Valle Central by Erica Ramirez
In the Central Valley, the scent of naranjas gets tangled in your hair.
Dreams hang from the vides de uva.
Hope fills every crack in the campesinos hands.
The promise of a better tomorrow just an atardecer away.
In the Central Valley, there are rutas de escape.
When you need company, the playa can welcome you with waves, calling you near.
When you need to be alone, the montañas are there to lend an ear.
There’s always a sense of nurture in La Madre Naturaleza.
In the Central Valley, diversity alinea las calles and fills the air.
The fourth of July brings joy and laughter as fuegos artificiales light up the night sky.
Dancers sway to the blasting Latin Music on Cinco de Mayo.
The holidays bring people together and force interacciones that weren’t there before.
In the Central Valley, the atardecer is a gift at the end of the day.
To the extrano driving down the 99, the valley is just another place on the map.
To us it is hogar sweet hogar.
Erica is a student majoring in English Education with an emphasis in Linguistics. Her passion for reading and writing began when she checked a book out for the first time from her local public library. She spent her days as a child reading books and now works as a student assistant at theArne Nixon Center located in the Henry Madden Library at Fresno State. As she embarks on the journey to becoming an English teacher, she hopes to inspire her future students to pick up a book and express themselves through writing.