Meet Sergio Brito | Writer

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

Hi Sergio, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’m beginning to think I never had a choice. From when I was a kid, I spent all my time creating stories in my head, lost in daydreams and books. As I got into high school, I was captivated by music and started a band with my close friends and music consumed my life. Once I set out into the adult world, moving from city to city and working, I stopped playing music but started writing again, my head once again filled with stories just like in childhood. So really, I feel like i’ve always needed an artistic outlet, and as I venture through life, writing has been my North Star guiding me through it all.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I dropped out of college after my freshman year, but while there a few professors encouraged me to begin writing fiction seriously. My writing has developed outside of the world of academia, outside of any industry. I’ve worked landscaping jobs, construction jobs, in restaurants and bakeries, all to pay my bills and fund my creative life. Now that I’m starting to be published in literary magazines, however large or small, I’m grateful to have taken an unconventional route there. My voice is infused with all the amazing hard working people who’ve mentored me and shared their lives with me, so whatever success I have doesn’t belong to me. I’m the kid of immigrants, who learned English as a second language, didn’t go to a prestigious college or have industry connections, and people are reading my writing! That’s a victory for me and my family. There’s so many much more talented artists who come from similar backgrounds, and I just want to be a tiny part of encouraging people to create who otherwise wouldn’t, to prove to the world that great stories come from anywhere.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Personally, all my trip planning revolves around what we’re going to eat. The days can be filled with thrifting all over the city, and hitting some cool libraries, like the WeHo library or the Topanga library, and cool book stores like Angel City in Santa Monica or Matilija in El Monte. Food wise, all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ is a MUST. I’m also a huge fan of Saddaf in the valley, Venice Noodles and Mayura in Culver City. It’s not a trip to LA without tacos, my favorite spot being Tacos El Gordito off Olympic and Hoover, or Tacos Los Cholos in Huntington Park, but honestly any stand on a street corner is probably a safe bet for great tacos. I love art museums, and the Getty is one of my favorite places in LA to visit and hang out for the day looking at art and laying on the grass in the garden.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s cliché but both of my parents. My mom was a preschool teacher in Mexico, so before I was even in school she taught me how to read and write in Spanish, planting the seeds for what would become my life. My dad is also from Mexico; a blue-collar man full of stories. Every moment I spent with him was filled with beautifully told stories from his life, full of color and texture and emotion. They both left their lives in Mexico to raise my siblings and I in the U.S., and I’ve spent my life cherishing the gift they gave me creatively while also trying to prove to them that their sacrifices were worth it.

Instagram: @skergio

Twitter: @bskergio

Image Credits
Elizabeth Majors