Jorge Quintana: The Sacramento storyteller who illuminates the immigrant experience with poetry and film

The Sacramento-based poet and filmmaker explores themes of identity, love, and death in his poetry-and-film art work, revealing the struggles and dreams of the immigrant diaspora.

The poetry and films of 28-year-old Sacramento native Jorge Quintana center on his experience as an undocumented immigrant, fused with the artist’s personal philosophy on death, love, and the human experience.

Quintana’s artwork won a 2023 Youth Speaks Individual Artist Fellowship . He has produced four documentaries, including one he co-directed called “City of Altars,” which showcases altar displays and cultural activities from the Latino Arts and Culture Center ’s annual Day of the Dead event in Sacramento. Quintana, who now lives in Elk Grove, is the center’s communications director.

Quintana also participates in poetry slams (competitive poetry performances), festivals, and theater performances such as the Nagual Theater Cabaret at B Street Theater, The MacBeth Project and Intercultural Reflections: A Festival of the Arts (a multilingual and multicultural festival) at the Espejo Theater at the California Stage Theatre, and Root Slam in Oakland.

“I’m a pioneer of psychedelic and surrealist love poetry,” Quintana says . “Psychedelic surrealism was really born out of my exploration of the human spirit, my own human spiritual journey, and contemplation. I’m an eternal contemplator.”

Quintana refers to this as “a genre of poetry that uses the Latin American surrealist style to describe the psychedelic experience of existing without a body, or sometimes with too many,” something he sees as similar to being an undocumented immigrant.

Love is also a central part of her work. “ The first poem I wrote in third grade was for a girl I really liked. I still remember it to this day: ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, I love flowers, but not as much as I love you. ’ That was the first thing I wrote. And she crumpled it up and threw it away, and I watched it happen in front of me,” Quintana says.

From undocumented to published writer

Born and raised in Sacramento, Quintana attended Sheldon High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in English and ethnic studies from Sacramento State. In college, he became interested in film while exploring ways to present his poetry on social media.

On the topic of poetry, she began to be introduced to the concepts of rhythm and rhyme through a high school friend who shared her passion for writing hip-hop music, which eventually led to Quintana reciting poetry for the first time at a talent show during her senior year of high school. Quintana received an unexpected note after her performance saying her poem was “quite charming” from her English teacher who was particularly stern, so she decided to pursue poetry.

Quintana’s style has matured and evolved since her early explorations with poetry, often addressing complex themes such as death, loss, and cultural identity.

Recently published by Harper Perennial in a new anthology, “ Here To Stay: Poetry and Prose from the Undocumented Diaspora ,” the book was released on September 3 and is available online at major retailers including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Quintana’s poem titled “The Poem Where Ants Are Immigrants and I Am America” explores these themes by comparing immigrants to invading ants.

Quintana explained the meaning of the poem. “First, it’s me talking about how much I hate ants. I grew up in a low-income home and I was at war with ants, they were in cereal packages, in our cabinets. At the same time, I kind of reflect on that and see that the ants are immigrants and I am the United States — if I feel so good about taking the lives of these beings that were just here for food and shelter, what does that say about me as a human being trying to find a home in this country that is doing the same thing to people like me?”

An excerpt from the poem reads:

I remember waiting in line with

my mom to receive WIC food stamps

and the new cereals we were able to buy

and the ants that noticed

and devoured them before they could

But still I couldn’t blame the ants.

because we are tired of our poverty

and rejoicing in something new

Quintana’s poem “Lunada” also appears in the anthology and speaks to the feeling of being disconnected from one’s heritage.

“There is nothing I cannot swallow whole. I am afraid of drowning in my own mouth. It is what I inherited from the men in my family. We thirst for the earth and find echoes of ourselves in the birdsong. My body is the origin story of Icarus. My hands are a myth. Everything I touch is swallowed by the earth. And I belong to the earth anyway.”

It is the first thing I inherited from my father. I could not inherit his homeland. His Mexico is a laugh that does not fit inside my diaphragm. I am a man of many voices. They cascade towards the horizons. They empty me. They set with the sun and call to the moon. They are the gravity on my ankles. The jokes whispered by the wind.”

Quintana notes that her poetry can be complex, “heavy” and difficult for some to understand. That’s why the poem “ Home (The Bird and the Rock) ” is one of her favorites that she has written and recited. The poem uses a metaphor to address the difficulty of letting go of a relationship that is no longer good for you.

Quintana says the poem’s final line, which reads, “I was going somewhere,” adds a hopeful element that makes the weight of loss “digestible” for readers.

Preserving memories throughout history

For Quintana, poetry is just one of his facets as a storyteller. He is also an actor, podcaster, and producer and director of art films and documentaries, including the upcoming “ City of Altars ,” which he produced, co-directed, and edited. The documentary showcases altars and cultural activities at El Panteón de Sacramento, the annual Day of the Dead celebration hosted by the Latino Art and Culture Center.

For Quintana, telling stories is a way of preserving memories and, at the same time, drawing attention to the experiences of people who are often forgotten, commemorating their existence.

“I think ‘history’ is a way of preserving. We have memories, but when you write them down you can go back to them in the smallest detail,” Quintana says. “I would say that for me it’s many things, and I guess part of me is: it’s my own way of accepting death and not wanting anyone to be forgotten.”

With his own stories memorialized through poetry alongside some of his literary heroes, Quintana is not likely to be forgotten. Quintana applied to be part of the anthology through UndocuPoets , a nonprofit literary project founded in 2015 “to protest discriminatory practices based on immigration status in many poetry book contests.”

Quintana said it is “incredibly exciting” to have a book published, the first besides her own self-published works. “This shows why it is important to have organizations like UndocuPoets and why it is important to have organizations and initiatives that make space because no one else will.”

Alma López, president of the board of directors of the Centro Latino de Arte y Cultura, has worked with Quintana since 2022 and speaks highly of his creativity, passion and commitment.

“His creative approach to storytelling and community empowerment helps strengthen Centro Latino’s cultural voice, making him an asset to the organization and its mission,” Lopez said.

Lopez praised his contributions to the community as an artist, poet and filmmaker.

She said Quintana “captures the beauty and complexity of Latino life” while elevating Latino and Chicano voices through her films, poetry and her work at the center.

For filmmaker Devon Whitaker , who has worked on several film projects with Quintana, the artistry of Quintana’s work is as important as his impact on the community.

“Jorge’s approach to filmmaking is unique in that he allows the emotion of the script to dictate the environment,” Whitaker said.

He called Quintana a “jack of all trades” who skillfully takes on various roles, including producer, writer, director and camera operator, in pursuit of his goal: “creating high art.”

But Quintana has a more realistic view of his work.

“I realize that it all comes down to [a] story,” Quintana says. “If someone looks at my work, sees something I’ve done and feels something, I’ve already succeeded as an artist. If anyone remembers anything from my work, it’s that I’ve succeeded as a human being.”