When I first met Sarita Sol Gonzalez (she must have been ten years old at the time), I remember being wrapped up in silent awe at the strength and earthquaking power such a young girl could exude. I, quite honestly, envied her, in that “I want to be Sarita when I grow up” kind of way; y’know the kind of envy that isn’t all green monster, all consuming? It was simply the “this girl is amazing and I’m going to step aside, but maybe hold her hand, lift it up, and shout her name from Sandia mountaintops just so everybody knows how amazing she is, too.”

Not that she needed much help in that. Her voice is one that carries without assistance, and her hands are held high enough on their own, with all the character of a young girl, now turned into a young lady, who speaks without shame or hesitation. Sarita Sol is my every wish for the future of performance poetry come true, not only because she performs with such character, but because she speaks with so. much. truth.

Perhaps this is because she doesn’t adhere herself to “slam trends”; instead, there is a constant flow of themes like ancestral and cultural pride, identity, evolution and change, and more, in Sarita’s writing. She speaks her truth, with a beautiful mix of metaphor and imagery, but as a youth writer, she isn’t just representing herself, or her community, but an entire slew of youth poets to come. Of course, you hear “raw talent” and “prodigy” thrown around a lot when it comes to youth poets, and this certainly isn’t a discredit to any who wear those words pressed to their hearts or allow them to escape their lips, but when it comes to Sarita, I wholeheartedly believe those words entirely apply. She has a whole list of accolades that support that, including being Swimming With Elephants Publications’ youngest author! 

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Sarita is that she began writing when she was seven years old — I, myself, have an eight year old who loves writing the most imaginative and silly illustrated stories, so I can only imagine the world through a seven-year-old-Sarita’s eyes. Now, at thirteen, she is still one of the youngest active members of the Albuquerque poetry community and, needless to say, she continues to absolutely slay, not only in her writing, but what she uses her writing and her voice for: community outreach, female empowerment, and, really, just utter divinity.

Some call her an old soul, but I call her a walking goddess of dreams come true. And for this, I still want to be Sarita Sol Gonzalez when I grow up; but I guess (considering I am what most consider to be grown already) I’ll settle on watching her grow up, and supporting her every effort to make her own dreams come true. And (here’s the selling point), you can, too! So won’t you consider donating to her education?

Or better, still, buy her book, so you can support her and dive deeply into the magical world of her writing. Trust me, you won’t regret it.