I’m a Puerto Rican poet who is also hard of hearing and has a deep passion for not only my culture, but for New York itself. Growing up in Ridgewood, the “in-between” of Brooklyn and Queens, in the ’90s, I was surrounded by the sounds of dancehall, hip-hop, and underground reggaeton — so music and sound, ironically, are a common theme in my poetry. I always enjoy writing in rhythms, whether it’s a unique “beat” of my own, iambic pentameter, or limericks. I’ve experimented a lot over the years; my styles shift, and while I’ve been dabbling in novel writing in recent years, poetry has always held a special place in my heart.

I published my first chapbook in 2026, a collection of poetry that captures my childhood, gentrification, Puerto Rican culture, and the city that shaped me — New York. You can find my chapbook, “Onderdonk & Gates,” on Amazon.

The poetry on my blog here is either older poetry not yet refreshed for my next chapbook or just food for thought over the years.

All writing on this site is written by Rachel R. Vasquez and licensed under creative commons:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.