Meet Vianney Casas

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vianney Casas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi vianney, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Soy de la frontera. I am from Tijuana, Mexico. Both of my parents are from Tijuana but I have the privilege of having a mother that crossed the border as she was about to give birth. Right after I was born we went back home to Tijuana, where i lived for 18 years, crossing the border for 6 between sixth grade and senior year of high school to go to school. Once I graduated high school I moved to the US (San Francisco) for the first time. I left my family, their and my ghosts behind to pursue my dream of becoming a writer.

Existing in the liminal -which I eventually discovered to not be so liminal and such a rigid binary- pretty much summarizes who I am today as an artist and human being. Se me viene a la mente Ana Mendieta and her “Silueta” series where she syncronized her body with nature and the universe as a socio-political migration statement of belonging, but belonging where and to who?

Spending my teenage years crossing a border back and forth and having to constantly shift between English and Spanish and some personality traits to fit what the systems of each country wanted from me felt like a rubber band being constantly pulled and pulled and pulled. It was draining to have to do so with no restraint or understanding that I could stop pulling and just exist.

Today I am Vianney Harelly. I write poetry and stories in imperfect Spanglish. My pronouns are She/They. In my world borders and binaries are non existent.

Tijuana no es ni ciudad ni sombra de nadie. Ni yo tampoco. Solo soy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe what sets me apart from others is simply the fact that my art and everything my hands create come from my heart and no one else in the universe has that. I believe this is true for everyone, which is why I always encourage others to show the world their art because they never knew who might need to experience it to keep going.

My dream of becoming a writer was born in 2007, when I was 12 years old. It was my first year in school in the U.S. I was still living in Tijuana so I would cross the border every day to go to school. My very first day of class I cried because my teacher had asked me to read a book the class was reading and I could not understand one bit. Las palabras me bailaban. Weeks later that same teacher, Mark Rosillo, informed me of a writing contest so I could join. I told him I did not think it was a good idea because if I could not even read a children’s book in English, what made him think I could write a whole essay?! He explained that he would help me by using the dictionary, translator with me. We gave it a try and I ended up winning the contest. I had to read my work outloud during the award ceremony and I remember looking up and seeing so many strangers crying. It was in that exact moment that I realized my words carried power and that my purpose in life was to write.

I never stopped since and I moved from Tijuana to San Francisco in 2013 after high school to major in writing. As someone who has struggled with chronic stress, anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, a dad becoming a drug addict and ending up in jail, a mom that was arrested at the border and sent back to Tijuana, someone who was SAd and years later had an abortion among many other moments of pain and rage, I have struggled beyond belief. Sometimes it astonishes me that I am still here.

However, today I am self published (my self publishing journey started in 2022) and do this for a living with 4 books and 1 journal published on my own but also with the endless love and support of my community.

I kept going and kept writing because I had no other option, the opposite would have meant ceasing to exist and my ancestors always made sure I knew it was not my time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As someone who left Tijuana at 18 to escape the ghosts of the generational trauma in her family, the lgbt+phobia and risks of writing about the political in the city around 2013, I am still healing my relationship with both sides of the border. Moving out of San Francisco, a city that embraced me for 7 years and allowed me to fully immerse and enjoy my queerness and radical way of existing, to go back to Tijuana during the start of the pandemic because I could no longer afford the city and then having to leave to San Diego because of an abusive relationship and my desire to start my own business to survive, I am still navigating and getting to know the city myself.

Nonetheless I ALWAYS take people to the bookstores that have opened their doors to my books with no hesitation. I would take them to Tijuana to Ediciones Caradura and then to Burn All Books in San Diego. Both are spaces that have not only supported me but also communities that constantly resist a system that wants to make sure these kind of beautiful spaces don’t exist because it fears the tender love of community.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give every credit envuelto en flores y estrellas to every Black, Trans and Indigenous women before, during and after me that has stood at the frontlines of movements but also the ones who have stood in the shadows not because they wanted to but because the system we exist in makes their existence a political move. I owe everything I have created and accomplished to their strength and their vulnerability. Every trace of magic within my soul is thanks to the trail of stars they left for me and so many others to continue to exist and resist<3

Website: https://vianneyharellyc.com

Instagram: vianneyharelly