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Yesika Salgado, author of "Hermosa," "Corazon" and "Tesoro"
At 17 years old, Los Angeles-based Salvadoran-American poet Yesika Salgado felt incredibly alone. While wallowing in her first heartbreak, her U.S. history teacher, a young Chicano named Mr. Celis, handed her My Wicked Wicked Ways, a book of poetry by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros.
“I opened the page and found a mirror, a Latina who suddenly gave words to everything I thought couldn’t be named. I ended up keeping his signed copy all school year. When I returned it, I knew I wanted to write poetry that did to the world what Sandra did for me. I was no longer alone.”