“I hope my writing serves as a tool for community building within the Tejano culture and a learning tool for non-Tejanos.”
—Mari Ornelas-June
A member of the Writers’ League since 2024, Mari lives in the Houston, TX area.
Scribe: Welcome, writer! Tell us — what do you write?
MLOJ: I write creative non-fiction about the history and culture of the Tejanos.
Scribe: If you could choose one author to blurb your book, who would it be, and what would you want it to say?
MLOJ: I would LOVE it if Luis Alberto Urrea blurbed my book and said that my work was an entertaining, educational, and essential book to understanding Tejanos, South Texas, and the truth behind Texas stereotypes.
Scribe: You have one book you’re allowed to push onto all of your friends, and they’re forced to read it to remain your friend — which one would you choose?
MLOJ: One book that gripped me by the heart was Solito by Javier Zamora. He told a difficult story about his illicit passage to the United States. His writing must have served as a way to process the trauma of the endeavor. As a mother, my heart was in my throat the whole time and I almost felt voyeuristic reading it. Nonetheless, Zamora took that painful experience and managed to express it with poetic lyricism, amazing detail, and a surprising amount of grace. The book encapsulates the best of the human spirit as well as the mastery of brilliant writing.
Scribe: Tell us your WLT story.
MLOJ: I am embarrassed to admit that I came across WLT after years of writing and struggling to write. My writing partner clued me in. This just goes to show that even with the solitary endeavor of writing, it takes a village to make a writer.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
MLOJ: My writing serves as a repository for the work I do as a Tejana folklorist as well as a blueprint for podcasting some of my work. I hope my writing serves as a tool for community building within the Tejano culture and a learning tool for non-Tejanos.
Scribe: Here at the WLT, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one book that has come out within the past few years that you couldn’t put down? (Bonus points if the book is Texas related!)
MLOJ: This past year, I read Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza (a professor at the University of Houston). The book was not only a gripping story about the murder of the author’s sister, but an in-depth look at the expansive and creative internal life of both these women. The only downside was that I realized just how shockingly shallow I am.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
MLOJ: For most of my adult life, I have lived overseas in the Netherlands, Singapore, and India. In all those places I felt a connection that my spouse did not. As I learn more about Spanish colonialism, I’m understanding those ancestral connections. I think my experience overseas will serve as the basis for my second book.
Scribe: Let us know any social media handles you have!
MLOJ: On Instagram, I can be found @LaTejanista. I’m also on Facebook as La Tejanista. On LinkedIn, I can be found at Maria-Luisa Ornelas-June.