”
When you begin to listen to your inner voice and bring out
what’s inside you is when miracles happen,
”
award-winning author Victor Villasenor told San Andreas students
Friday morning.
“When you begin to listen to your inner voice and bring out what’s inside you is when miracles happen,” award-winning author Victor Villasenor told San Andreas students Friday morning.
Most known for his novels “Macho!,” “Rain of Gold” and the sequel, “Thirteen Senses,” Villasenor came to San Andreas High School to offer guidance and understanding about culture, the human race and finding one’s self.
From the minute he took the microphone, sporting a Hawaiian shirt and black-rimmed hat, Villasenor grabbed the attention of the room, sharing stories from his past and using his experiences to teach the students valuable lessons.
“Humans have been manipulated by language to fear each other,” he shouted. “So many times we see a person as black or Mexican or white. We can’t see the real person because words like these aren’t reality; words are labels.”
Villasenor told the story of leaving a hard, racism-filled childhood in California to do some self exploration and discovery in Mexico. He spoke about going to a jazz club and thinking a Cuban and a Panamanian were black and a light-skinned Mexican was Caucasian.
“An explosion went off in my head when I realized I was judging them by the way they looked and really didn’t know who they were,” he said.
Corina Mosqueda, 19, found this part of the discussion very moving and said it opened her eyes up to a lot.
“I guess I never realized how racist our country is, and particularly California,” she said.
Villasenor urged the students, who were primarily from Mexican decent, to look past the racism and dissemination of ethnicities and look at humans as their own race.
“Did you know any different human race is closer in DNA than a horse and a donkey?” he asked the room of students. “When you breed a horse and a donkey you get a mule, but when you breed a black person and a white person, you still get another human. When you breed an Asian person and a black person, what do you get? Tiger Woods.”
David Ruiz, 18, was compelled by Villasenor’s presence, and Ruiz said a lot of what was said hit home for him.
“His thoughts about peace and his pride in the human race really impressed me,” he said. “I’ve been struggling to find my place in my culture and in society, and hearing him speak really gave me hope.”
After tackling the topic of racism with the students, Villasenor offered words of wisdom on how to tackle their anger and frustration at not being treated equally.
“When I came back to California, I was filled with rage,” he said. “I wanted to kill the kindergarten teacher who yelled at me, the teacher who tried to change my name from Edmundo to Edmund and many others. But through talking with my father, I realized anyone can go around killing, but to take that rage and do something good with it would make me a better person.”
Principal Mike Sanchez was honored to have Villasenor speak with the students, and he said the author hit some important points.
“He said it all,” Sanchez said. “He gave these students reasons to feel self-worth and that they’re capable of something, and that’s important to them.”
As the room cleared and some students gathered for autographs and questions, Villasenor said, “When I’m talking to the students, I’m speaking to their subconscious. It may have sunk in today, but if it didn’t, it will tomorrow or five weeks from now or five years from now.”
