Ashland poet Manya Yana Herrera’s latest collection, “Legalize My Mother,” calls for respect for Indigenous women and the knowledge they pass down.
For Herrera, a Xicana poet, visual artist and educator, that inheritance connects her writing to her work at Tlalli Mesoamerican Kitchen, the Ashland restaurant she co-owns with her husband, Freddie Herrera. Both draw on her mother’s teachings about cultural identity, storytelling and food.
The collection’s title grew from watching her mother and other working-class Mexican women face disrespect, language barriers and demanding agricultural work, Herrera said. Her poems recognize the wisdom and power those women hold.
“There is no doubt within my body. There is no doubt within my spirit that this woman is powerful,” Herrera said. “She holds medicine. She has magic.”
For Herrera, “Legalize My Mother” calls on readers to respect Indigenous women and working-class brown families.
Finding her cultural identity
Herrera grew up moving between countries and cultures. Her father, a Russian-American filmmaker, built the family’s cabin in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where they lived without electricity or running water. Her mother is Indigenous Mexican, with family ties to Jalisco.
“I had a very eccentric, wild, adventurous childhood life with parents who were very much anti-establishment revolutionaries and traveled a lot,” Herrera said.
The family also spent extended periods in India and Mexico. Herrera said those experiences exposed her to cultures where brown skin was common. Attending public school in the predominantly white Santa Cruz Mountains brought pressure to assimilate.
“I really grappled so much with what I later began to understand as this need to be seen as white or this proximity to whiteness,” Herrera said.
Her mother’s cultural pride helped her stay connected to her Indigenous roots. Herrera identifies as Purépecha and Xicana, preferring those terms to Hispanic or Latino because, she said, they emphasize her Indigenous heritage.
Her poetry explores nepantla, a Nahuatl word meaning "between" or "in the middle." For Herrera, the concept reflects her experiences growing up bicultural and queer, moving between different worlds.
Formerly known as Manya Yana Campos, she took her husband’s surname after their marriage this summer. She described the choice as a commitment to their blended family and a new phase of her creative life.
“I’m entering a new chapter of my life, and so it was really important for me to take on his name,” Herrera said.
Writing through vulnerability
Herrera’s poems address sexuality, spirituality, family history and heartbreak. She sees writing about those experiences as empowering.
“I am a pretty fearless person, and I have the biggest mouth in town,” Herrera said. “It is so important to turn yourself inside out and be courageous enough to be vulnerable.”
In her creative writing workshops, she encourages writers to explore subjects that frighten them. She has taught at Southern Oregon University, including in the same classroom where she once studied as an undergraduate.
“I’m a storykeeper,” Herrera said. “It's my job to share those stories.”
Her writing also draws on the sun, moon, water and fire, connecting her political concerns with her spiritual life.
Sharing stories through food
At Tlalli Mesoamerican Kitchen on A Street, Herrera brings her mother’s teachings into another part of her work. The restaurant takes its name from the Nahuatl word for earth or land.
“My mother always taught me, you have to have a relationship with your food,” Herrera said.
She describes the restaurant’s food as rooted in Indigenous culinary traditions, with hand-pressed masa and moles that take four days to prepare. She also emphasizes African influences on Latin American cuisine.
Herrera said people initially questioned whether Ashland would embrace the restaurant’s bright Mexican colors and bold atmosphere. She held to her vision.
“When you know who you are, nobody can take that away,” Herrera said.
She wanted Tlalli to reflect that identity through vibrant pink decor, loud music and opportunities to share the stories behind the food.
Guest
- Manya Yana Herrera, artist, author and poet
