Wide awake
GABRIEL CORTEZ
WORK • Friday Routine
GABRIEL CORTEZ • educator & organizer
Neighborhood you live in: North Oakland
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
My mornings usually start at about 715a. I roll out of bed, brush my teeth, crack open a book, and work on some writing. Or if I’m really behind on emails, crank out some admin in the living room. We have an office, but my wife Tasha has been using it more often than me lately. It’s perfect for her: it has an east-facing window, all our plants love it there, and most importantly, it’s usually the warmest room in our apartment. But I like the living room, where there’s a bit more foot traffic by the window, and where, when the TV’s on and a DJ’s playing something boom-bap off of YouTube, it feels less like work.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m starting my MFA at Saint Mary’s this fall so this summer I’m trying to write a page a day and read at least one poetry collection each week. I usually read in the morning. Then, when inspiration hits, I put down the book and see where the writing takes me. I’ll do this, going back and forth between reading and writing until about noon. Around lunchtime, Tasha and I eat, maybe sip some tea, and put something on TV. We’ve been watching a lot of Dropout and love how they have a profit-sharing model with their creators. In the early afternoon, I’ll try to hit the gym or go on a run to get back in my body and give my head a chance to reset. Then, when I’m back home again, I’ll return to the morning’s writing, lesson plan if I’m teaching, or work on administrative tasks until I’m off at about 6p.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
We often make the rounds between Cafe Colucci, Shangri-La Vegan, Cholita Linda, Joodooboo, Mezzo, Zachary’s, Nick’s Pizza, Smokehouse, and Sideshow Kitchen. For something decadent, I recommend the nigiri combo at Mujiri. For beers, you can find us at the parklet outside Hoi Polloi but if you want a mixed drink and a big outdoor patio where you can bring your own food, there’s Prizefighter right up the street.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I’m excited for Litquake this fall. This year, I’m helping plan an event with a few of my favorite poets, Ladan Khoddam-Khorasani, Dora Prieto, and our brilliant teacher, aracelis girmay. We’re hoping to make this show a bit more experimental, thinking about how our work intersects across translation, performance, grief work, and collective authorship. I’ll break out my beat machine and share an excerpt from my one-person show. There will be, in all likelihood, a large cloth that audience members contribute writing to and will be read by the end of the night. This kind of show is something new for all of us and we’re excited Litquake is down!
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I just copped an MPC Live III Retro Edition. Baby was not cheap! But she is very very pretty. For my first one person show, I’m bringing together narrative, poetry, and live sample-based sounds to tell a story of Black diaspora across the US and Panama. I’ve had a pre-owned MPC One for a few years but wanted something a bit more portable that I could more easily haul around as I practice finger drumming around the apartment and eventually bring it up with me on stage. My show, “Between Two Rising Seas,” debuts at MACLA Fall 2027.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Gotta shout out Medicine for Nightmares in the Mission. It’s a beautiful bookstore and gallery space owned by a badass duo of artists, historians, and community organizers, Josiah Luis Alderete and Tân Khánh Cao. They run a bunch of events, stay open late, and are often the easiest place to grab a local writer’s book. If you are lucky and you come around enough, they might offer you a shot of mezcal.
Where are you donating your time or money?
I support the Bay Area Book Festival and I encourage you to do so as well! In a moment when activists are facing life sentences for printing zines and books by queer, trans, Black, and Indigenous writers are being banned throughout the US, I love being part of a collective that’s able to say, “fuck that” and then put resources behind it, bringing some of the most amazing and imaginative authors to the Bay each year. One of my favorite events from the 2026 festival was Hope is a Time Traveler, with Rebecca Solnit in conversation with Saul Williams. Beyond the annual festival, we’re also starting to do author events throughout the rest of the year and Affinity Lit Collectives, which organize activities by and for women, LGBTQIA+, and mixed-race folks. Get involved! Become a member today!