American Dreamer Quotes

“I’m a big fan. Don’t give me too much credit on my Latinx music prowess though; I discovered them in the whitest way possible.” At this all three of them turned to me with different versions of a look that said, “Oh, I can’t wait to hear this.” I paused for effect, then quickly muttered, “NPR.”
― Adriana Herrera, American Dreamer

“I stepped away from the vehicle, taking a long look at it. Emblazoned on the back was the logo for my business, OuNYe, Afro-Caribbean Food in huge bold black font on a red background. The black and red contrasted with the flags of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica painted over the entire truck. To name my business, I used a word from the Yoruba language. Which had been spoken all over the Caribbean by our ancestors, the West Africans who were brought there as slaves. Ounje is the Yoruba word for nourishment, and I’d decided to play a bit with things and put the NY right at the center.”
― Adriana Herrera, American Dreamer

“We stood there in silence for a second and I wondered if he was as affected as I was. I wanted to ask him, are you feeling this too?”
― Adriana Herrera, American Dreamer

“Oh man, I wonder if the owner is Dominican. He kind of looked Dominican,” she said, tilting her head to the side. I laughed at her because Carmen was always on the hunt to spot a fellow Dominican, and yet never really made an effort to befriend any of the ones who lived in town. She said it was like having a fire extinguisher, it’s reassuring to know it’s there, but you don’t need to carry one around all the time.”
― Adriana Herrera, American Dreamer