(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)


Chopsticks meet taco shells at Boa, 3464 W. 32nd Ave. Liz Christensen (who is Asian) and Julie Villafana (who is a Latina) are longtime friends, they cook, so they opened Boa. The left side of the menu is East: kung pao and pho. The right side of the menu is West: blue-corn enchiladas and poblano rellenos. It's tiny, about 800 square feet inside; same on the back patio. Both chefs are athletes, so they eat healthfully — no MSG on the left, no lard on the right. A tiny bar serves beer and wine. It's open for dinner every night, lunch or brunch every day except Monday.


Erin Yoshimura, 48, is the executive director of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, which is invading Sloan's Lake on Saturday and Sunday.

Erin Yoshimura.
Erin Yoshimura. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
This is the colorful fest's 11th year of celebrating Asian-American culture. She has a grown son, is married to former Denver Post staffer Gil Asakawa, and works as a life coach and corporate trainer. She orders a tomato juice with jalapeños.

BH: Where are you from?

Yoshimura: That is one of the questions that Asian-Americans cringe at. It usually means are you from Japan or China?

BH: No, I just meant where are you from, in America?

Yoshimura: I was born in L.A. and moved here when I was 6 months old. Both sides of my family were from Sacramento. When World War II broke out, they were moved into internment camps, Tule Lake and then Jerome in Arkansas.


BH: Is your family bitter about those years?

Yoshimura: I didn't even grow up knowing about it. My parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were all interned. I think a lot of Japanese families felt shameful about it, and they didn't want to talk about it. What's done is done.

BH: How did you end up in Colorado?

Yoshimura: After the camps, Gov. (Ralph) Carr welcomed the Japanese to resettle here. We moved here years later.

(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
So I grew up in Arvada, went to Pomona High. After college I worked in high tech. I was a supervisor, and then I was abruptly laid off in 2001. It was really a shock, and in some ways it was a blessing in disguise. I can say that now, but back then I was devastated. My husband said, "What do you want to do?" I said, "What do you mean what do I want to do? I gotta get a job." I wanted to be an agent of change. I noticed that people have a hard time with change and people have to change. So I Googled "change agent" and came up with "life coaching." And within a month I was enrolled in my first coaching workshop.

BH: I've never met a life coach before. Is life coaching like being a psychiatrist?

Yoshimura: It's more about getting people unstuck. Coaching is very forward-looking. It's about taking action. It's not about digging into your past. It's about the future. And it's very fulfilling.

BH: Tell me about the Dragon Boat Festival.

Yoshimura: I was a volunteer since its first year, in 2001. I love the fact that we are showcasing and highlighting Asian-Americans. There are almost 40 distinct ethnic Asian-American (groups). Sometimes we all get lumped together because people say we all look the same. But we are very different in a lot of ways. But this is a way to celebrate all Asian culture in the performing arts, the food and the boat races. We not only show our traditional culture and dances and taiko drums — we are Asian-Americans, and we are into everything.

(Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
So we have a hip- hop stage, we have rock 'n' roll, blues, alternative rock. We're not just about dancing in our kimonos.

BH: How do you feel about what Japan has suffered through this year?

Yoshimura: It was so surreal to watch it unfold. I still have relatives there. And at the same time, being American, I am thinking we are so fortunate not to have something like that happen here. At the same time, I was upset to hear the other side. People saying things like God doesn't make mistakes and that this is payback for Pearl Harbor. These things exist under the surface.

BH: That's crazy talk.

Yoshimura: At the same time, it is real.

BH: Does Colorado feel safe for you?

Yoshimura: I think there are different definitions of safe. Sometimes I go to a place where I don't feel safe because I don't always feel that I am welcome. I can walk into a restaurant in Idaho Springs and sit down and get no service. It's just part of the way things are, and you have to learn how to deal with it.

BH: What did you think of the Japanese World Cup win?

Yoshimura: There is a side of me that really connects to being Japanese and I was like "Yes!" and then sometimes I am torn because first and foremost I am an American. I go to Japan, and I am an oddity. People think I am strange because I can't speak the language, and I certainly do not have a lot of Japanese mannerisms. I am very American. I talk with my hands. I walk very big.

BH: What about you and food?

Yoshimura: I love food. I love to eat. I love talking about food.

BH: What's your greatest fear?

Yoshimura: Being on my deathbed and realizing I didn't use all my stuff, that I didn't take enough risks.

BH: What trait don't you like in yourself.

Yoshimura: I am very self-deprecating.

BH: What traits don't you like in other people?

Yoshimura: Bullying. Entitlement. Unconscientious people.

BH: What's your greatest extravagance?

Yoshimura: Buying something that is not on sale.

BH: What is your current state of mind?

Yoshimura: I have so much going on, it's Swiss cheese.

BH: What do you consider an overrated virtue?

Yoshimura: People who are always nice.

BH: On what occasion would you lie?

Yoshimura: I think I lie a lot. When people say things like "Oh I am so fat." I'm always saying, "Oh, no you're not."

BH: What word or phrase do you overuse?

Yoshimura: "OMG."

BH: Do you watch the news on TV?

Yoshimura: I have The New York Times and CNN coming into my in-box all the time, so I don't watch the news much. But I love TV. And we pop in DVDs and watch a lot of movies. We saw all the Harry Potter movies. I love the Bourne movies, action movies. We saw "Transformers" in 3-D the night it opened at midnight.

BH: Books?

Yoshimura: I am addicted to books. I buy too many books for my Kindle. I'm into business books, personal growth, mind mapping. No fiction — except by my bed I have "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead."

BH: Who is the greatest love of your life?

Yoshimura: My son, Jared. My husband. Of course, my family. My cats, Rufus and Hobbes. We favor Rufus.

BH: What's your most precious possession?

Yoshimura: I don't think I have one.

BH: What's your favorite thing to do.

Yoshimura: Talking to people, getting to know somebody.

BH: What's your most marked characteristic?

Yoshimura: My smile.

BH: What wouldn't you eat?

Yoshimura: Any kind of bug.

BH: What's your biggest regret?

Yoshimura: Not learning Japanese. I think there is a part of my brain that just doesn't like language.

BH: How would you like to die?

Yoshimura: Not drowning.

BH: Motto?

Yoshimura: We all have an inner wasabi. And live life by choice, not circumstance.
