Al Otro Lado

In an intimate, autobiographical poetry collection commemorating her 70th year, Cecilia Medelin's El Otro Lado is a reflection on love, loss, faith, dreams, identity, defiance, and survival. Cecilia was just 12 years old when she was first exposed to the revolutionary writing of 17th century Baroque poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, while stil in Mexico. So began her love of poetry as a way to make sense of her femininity and of the world around her, as well as to challenge the validity of the ideas and the borders that constrained her. The creative culmination of poetry written over the span of decades, El Otro Lado is a touching and inspiring celebration of the people and places that have shaped Cecilia's life-on both sides of the border.

Cecilia Medellin is a poet, contemporary dancer, and former elementary school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. After immigrating to Los Angeles from Mexico as a teenager, she joined a number of dance companies, ranging from modern dance to Mexican baile folklórico. Cecilia was a principal dancer in a Mexican folkloric dance company founded by former students of Amalia Hernández, the founder of Ballet Folklórico de México. She also choreographed and performed a multi-dancer routine set to her original poem Ando Mala at Santa Monica College. Previously, Cecilia was a kindergarten teacher at Menlo Avenue Elementary School for eighteen years, before retiring in 2017. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, hiking, biking on the beach, salsa dancing with her husband Robert, and spending time with her two daughters, Alejandra and Monica.