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Houston Matters

Houston Poet: We’re All Like Tequila

Poet Lupe Mendez talks about his new collection, Why I Am Like Tequila.

Abner Fletcher
| Posted on April 23, 2019, 2:08 PM

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Houston poet Lupe Mendez
Houston poet Lupe Mendez in the Houston Matters studio.

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Why I Am Like Tequila - BookHouston poet Lupe Mendez says, like tequila, we’re all undergoing a long refinement process.

Just like the agave plant is harvested, the juice is extracted, fermented, and distilled over a process of about seven years, he says the human body takes seven years to completely regenerate its cells.

That’s why he titled his new collection of poetry Why I Am Like Tequila.

The collection focuses on the Mexican and Mexican-American experience in Houston, Galveston, the Rio Grande Valley, and in Jalisco Mexico (the region where tequila was born, by the way).

The native of Galveston is an educator and activist and founded Tintero Projects, a workshop series for writers of color in the region.

In the audio above, Mendez tells Houston Matters host Craig Cohen about his work and his new collection.

In 2018, Houston Public Media’s Catherine Lu featured Mendez in her annual April poetry series Voices and Verses:

https://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/23134225/Houston-Matters-2019-04-23-at-1.28pm.mp4
Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media
Arts & Culture Houston Matters LiteratureCatherine Lu Lupe Mendez mexico poet poetry tequila voices and verses Why I Am Like Tequila
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