Interviews

‘Sometimes melodies come in dreams, and I wake up singing … Spontaneity is very important. Something spontaneous is truthful, real, fresh and human.’
‘The poet’s challenge is to not turn into a pure activist, but to recreate the language of reality.’
Silvia is one of our interviewers and is helping us with social media. She’s an emerging writer who loves poetry.
César is our poetry translator and one of our interviewers. He thinks Puentes should have an issue that’s all about good food and recipes.
Fernanda is Puentes’ proofreader and voice of reason. She reminds us to keep things short and to the point, and to celebrate and promote everything we do regularly. She challenges us and helps us make Puentes better all the time.
‘Poetry is an act of love, and just like love, it is also a human right. ‘
Musician, poet and actor Christian Ravello talks about childhood memories, a life-changing trip to Chile, rock latino and the film Here Out West.
Growing up, the country was an idea in my head, but not the one I knew when I went there. It was like sort of looking at a city in a strange new way, yet understanding things such as the way people talk, act and behave.
In my work, I prefer to locate my sensibilities as contextual, something related to culture, time, and place rather than identity. I am interested in how ideas get corrupted, how certain figures corrode with time.
‘Gender equity does not start at university or when you graduate; it starts when you are born and we need books to help us understand this.’
‘Writing this book was hard. Some stories made me cry even before I began writing them simply because of the research I had to do.’
Uruguayan-Australian writer Natalia Figueroa Barroso talks with Puentes Review about family, writing in Spanglish and why she won’t be happy until there is more Afro-Latinx and Indigenous Latinx representation on the screen.
‘Every book has its own tempo. I can’t say: “Today I will start a poetry book.” Instead, I write every day; I work on my poems.’
Poet and journalist Beatriz Copello talks about her first impressions of Australia and her latest poetry collection Witches, Women & Words.
Theatre maker, producer and arts manager Caro Duca founded Teatro Latinx Perth now Espacio Latinx Perth to bring together the Latinx community in Western Australia.
Argentinian-born photographer and poet Daniel Sacchero remembers his childhood in Argentina and talks about his first poetry collection, Distancia Cero.
Maria Elena Lorenzin talks with Puentes Review about writing and the Red de Escritoras de Microficción (Network of Women Microfiction Writers).
Award-winning writer Guido Melo is working on his memoir and keeping his feet on the ground. He tells us why he thinks each published piece could be his last.
Venezuelan-born designer, artist and cultural promoter, Eyal Chipkiewicz, talks with Puentes Review about A Voz Limpia and Casa Cultura, two projects that elevate and promote Latinx voices in Melbourne and beyond.
Claudia Rodriguez-Larrain is the co-founder of the Latin American Writers Association (LAWA), an online platform that empowers Latinx writers to explore their craft and find their voice.
Alejandro del Castillo is an award-winning Mexican author and editor living in Naarm (Melbourne). His editorial house, Revarena Ediciones, is now making strides in Australia, where it has published a bilingual anthology of short stories and poetry by emerging Latinx writers in Australia and emerging writers in Latin America.
Asiel Adan Sanchez is a non-binary poet based in Naarm (Melbourne). Born in Mexico, they write about identity, grief, race, gender and sexuality. Their first poetry collection is m/ /otherland.
Award-winning author Joy Castro talks with Puentes Review about writing, being Latinx and her new book Flight Risk.