Contributors

Amaury E. Nora is a third generation Tejano, a Social Worker, a Chicano intellectual, a philosopher, a writer, an activist and a social media expert. When he was a young Generation X-er he grew up with computers but not the internet. Today he can relate to both those that are born with the internet and those that have to learn it. This has made his experience much richer, as he is able to navigate between both worlds. He also has several blogs including Para Justicia Y Libertad, The Sanctuary, and Somos Tejanos, which either have been nominated for or received awards. He has also been a panelist for several national conferences.

Annemarie Pérez  is an Angelena living in Santa Monica, Annemarie recently finished her Ph.D. in English (specializing in Chicana literature) from USC.  Her interests are Chicana feminism, cooking and Chicana/o editorship.  She hopes to be an English professor when she grows up.

Angelo J. Sandoval lives in a small community in Northern New Mexico. Angelo is graduate of Northern New Mexico College and New Mexico Highlands University. Angelo is the father of two daughters. Is poetry is inspired by culture and traditions of his community and the social issues impacting Chicanos.

Anthony Meza is a 12 year old Chicano from Los Angeles. Making music is his main interest but he’s always willing to try something new. You can follow him on Twitter at @Mezacan or keep up with his stories at imaginefreely.wordpress.com. He’s proud to be Young, Gifted and BROWN!

Art Meza is a third generation Chicano born and raised in Los Angeles. He is married and a father of two. Every @Chicano_Soul has his story. This one is his http://thechicanosoul.blogspot.com/

Aztatl Garza is a creative writer, visual artist, counselor, and workshop leader based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Garza has been a Social Worker and community organizer in the Detroit metropolitan area from 1968 until 1989.  He has been a community organizer for the United Farmworkers Detroit Boycott Office, Chicano Boricua Colectivo community organization, the Farah Strike Support Committee, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. Social Worker for Latino Outreach and Community Services, the Emergency Telephone Service, the Suicide Prevention Center, and Detroit Health Care for the Homeless. Garza has been published in several small press and university publications.

Azul is born and raised in Boyle Heights. First generation Xicana who loves the Dodgers, enjoys traveling, learning, eating and taking pictures.

Brianna Villagomez studies English at CSULA, aspiring to be an English teacher but her ultimate goal is to be a famous fiction writer that students will hopefully study in English classes someday.

Cynthia M. Martínez is an Artivist giving words to the feelings that many times have no words. A former Union Activist, Cynthia now spends her time writing, painting, and singing around the house “I am Wombyn…Hear Me RAWR!” while potty training her perrita ‘Chaplinsita.’

David Casillas was born and raised in southern Califaztlan (California). He was raised by a single full time working mother along with 6 brothers and sisters. A lot of his memories are of days growing up in Southeast Los Angeles in the late 1960s through the early 1970s.  David graduated High school in 1979. He dropped out of college the following year and worked for the next 10 years. He worked in print shops and as a card carrying union member (AFL-CIO and the Teamsters) for the paint industry much of that time. Like a lot of Chicanos he worked and struggled then returned to school in 1990. He went on to earn both a BA in English/Ethnic Studies at UC Riverside and an MA in Mexican American Studies at Cal State LA. He continued to work in jobs for the University and as a truck driver to pay his way through grad school. For several years he was one of the volunteer host Disc Jockeys for Radio Aztlan a campus community Radio program at UC Riverside. His favorite hobby is record collecting and has a regular internet DJ spot on EastLArevue.com. Over the years he has volunteered his time to various educational and community organizations. His only ambition is to have the opportunity to teach Chicana/o Studies at the community college which he just realized as a Los Angeles Community College District 2012 Project MATCH Teaching Intern.

David Cid is a third generation Chicano from Boyle Heights currently completing his Master’s degree in Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Los Angeles.

Donna Maria Alexander is a PhD candidate in the School of English and Department of Hispanic Studies in University College Cork, Ireland. She holds a BA (English and Geography) and an MA (American Literature and Film) from UCC. She is a College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences PhD Scholar. Her research interests include contemporary Chicana poetry, border studies, transnationalism and coloniality.

Eduardo Robles is a Tex-Mex-speaking-Xicano-Anthropologist from the Borderlands. He is currently working on a Masters in Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas Pan American. After graduating Eduardo put his love of technology and passion for activism to work and started the RGV Libro Box Project (link rgvlibrobox.com). He is currently working on putting a 21st century spin to the Librotraficante Movement with the RGV Libro Box Project as an E-Librotraficante. You can contact Eduardo on Twitter using @hardrived or @rgvlibrobox.

Ethan Veenhuis, originally from Flint, Mi, is a 2007 graduate of the University of Michigan. He can be contacted at ethanveenhuis@gmail.com.

Felipe Quetzalcoatl Quintanilla was born in Mexico City in 1981, and emigrated to Canada in 1991. After dabbling about in a seminary and med-school, he has given himself completely to literature and film. Currently enjoying his final of a doctorate degree at the University of Western Ontario, Quintanilla’s interests span through Chicano studies, war film, “Latino-Canadian” literature, Internet communication technologies, and creative writing. He is main editor for various online publications, and his work is published in both digital and print formats.

