“No one lacks voice. Not even the dead. But many lack ears, the ability to hear those stories out of which the most destitute of people are forging their destines, breathing life into bleached bones. ”

“Lately, when asked, I have tended to say that I'm Mexican. I like the word because it still makes so many people flinch.”

“Mother, father, there is no passing the cup. I want to be a troublemaker when I grow up.”

“You are the expert of your child, no one else is.”

“Most people who fail in their dream fail not from lack of ability but from lack of commitment.”

“The violin wasn't alive. It wasn't a baby or an animal, not living. But that would be easier to believe if I hadn't felt it breathe and sing.”

“I like the scars because I like the stories. Bravery, stupidity, pain—none of them come free.”