Corazón Coalesced, by Alexis Jaimes

Poetry, chapbook, 32 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Corazón Coalesced is the debut chapbook by Alexis Jaimes who weaves together the tender and the tumultuous, offering readers a journey through the struggles and beauty found in exploring love, identity, and heritage. With poems that dance between English and Spanish, the essence of growing up in an immigrant family is captured, painting a vivid portrait of a breaking family, an endeavor to recover one’s culture, and the relentless pursuit of healing.

Jaimes' voice and imagery capture the essence of his experiences and those of his community, offering readers a window into a world where hope and resilience coalesce. The chapbook starts off with the themes of departure and the difficult journey towards emotional recovery throughout. This is expanded with the exploration of the intricacies of love and desire, juxtaposed with the stark reality of recurring disappointments.

"finding freedom from your abusers is not cowardness" resonates as a powerful declaration of defiance and self-liberation. In "Tiger Stripes", Alexis celebrates the beauty of the body, while dismantling the labels Chicanx people face. The urban landscapes of "4th Street & Grand Avenue" and the intimate moments in "Lavanderia" paint vivid pictures of daily life, underscoring the poet's connection to the same home he left early on. While "gentrifying times (bleaching the brown)" confronts the harsh realities of cultural erasure and displacement. "remember" and "NoThing is ever lost" conclude the collection with a message of hope and the enduring nature of resilience and identity.

From the streets of Santa Ana to the intimate moments of introspection, each poem in Corazón Coalesced invites you to witness the resilience and the power of words to heal and inspire. This chapbook is a collection heartbreak and the journey to recover those shards.

Alexis Jaimes, a proud son of Mexican immigrants, resides in Santa Ana, CA. His works have been previously featured in Polemical Zine, Alegría Magazine, Loud Coffee Press, San Diego Poetry Annual, Moon Tide Press, ¡Pa'lante! and MUSE Literary Journal. He has also been showcased at the acclaimed Fullerton Museum Center. Alexis obtained his BA in English from California State University, Long Beach, and later pursued an MS and teaching credential from California State University, Fullerton, to become a bilingual elementary teacher. Through his writing, Alexis strives to empower and uplift his community, using words as a vehicle for positive change.