Summary

That Friday, Xiomara, Xavier, and Caridad go to the famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe for the open mic night. Xiomara is blown away by the performances that she sees. When it is Xiomara’s turn to share her work, she is at first so nervous that she blanks. Eventually, however, she delivers her poem to applause. At the end of the night, the organizer for the open mic invites Xiomara to attend a poetry slam contest in February because she is so impressed with Xiomara’s performance. Xiomara takes this invitation to attend the same poetry slam that Ms. Galiano had mentioned earlier as a sign that maybe she should do it. That night, Xiomara writes in her journal that “so many of the poems tonight / felt a little like our own stories. / Like...