Meet Diana Quintero

Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Quintero.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Diana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At the age of six, I was swung into writing to help me learn English. My parents had moved to the United States from Sonora, Mexico before I was born. Despite being born in Phoenix, Arizona I grew up in a Spanish household. My preschool and kindergarten teachers were bilingual, so I never really practiced my English. It wasn’t until I was six years old that I had a teacher who was determined to teach me English. She would study with me and even signed me up for a districtwide poetry competition. I wrote about my first love, ice cream, and won first place. From there on, I wrote nonstop. Writing my thoughts and my feelings was always easy for me, but I never thought I’d want to share my writing. It wasn’t until I realized that my words could relate to someone just like my favorite poems have done so with me. I started sharing on Instagram, then going to local open mic nights and poetry slams.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No good things come easy. I have found it mildly difficult getting the courage and fully let myself go when performing my poems for other people. You are speaking with your heart in your fist. My words are experiences and thoughts I have. I hold each word near and dear. Sometimes it is difficult to share, but we all live experiences and so I take that leap of faith to show people that if they’re going or have gone through something similar, they are not alone.

Please tell us about your work.
I am a poet. It took me a long time to accept the title. For a long time, I would think of myself as someone who writes sad things or someone who would write nonsense. What makes me different is myself and my unique experiences I have lived through. Each poem has a piece of me imbedded in the rhyming scheme. It’s all in the way I choose to utilize my words. I am proud people have taken an interest in my stories.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
In the summer, my family and I would visit my grandparents in Mexico. My maternal grandmother has a ranchito that was full of cows, pigs, chickens, cats and dogs. She has a huge garden with fruit trees that I would climb as a child. My happiest memories are there. I was running around with my cousins and chasing a chicken, playing in the mud and just feeling free. As kids, we take that freedom for granted, and I’m so lucky to have had experienced it.

Contact Info:

• Email: diana.l.quintero27@gmail.com
• Instagram: themorningafterglow
• Facebook: themorningafterglow
• Twitter: themorningafterglow

Image Credit:
Personal foto credit: Matthew Crumm
Poetry credit and art is mine, Diana Quintero.

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