s important that what is raised helps these small businesses. With every little grain of sand, we can make a difference,” the poet adds.
Xitlalic was born in the Los Angeles area. Her father, Doroteo, is from Zitácuaro, Michoacán, and her mother, María de los Angeles, is from Escuinapa, Sinaloa. Xitlalic is proud of both her roots and admires the connection that brought her parents together and was passed down to her.
“I grew up at swap meets. From the time I was 15 days old, my parents would take me to sell on weekends in Oxnard, Pomona, or Torrance. They would place me in those cardboard boxes that bananas came in, and that’s how I grew up—among music, food, the bustle of people, and their stories. As I got older, I was always interested in what I heard, in what people were saying. I couldn’t sit still—I would run around the place and talk to people. I’d stop to listen to a woman sharing her life with me, to men who came from other countries. I was very curious, always asking questions, and they would happily answer. It made me so happy. Until I’d hear one of my parents shouting because they were looking for me. I think I got lost twice, and that turned everything upside down,” Xitlalic says.
She always liked writing—at first even more than reading. But little by little, she developed a love for reading and began reading children’s classics like Alice in Wonderland, poetry by Emily Dickinson, and others.
The libraries at her schools were part of her education. When her teacher asked the class to write the story of the kite, it defined the passions that would shape her life.
She was very friendly and made friends everywhere, and in return, they provided the stories that fueled her imagination.
“I always tried to find refuge in those small places of fiction. That’s where I felt happy,” she adds.
Growing up in Maywood had its advantages. Most of the population was Latino, and she didn’t feel different. That changed with the arrival of Proposition 187, which sought to criminalize undocumented immigrants.
“That’s when I realized we weren’t the same. My parents weren’t citizens yet, and we had to take precautions. Later, when I went to school outside of Maywood, I also realized that Latinos don’t have the same resources or opportunities. That’s when I understood that we have to work two or three times harder to achieve our goals,” she recalls.
That’s how she became involved in activism. She participated in groups fighting environmental contamination left by the Exide company in a predominantly Latino residential area.
“I tried to get involved in SELA movements, and I kept writing. I’ve contributed to several anthologies, and now I’m preparing my first individual book,” she says.
Her goal remains to tell what is happening, to share it, and to inspire her audience to smile, to think, to reflect. “We have to pass down these stories.”
She insists on her philosophy of being a “hopeless romantic.” “I believe in the importance of romanticizing things. If you’re in a bad mood, even coffee tastes bad,” she laughs.
Romanticism isn’t the only thing that defines her. There are also moments of sadness and depression. “I wouldn’t be a poet if I didn’t feel those emotions. That’s why events like Irresistible Resistance are important. Sometimes you arrive feeling down, wanting to quit everything, and while you’re there, you have a conversation with someone, then another, and your spirits lift—you’re ready to start again.”
Xitlalic works with at-risk youth and young adults, where she shares her artistic passions.
“I always motivate them. I invite them to write, to tell their lives, to make art. Art doesn’t necessarily solve problems, but it can help,” she concludes.
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