Javier Zamora: Poet, Activist, Author of Solito

On February 15, DUU, Define America, ASA, CLACS, and Polis hosted Salvadorian poet and activist Javier Zamora for an event where he discussed his New York Times bestselling memoir Solito. His work focuses on immigration advocacy and storytelling. The discussion was moderated by Yadira Paz-Martinez (‘25) and Sofia Cava (‘26) and focused on a range of topics including identity, community, and impact.

About Javier Zamora:

Javier Zamora was born in La Herradura, El Salvador in 1990. When he was a year old, his father fled El Salvador due to the US-funded Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992). His mother followed her husband’s footsteps in 1995 when Javier was about to turn five. Zamora was left at the care of his grandparents who helped raise him until he migrated to the US when he was nine. His first poetry collection, Unaccompanied (Copper Canyon Press, September 2017), explores some of these themes.

In his debut New York Times bestselling memoir, SOLITO (Hogarth, September 2022), Javier retells his nine-week odyssey across Guatemala, Mexico, and eventually through the Sonoran Desert. He traveled unaccompanied by boat, bus, and foot. After a coyote abandoned his group in Oaxaca, Javier managed to make it to Arizona with the aid of other migrants.