I have to say that the traditional role is kind of a myth. I think the traditional Mexican woman is a fierce woman.

Heartbreak allows us to also experience joy and love but you have to walk through heartbreak to even know what joy is. Heartbreak is a constant and it is even necessary. It allows us the opportunity of introspection and exploration. Those processes are what is necessary to write and engage in the arts.

One press account said I was an overnight success. I thought that was the longest night I've ever spent.

Mexicans don't think of ghosts as haunting you.

It's so good for your health to take those naps. I don't know why people brag that they sleep five hours. I'd be ashamed. I'm proud that I sleep nine hours.

I wish somebody had told me love does not die, that we can continue to receive and give love after death.

One of the books that has guided me in the last ten years of my life to help me to be that leader is the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh's Being Peace. He's a Vietnamese monk. He was nominated for a Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King.