After accepting his award at the 29th Hispanic Heritage Awards in September, Dominican author Junot Diaz dedicated his novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, to the Latino community and followed up with a moving poem titled “Our Story.”
Voto Latino recently created a powerfully-imaged video out of Diaz’s poem, in which he highlights the struggles and perseverance of Latinos, emphatically claiming “we are the children of bridges, bridges made from our backs, our tears, our sacrifices, and from all the ones who never made it across with us.”
Such moving words are paired with equally moving images of Latino giants, many of whom have pushed forward our culture and experiences—like Selena Quintanilla, Celia Cruz, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Diaz ends his verse with the words “all of us must be free, all of us must be free, all of us must be free, or none.” These words resonate with many across the country and will still ring in the ears of Latinos this Election Day.