Yosimar Reyes

Hailing from East San Jose by way of Guerrero, Mexico, Yosimar Reyes quickly made a name for himself at the tender age of sixteen, exploding onto local Bay Area stages and captivating his audiences with deeply moving spoken word performances.

Reyes’ repertoire has since evolved to include nationally-acclaimed keynotes, writing workshops, and his one-man show, Prieto, a coming-of-age story that explores subjects like migration, sexuality, and socio-economic struggle—all while empowering his audiences to tap into their own creative potential.

His achievements don’t stop there. In addition to being the first-ever undocumented poet to achieve Santa Clara County Poet Laureate status, Reyes was chosen to be a 2024 Creative Ambassador by the City of San Jose, The Advocate named him one of "13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World," and Remezcla included him on their list of "10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know."

Amongst numerous accolades, Reyes has been awarded a NALAC Catalyst for Change Grant (2020), a Gerbode Foundation Grant and most recently, a Walter & Elise Haas Creative Work Fund Grant (2023), . His writing has appeared in publications such as "MARIPOSAS: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry," "Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings" and forthcoming "UndocuPoetics."

Through his inspiring narratives and indomitable presence, Reyes continues to be a leading voice in contemporary poetry and an important figure for queer and undocumented immigrant communities.