Gina Ruiz is a freelance writer, poet and book reviewer whose first love has always been books.  Gina has maintained several blogs over the years with her book reviews (AmoXcalli, Cuentecitos, The Flipbook).  She now has several blogs including  Doña Lupe’s Kitchen, AmoXcalli, Chancleta Dodgers, Slinkmag, and Twirling and Typos.  Gina’s poetry has been published on Poetic Diversity.org and her book reviews and articles published on La Bloga and Xispas, two websites with a strong Hispanic/Latino focus.   La Bloga was named Tu Ciudad’s Best Blog of the Year for 2006.  Gina is also a columnist with Blogcritics.org and has a regular section entitled Minor Considerations, a column dedicated to Children’s Literature.  She has also been a panelist and social media person for the Cybils awards for the past five years and is up for a sixth as an organizer in the Middle Grade Non-Fiction category.  She is a member of SCBWI – Los Angeles Chapter, Linkedin Journalists and Las Comadres Para Las Americas.  You can find her on Foodbuzz, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn.  You can learn more about what she reads on her accounts at LibraryThing and Goodreads.

Hector Chavana Jr. is a small businessman, activist and blogger in Houston, Texas.  I blog at OurNewAnahuac.net  My activist work currently focuses on preserving a mural at the University of Houston, my alma mater, which the university wants to move.

Leticia Manzano is a Mexicana born and Xicana raised Radical Feminist living in, working in and changing Houston, Texas. She is an activist in the movement to end all forms of oppression with over thirteen years of professional experience as a counselor and advocate for victims of sexual and domestic violence.  Leticia loves the idea of changing the world by changing herself first. She is lover and a fighter, a victim and a survivor and a wonderful human being. Leticia is also a closeted writer, painter, artist and singer. A little about her secret-self peeks out every once in a while, therefore an essay that she co-authored was published in 2008 and appears in an anthology entitled Shout-Out: Women of Color Respond to Violence.

Marisela Lorenzo-Cabrera is a first generation Chicana working on her Chicana/o Studies Master’s degree at California State University, Los Angeles.  In the future, she hopes to work at a non-profit organization to help battered women and children and teach Chicano Studies at a community college. Her main purpose of getting involved in these sectors is to help and empower the community that has given so much to her.

(Mi Vida) Vixen is the pen name of an aspiring Chicano poet, originally from Sur Califas by way of el Valle San Joaquin.  She describes herself as a streetwise Chicana with a nurturing soul, a bohemian heart, a down-ass bitch attitude with hints of hopeless romanticism.  Her experiences and humble upbringing have strongly influenced her poetry which reflects her views on life, love and socio-economic struggles.  An all around Firme Hyna.

Robert Trujillo Peace, I’m an artist from Oakland California specializing in Storytelling, Illustration, and Mural art. As a member of a larger collective called “Trust Your Struggle” I paint large scale murals with community based artists and organizations. As an individual artist I create short stories focused on children of color, multi-cultural identity, magic, and fantasy aesthetic. My goal in life is to tell my story and work with others like me who have yet to see or hear their story told. I do what I do because it brings me joy, light, fulfillment, and allows me to meet some amazing people of all ages and backgrounds. I am also a father of a little prince who keeps my heart smiling even when I’m down. Love and light to all!

Dr. Rodolfo Acuña is a Chicana/o historian and professor emeritus at California State University, Northridge. He is the author of Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, which approaches the history of the Southwestern United States that includes Mexican Americans. Dr. Acuña is also an activist and he has supported the numerous causes of the Chicano Movement.

SINdy Lugo is a Xicana activist from Paramount, CalifAztlan.  SINdy is currently a Cal State LA student who recently transferred from ELAC.  She is a contributing writer/editor for a Zine called Simplemente Sinceras.

S. J. Rivera is a Xicano writer, indie publisher and stranger in a strange land. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Rivera now calls Northeast, Florida home. He is the author of Demon in the Mirror, AmeriKKKan Stories, and Alcohol Soaked & Nicotine Stained. Rivera made his bones as a journalist, EMT and independent publisher. He has performed spoken word in several unknown coffee shops and on street corners from the Rocky Mountains to the mean streets of the Dirty South.

Temicamatl represents the meditations and dreams of universal love articulated by the bisnieto of Villistas, the grandson of the Pachucada, and the child of the Moviemiento, humbly packaged in the human formation of a Chicano intellect, scholar and activist.

Vincent Cooper is a writer of poetry and short stories. He has also co-authored a screenplay I’m Only Sleeping, a fictional story of John Lennon’s life had he survived. Cooper was born in Los Angeles, California but primarily raised in South Texas. His tumultuous childhood and struggle to maintain family connections create the recipe for his honest and unabashed style of writing. Some of his influences include Bukowski, Ginsberg, and Lennon. Cooper’s work was most recently featured on Austin’s Haggard & Halloo. He has participated in several poetry readings including Puroslam. He currently resides in San Antonio, Texas.

Xicano X is a student and a blogger. His other blog postings can be found at xicanox.blogspot.com.