Estela Portillo-Trambley

Estela Portillo-Trambley (January 16, 1926 - December 1, 1998) was a Chicana poet and playwright.

Quotes

• I was not really of the barrio, but the barrio was an important part of my life. Spanish was my first language; English was the language of my reading world. This was the world I lived in—an idealistic world, and unreal world that filled my senses with hopes, with joy and identification…
  • On her upbringing (as quoted in the book Chicana Ways: Conversations with Ten Chicana Writers)

• Deep in my psyche, I am no different than any American—I have a greater command of their language than they do. I am a composite of all of the heroines in the books I’ve read—legendary, mythological, fictional ones. I wonder if I am real? I want to be!
  • On how she would describe herself (as quoted in the book Chicana Ways: Conversations with Ten Chicana Writers)

• I’ve always been at the peripheries of the Chicano Movement because the Chicano world does not consider me Chicana enough. They, however, respect me as a writer…
  • On being indirectly involved with the Chicano movement (as quoted in the book Chicana Ways: Conversations with Ten Chicana Writers)

• When I was a child, poverty was a common suffering for everybody around me. A common suffering is a richness in itself.
  • On her childhood (as quoted in the book Latinas in the United States, set: A Historical Encyclopedia)