We had the good fortune of connecting with Efren Castro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Efren, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I pursued an artistic career because I can’t think of another field where I wouldn’t be bored! I can’t imagine being a scientist or a researcher or anything like that. I guess it’s not only the work I’m not interested in but I feel that people in the artistic and educational field are so unique. I’ve met some of the best people working in these fields. Everyone is either really vibrant or REALLY cynical. I also just want to be heard. I feel that that’s something everyone in the artistic field has in common. We don’t want to be forgotten. That’s why there are so many queer artist of color in the field. There is such a strong desire, specifically in queer communities, to not be forgotten and to archive everything we do, which makes sense. Much of our history has been erased, especially during the AIDs crisis. I feel like there’s alot of queers of color because much of the queer stories that ARE shared in the media are white. Even those that aren’t white are often polished for mass consumption. It’s rare to see the raw, true story of queers of color in the media.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a writer, designer, and zine-maker from Lennox, CA! I focus mostly on poetry and prose but have also written articles, short stories, and skits. I like to call my style of prose/poetry as “pop poetry” which is a more straightforward approach to writing that is concentrated on nostalgia and storytelling. My goal with writing is to not make it super complex so that it is accessible to every age and education level. I feel that as a queer writer, I want my stories and my words to be archived and I figured throughout time that in order to do so, it needs to universally understood as to not create a barrier between me and the reader. My aesthetic inspiration for everything that I design always references something from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s. These eras are filled with bright colors and exaggerated designs but they also contain a lot of liminality, as if the world were in a transitional period of commercialization and mass consumption.
My journey to getting to where I am has been difficult since I tend to produce everything on my own, from the zine itself to promo to outreach and now that I’ve started delving into video poems I’ve had to relearn video and music editing software! Currently, I am in a creative writing master’s program at UC Riverside and, though school is not for everyone, I feel that it has helped me tremendously in figuring out where I want to end up in the next few years.
I am most excited about my new zine that I have been working on for over 2 years! It was one of the hardest zines that I have had to write because the material is very personal to me. There would be months where I wouldn’t even touch the project because I didn’t want to “retrigger” those emotions. The zine is called “Time Only Makes it Worse” and it’s about my experience going through an existential crisis after the passing of my grandpa and graduating in 2020. Though the pandemic was a big factor into these feelings, I try not to reference it in my poems because I didn’t want this project to be a “pandemic project”. I am planning to release it some time this year, I just finished my manuscript and right now I am finishing the design and reaching out to small printing presses and local bookstores in SoCal to hopefully have it available in my home city!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ok, so I come from Lennox (which is about three streets in size). I feel that if I were to take a friend to visit my hometown, I’d end up mostly at record stores! First I’d go to Sanford’s Vintage in Pico Rivera. They have some of the best Spanish records and cassettes I’ve seen in the area! They had Shakira’s Pies Descalzos there once and they wouldn’t tell me how! Next, I’d probably go to Mxxnshine Records in Whittier, CA. Their cassettes are INSANE! I’ve never seen a store have that many cassettes. Then, I’d probably hit up Sonido Del Valle in Boyle Heights, CA. They are almost EXCLUSIVELY spanish records and I love it there. I’ve found Ana Gabriel, Isabel Pantoja, Eydie Gorme, I really love them! Another amazing newer record store is Nice Guy Eddie’s in Bellflower, CA. The owner is AMAZING and they have some of the best prices for vinyl I have seen, especially now that resellers are exploiting the hobby! Ok, I’ll get to other places but some other good record stores are SoundSations in Westchester, Dudley’s in Torrance, and Amoeba in Hollywood! I’d also take them to Espacio 1839 because they have the cutest Latinx accessories and rearte LA for some books! Not in LA County but Downtown Santa Ana has some of my favorite zine, vinyl, and accessory stores: LibroMobile, Slushcult, and Charlie’s Tattoo and Supplies (they have amazing Spanish vinyl!)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m really happy for all the orgs that have helped me in releasing my poetry zines and distributing them. I’d never thought I’d ever have my words printed much less being sold in-store outside of California. Thank you to,

Mi Casita Press (@micasitapress) for being the first press to print one of my zines, “Heartbreak Stories”

Curious Publishing (@curiouspublishing) for printing my art zine “Days in my Life”

Wasted Ink Distro (@wastedinkzinedistro) for distributing my zine to stores in Arizona!

Mag2020 (@magtwentytwenty), Dryland Lit (@drylandlitla), and for publishing and letting me present my poetry

PHX Zine Fest (@phxzinefest) for featuring me in a panel! (special shoutout to Yollie)

and there’s so many others

(also, @da_poetry_lounge for giving me space to perform during the pandemic!)

Instagram: namehere360

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/efren-castro-430809155/

Other: TikTok: namehere360 (I post my record collection on there!)

Image Credits
Photos of me taken by @magalipineda_

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