Have you ever found yourself in a magical moment and suddenly realized that what you’re living is truly special?
It’s like the world’s giant clock stops ticking for a couple of hours so life can pull back the curtains on its little stage and let you experience a few hours of pure happiness. That’s exactly how I felt at the Barcelona Book Fair (Parades de roses i llibres), where I was signing copies of my book “Raji – My Family: A Story of Immigration, Resistance, Courage, and Love” during the magical 2025 Sant Jordi celebration.
What I can tell you as a writer is this: during this event, Barcelona becomes even more beautiful. I had visited the city before, but never during the Sant Jordi festivities. And this time… as a writer… it was unforgettable—one of those moments that stays with you. I was buzzing with good nerves, and I even felt drops of sweat rolling down my back as I walked, suitcase full of books in hand, to the booth where I’d be signing.
What I saw was a city breathing culture—its streets lined with booths from publishers, bookstores, and distributors… and so many readers looking for the diversity being offered.
After an incredible day around Las Ramblas and nearby areas, I met up with fellow Brazilians in the Gràcia neighborhood, where I performed two of my poems at the "Brazilian Sant Jordi – Literary and Musical Event," held at the Inusual Project Cultural Center. A night full of poetry, chorinho, samba, and books.
After the event, some of us (yes, including this writer) ended the night on a terrace in Gràcia, playing and singing Brazilian songs with some very cold beers. It was all so beautiful.
In times of war, to see a city taken over by books, roses, poetry, and music—where people breathe art, love, and culture—is a victory.
Thank you for everything, Barcelona! See you again very soon.
Alan Leites 🌻🐾
Special thanks to: Círculo Rojo Publishing, Book and Rose Fair (Sant Jordi 2025) / Barcelona City Council, Apec, Flavio Carvalho, Gustavo Zysman, Victor Steiner, and everyone who took part in the Brazilian Sant Jordi – Literary and Musical Event.
The (Invisible) Borders We Live By Alan Leites
This past weekend I took a trip to Madrid with a friend I hadn’t seen in a couple of months. Our meetups, aside from good conversation, are usually filled with coffee, sweets, and—most importantly—a kind of small, progressive confessional about our immigration journeys and personal growth. Yeah, it’s a deep and often intense topic—wondering whether the path we’re on is truly leading us toward the goals that keep us up at night.
I believe that in moments like these—moments that come and go many times throughout a lifetime—it’s important to look inward to find simple answers to complex questions like: Who are you?
Philosophically, I’m reminded of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, when the young girl walks through a forest and finds a blue caterpillar sitting atop a mushroom, smoking a hookah. He asks her, “Who are you?” And her response couldn’t be more honest or angelically unsettling: "I hardly know, sir. I've changed so many times since this morning."
As a writer, I’ll say this: I think not knowing who you are—at certain moments, in different phases, processes, and transitions of life—is actually pretty great. We don’t have to have all the answers all the time, nor repeat rehearsed phrases as part of some life-script just to follow (dis)conventional norms. Sometimes, not knowing who we are or what we’re meant to do can be the very first border we need to cross on the path to meeting ourselves.
That’s a beautiful, intimate, and deeply personal process—one best experienced fully, without the ghosts of the past or present holding you back from stepping into your future.
It’s the same thing that happens to many of us during a job interview, when we're asked about our biggest weakness… and we respond, thanks to the social/workplace coaching osmosis, with something painfully cliché like: “I’m a perfectionist.” That kind of answer doesn’t help us grow—in fact, it blocks us. Because socially, we’re rarely ever allowed to be—even temporarily—vulnerable.
There’s something extraordinary about accepting imperfections and learning from them, just like many before us have done—from Frodo (The Lord of the Rings) to Lady Gaga. And that’s okay! That’s because the essence of who we are is preserved somewhere within us, ready to emerge naturally, at the right time. What really matters is recognizing that personal growth has no universal timeline.
For that reason, we can turn to the arts and humanities—like David with the Head of Goliath by the Italian painter Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), which you can find at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain—to better understand these ideas.
Poor David. I’m sure that if he were alive today, the most common thing he’d hear is: “Think outside the box.” Without ever having had the privilege of living inside one in the first place.
It makes me wonder: are some of us labeled “late bloomers” simply because of the many intersecting identities we carry? Ones that, by their very nature, make it harder for us to move through the world at the same speed as others? The truth is, the farther we are from the system’s established “ideal” standard—created through a sophisticated social technology of exclusion—the more we already know: for people like us, things will naturally be harder than for those who fit the mold of the so-called “minority” standard.
But before I wrap this up and get started on the next blog entry, I’ll leave you with a question—an exercise to consider before any life project begins:
If you want to start something, what do you actually want from what you want?
If you enjoy my work and want to support me so I can keep creating, click the button and buy me a coffee! Thank you for your affection and trust.
The Flowers of May
It brings me so much joy to share that the month of May has arrived—and with it, not only flowers blooming across the fields and gardens of Spain, but also a very special collaboration between this writer and the restaurant Santa y Pura.
Starting this week, my Solidarity Literary Combo is available for purchase there. It includes my book, along with a themed mug and bandana featuring a quote from one of my poems. The most beautiful part of this collaboration is that 20% of all proceeds will be donated to the Santuario Perros Negros.
Joining this initiative is Dolce & Vegana Café, where my products were already available—but now, with donations to the sanctuary included as well.
Thank you so much for all the love, Jaime, Raquel, and Ester.
Promotion valid through May 31 or while supplies last—whichever comes first.
