Chimolero, by Andres Gallegos

Poetry, chapbook, 28 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Chimolero is someone that makes chimoles, a food vendor, a gossip, a liar, or an annoying and irritating person. The title of this collection of poems was carefully selected to highlight the latter definition. The themes in this collection are regularly explored in free verse and haiku, however these haikus only stick to the seventeen syllables. Loneliness, nature, skewed observations, and biased confessions are the persistent heart strings of this collection.

This is the author’s debut collection after years of unfinished works and unsent submissions. During 2023 the author found the time and space (a small room in Lincoln Heights) to finish these poems. The secret lies in writing one every day and not losing it. And in being self-annoying and sticking to the illusion of finishing a book. This is a testament of lethargic perseverance.

Andres Gallegos was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in its bicultural border. He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a BFA in Media Production and Journalism, and a minor in Creative Writing. Since graduating from college he’s lived in Chihuahua, Mexico, and Los Angeles, writing on the side while working different jobs such as museum security guard, assistant manager in a jewelry store, and service assistant in an ice cream shop. His interests range from fiction, screenwriting, poetry, and photography. Chimolero is his debut collection of poems. He resides in Los Angeles, California with his two cats, two roommates, and a molehill of debt.