What poet Yesika Salgado knows

Yesika Salgado has made a name for herself sharing raw, vulnerable poetry about her love life and growing up as a self-described “fat, brown woman” in Los Angeles. Her first book, “Corazón,” was published last year to much acclaim.

Salgado breaks down one of her poems titled “What I Know” — a love letter to her home of Los Angeles, California.

In the poem, Salgado counts the streets of her hometown and relates the memories she has of those corners and intersections. It's her way of holding onto the stories that make up her identity.

"I grew up, like, really really immersed in this southern California Latino community,” Salgado says, “and then slowly, in my pre-teen and teen years, things started changing. And my neighborhood started slowly turning into a new neighborhood. It felt like my world was kind of closing in, smaller and smaller, until eventually, I looked up and I didn't really even know the neighborhood I lived in."

This piece originally aired on Latino USA as a part of their new segment “How I Made It” which highlights the stories of Latino creators and the work they make.