• Born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and raised in Laredo, Texas, I am intimately bound to the US-Mexico border region. As a scholar, I focus on issues of borders and boundaries whether in academic disciplines or the geopolitical borderlands of Mexico and the United States, all through a Chicana feminist theoretical lens. I write poetry and prose, what I call creative autobioethnography, also with a focus on the borderlands and heavily rooted in the cultural traditions of the region. My life formation as a working-class Chicana shapes my intellectual and aesthetic endeavors and impels me to act to deconstruct the oppressive structures that exist in society. I passionately believe that words have power and that literature has the potential to create the change we need. I work with my students to use the power of their stories and their words to create a better world for all sentient beings.

    • Ph.D. in English from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln
    • M.A. in English and Political Science from Texas A&I, Kingsville
    • B.S. in Education (English and Political Science) from Texas A&I, Laredo
    • El Mundo Zurdo 8, co-edited with Adrianna Santos and Rita Urquijo-Ruz. (Aunt Lute Books)
    • Critical Edition of Borderlands La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Coedited with Ricardo Vivancos P茅rez (Aunt Lute Books)
    • Co-edited with Candace de Le贸n Zepeda and Margaret Cant煤-S谩nchez (University of Arizona Press)
    • (University of Texas Press)
    • 聽(University of Arizona Press)
    • (University of New Mexico Press)
    • (Univ or Texas Press)

    The US-Mexico Borderlands, Chicana Literature, Folklore, Literary Theory

    • The US Latinx Experience
    • US Latinx Cultural and Artistic Expressions
    • Folklore
    • Creative Writing

    Most Recent:聽

    • Inducted into the San Antonio Women鈥檚 Hall of Fame
    • Lifetime Achievement in Literary Arts Recognition by 聽The Gemini Ink Literary organization at Inkstravaganza
    • Tejano Heritage Award, Texas A&M, Kingsville
    • Galard贸n Don Luis Leal from the HISPAUSA organization based at the Instituto Franklin at the Universidad de Alcal谩 de Henares. June 21, Barcelona June
    • Outstanding Alumni Award, Texas A&I Alumni Association, Kingsville, Texas
    • Luis Leal Literary Achievement Award, University of California, Santa Barbara
    • American Folklore Society, Lifetime Achievement Award
    • Texas Institute of Letters, member聽
    • Latin American Studies Association Latina/o Studies Section, Frank Bonilla Public Intellectual Award聽
    • Escuela Tlatelolco鈥檚 Champion of Change Award for Art, Literature, & Culture, Denver, Colorado
    • Letras de Aztl谩n, NACCS Tejas Foco聽
    • Beca Nebrija de Creaci贸n Literaria, Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcal谩 de Henares聽聽 聽
    • Fellow of the American Folklore Society
    • Am茅rico Paredes Distinguished Lecture, UT-Austin
    • Exceptional Texas Woman, Veteran Feminists of America, Texas
    • Elvira Cordero de Cisneros Macondo Foundation Award
    • 聽National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies Scholar of the Year
    • C谩tedra Laboris from the Universidad de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Le贸n
    • Past President, American Folklore Society
    • Board Member, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
    • Founder and Director, Society for the Study of Gloria Anzald煤a