Rossy Evelin Lima

Rossy Evelin Lima-Padilla (born August 18, 1986 in Veracruz, Mexico), is an international award-winning Mexican poet and linguist. She has published her work in numerous journals, magazines and anthologies in Spain, Italy, Canada, UK, United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina. She is a strong advocate of college education and reading development in the American public school system. She was a featured poet in the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in 2015 and was invited to speak at TEDxMcallen about her experience as an immigrant writer in the U.S.[1]

Lima was brought up in a family which enjoyed story-telling, poetry, declamation, music and writing. Lima began writing short poems and stories at the age of six. Her biggest influences were her mother and grandfather, who introduced her to the realms of poetic expression.

In "Ecos de Barro de la Memoria a la Imagen, de la Imagen al Poema",[1] Lima describes how her grandfather would give accounts of his hypnotizing adventures to her and three other children, listening to their favorite story. "It was the oldest story we knew, but it was always different." According to her grandfather, they lived among elves, witches and wizards who could turn themselves into animals. This encouraged Lima to create her own stories and other means of literary expression.

At the age of five, Lima's parents decided to leave the coast of Veracruz to find new employment opportunities in northern Mexico, and at the age of 13 she emigrated to the United States, where she would later earn her degree in literature and linguistics. She has since resided in southern Texas.

At the age of 22. while still a graduate student at the University of Texas-Pan American (now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), Rossy became president of the Hispanic Honor Society Chapter Xi Rho, where she began a campaign of social activism through the promotion of education. This campaign required members of the chapter to visit middle schools and high schools in southern Texas and give presentations to students promoting and instilling the idea of a college education. Rossy's leadership work and her excellence in the Spanish language, literature and culture earned her the National Gabriela Mistral Award by the National Hispanic Honor Society in April 2010.[1]

Rossy's poetry which has been translated to English, Portuguese and Italian, including themes such as social justice, the immigrant identity and struggle, as well as pantheism. In poems such as "Indio, Mujer, Mi color, Arabia Saudita, Canto de tristeza, Cuicani, and Llorona" we can identify her profound calling for social justice and equality for indigenous people, immigrants and women. Poems such as "Dos lenguas," "El río y la frontera" and "La culebra" talk about the identity, acculturation and discrimination struggles of immigrants. Pantheism is also a theme throughout Lima's poetry and can be identified in poems such as "Soy la flor de loto," "Percibo" and "Vidrio."

Lima has been published in various literary magazines and journals internationally, including Wildness: Platypus Press, London, UK (2016), 3D3 Revista de Creación: Asociación Cultural Myrtos Andalucía (2010), "Negritud", Atlanta Georgia (2012), Trajín Literario, Xochimilco, Mexico (2012), Hartz No. 22, Madrid (2012), Stellar Showcase Journal, Toronto (2012), Letralia, Cagua, Venezuela (2013), and "La Soga" Coquimbo, Chile (2014).

She has appeared in several anthologies such as: La ruta de los juglares, McAllen, Texas (2007), Letras en el estuario, Matamoros, México (2008), La mujer rota, Guadalajara, Jalisco (2008), El Retorno: Our Serpent’s Tongue, Edinburg, Texas (2012), Along the River II Rio Grande Valley, Texas (2012), Fuego del aire, Houston, Texas (2015), Nuevas Voces Poeticas, Austin, Texas (2015), and co-edited the anthology Outrage, Austin, Texas (2015).

Ecos de barro

Ecos de barro and Ecos de barro de la memoria a la imagen de la imagen al poema are two works by Rossy. The first is a poetry book published in 2013 by Otras Voces Press, the second is her master's thesis, where she outlines the relationship between the use of memory as a creative process and the different phases of identity. This also includes some poetry. They are complementary in understanding Rossy's poetic voice and purpose and give insight into the author's poetic realm.

Aguacamino/Waterpath

Aguacamino/Waterpath is Lima's second poetry book published in 2015 by Mouthfeel Press. This is a bilingual poetry book where the author expresses her experience as an immigrant writer in the U.S. Some of the most recognized poems in this book are "Many Islands", "Crossing the Border", and Immigrant City", where the author voices her struggle as an immigrant and makes a humanitarian call for unity and compassion. [1]

"Poetry calls for understanding and vision; in her work, the poet Lima proves her worth on both counts, understanding and dominating the material. Her poetic vision is clear, unadulterated, and, just as important, focused. I read her poems aloud and discovered a new voice in Hispanic literature."

— Rolando Hinojosa Smith, Mexican-American writer, Ecos de Barro (book)

“Rossy Lima’s poems are encompassed by a border theme, and not only establish a song of denunciation, but a sense of broad solidarity. The author doesn’t pretend to speak for entire communities but realizes that by illuminating such painful realities, a new form of understanding emerges, of possible solidary approximations, and the creation of new esthetic options.”

— Saul Ibargoyen, Uruguayan writer, Ecos de Barro (book)

“Eighty radiant poems of genuine character highlight a restless spirit, filled with exuberant creativity. In Rossy’s verses we find, (Who can doubt it?) a dialogue with Walt Whitman. She, as well as he, feels in her chest and in the deepest part of her heart, that which holds multitudes. Her verses are structured with ancestral telluric elements, of a universal mythological and autochthonous flow; polyphony which Mikhail Bakhtin would probably have enjoyed with special fruition.”

— Raul Mesa, Cuban writer, Ecos de Barro (book)

“The poems about our mother tongue touched my soul. The structure, the images and the poetic voice that sprouts dearly and is expressed in a completely original way, unadorned, very personal, very moving for the reader as well.

— Dolores Castro, Mexican writer, Ecos de Barro (book)

On Chapter Twenty-Nine of Season Two of the television series Jane the Virgin on The CW network, Rossy Evelin Lima is mentioned as part of the plot. In this scene, Jane (the protagonist) nervously plans to approach Dr. Lorraine Bolton, a New York Times best-selling author during a grad school Christmas party, hoping that Dr. Bolton can become her grad school advisor. Jane had carefully researched a list of five topics that she thought would be spontaneous and funny anecdotes in order to create a good impression. One of these topics is Rossy Evelin Lima.

• Rossy received the Gabriela Mistral Award by the National Hispanic Honor Society in April, 2010.[1]
• First place in the poetry contest 2o Coloquio Estudiantil at the University of Texas Pan-American, 2010.
• First place in the poetry contest Certamen literario José Arrese, 2011 and first place for poetry in VAO Publishing's Annual Along the River poetry Award. [2]
• In 2014 her book Ecos de barro was recognized by the International Latino Book Awards [3]
• In 2015 she was awarded the international poetry award Premio Internazionale di poesia at Altino in Italy. [4]
• In 2016 her book Aguacamino/Waterpath was awarded the International Latino Book Award. [5]
• In 2016 she received the Premio Orgullo Fronterizo Mexicano award by the Institute for Mexicans Abroad. [6]

Besides being an active participant in literature and linguistic symposiums since 2006, Lima organizes artistic community events, including creative writing workshops with a focus on the discovery of identity through the use of poetry.