I was torn between the Americanness my mom wanted for me and the Mexicanness my father wanted - they were wrestling for cultural influence over me. Luis Alberto Urrea More Quotes by Luis Alberto Urrea More Quotes From Luis Alberto Urrea Laughter is a virus that infects you with humanity. Luis Alberto Urrea viruses laughter humanity The world was more than a place. Life was more than an event. It was all one thing, and that thing was: story. Luis Alberto Urrea events stories world Words are the only bread we can really share. Luis Alberto Urrea share bread Poverty ennobles no one; it brutalizes common people and makes them hungry and old. Luis Alberto Urrea poverty common people Death is alive, they whispered. Death lives inside life, as bones dance within the body. Yesterday is within today. Yesterday never dies. Luis Alberto Urrea alive body yesterday If you were born to be a nail, you had to be hammered. Luis Alberto Urrea hammered nails born Everybody knew that being dead could put you in a terrible mood. Luis Alberto Urrea mood terrible I once made the mistake of writing a story with David Corbett. The man smoked me. He can delineate the character and personality of an accordion in three strokes. I didn't even know accordions had character. This act of generosity and wisdom from a very good writer will help anyone who is staring at a blank page, any day, any time. Highly recommended. Luis Alberto Urrea mistake writing character There is beauty in our roots. Sometimes we think our roots are shameful, and people tell you that you're no good or your ancestors are no good or that you come from a neighborhood of no hope and terrible crime. But it's about the beauty of those places, and I carry that with me. Luis Alberto Urrea good me hope beauty I've been treated beautifully wherever I've gone, and I really think we all want to love each other. Luis Alberto Urrea to-love think want love Masculinity is kind of a toxic curse, isn't it? The expectations of it were hard on me. Luis Alberto Urrea me curse hard expectations It's not like Mexicans have an illegal immigration organ in their body and at 14 kicks off a hormone and shows them how to come to the United States illegally. It's a question of desperation for a vast majority of them. Luis Alberto Urrea question like immigration body I don't like being angry all the time; it's not good for me. I have to have serenity or else go to war. Luis Alberto Urrea good me time war When I was doing missionary work when I was younger, which started this obsession of mine with the literature of witness, I was a translator for a missionary group, and I spent years in a Tijuana dump. People were really thrown by the fact that the Mexican poor, many of them pureblood indigenous people, seemed happy. Luis Alberto Urrea literature work happy people We're all funny. Humor unites us. Luis Alberto Urrea unites us humor funny I have often said I come from a family of unreliable narrators. I tend to believe their struggles with racism, identity, nationality do dovetail with my motivation to write. Luis Alberto Urrea family racism identity believe In the end, I'm really interested in people and what we do with our short time here on earth. I'm interested in the human soul. Luis Alberto Urrea end soul time people The concept of a literature of witness - of bearing witness - has embedded in it the need for action. One must not simply hide in the shadows and type; one must also stand in the light. Luis Alberto Urrea hide shadows light action It's almost easy for me to write about a magnificent tropical village with orchids and dragonflies. That's intoxicating, but the United States is magical, too. We just forget this. Luis Alberto Urrea me village easy forget A lot of our family was undocumented. My mom and dad were both super conservative. My dad had a green card; my mom was an Eisenhower Republican who did not approve of all the 'illegal people.' Luis Alberto Urrea green dad family people
