The following biographies are in order of interview
appearance in the video In Search of Aztlán.
Rudolfo Anaya
One of the most influential authors in Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya
has earned international acclaim for his skillful mingling of realism,
fantasy and myth in novels exploring the experiences of Hispanics in the
American Southwest. His novels include Bless Me Ultima, Heart of Aztlán,
Tortuga, The Legend of La Llorona, Albuquerque, Zia Summer and Rio Grande
Fall. Mr. Anaya has been called "the godfather of Chicano literature
in English." His long list of national and international awards include
the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano Literary Award for
his first novel Bless Me Ultima and the Pen Center West Award for fiction
for his novel, Albuquerque. A graduate of Albuquerque High school, Mr.
Anaya earned bachelor's and master’s degrees in literature and a
master's degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has
been awarded seven honorary Doctor of Literature degrees from universities
across the country. He was UNM professor in the department of English
Language and Literature from 1974 until his retirement in 1993. He is
Professor Emeritus at UNM. Today he spends his time writing children’s
book and lecturing around the world.
Dr. Yolanda Broyles-Gonzales
Dr. Yolanda Broyles-González is Professor
of Chicano Studies and German Studies at the University of California,
Santa Barbara. She studied at four German universities and was among the
first women of color to receive a doctorate degree from Stanford University.
As an undergraduate she attended the University of Arizona and graduated
Phi Beta Kappa. She is a native of the Arizona/Sonora desert and is rooted
in the Yaqui-Mexican culture. In 1996 Dr. Broyles-González was
honored with the lifetime Distinguished Scholar Award from the National
Association for Chicana & Chicano Studies. The award recognizes Professor
Broyles-González’s "multiple and invaluable scholarly
contributions and her advocacy for the Chicana/o Studies discipline."
Other distinguished national and international awards have come from the
National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright
Foundation, and the German Academic Exchange Service, which funded her
research in Germany for five years. Among her publications are The German
Response to Latin American Literature; El Teatro Campesino: Theater in
the Chicano Movement; the first study of the legendary singer and National
Medal of Arts recipient Lydia Mendoza, entitled Lydia Mendoza’s Life
in Music/La Historia de Lydia Mendoza; and Norteño Tejano legacies
(published by Oxford University Press, bilingually and with a CD, 2001).
Broyles-González also recently published a comprehensive raza women’s
anthology entitled Re-emerging Native Women of the Americas. Native Chicana
Latina Women’s Studies (Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2001). In 1994 she
was selected as one of "Ten Terrific Teachers" at UCSB; In 1996
Professor Broyles-González made national news by legally challenging
the unequal payment of women and minority professors within the University
of California system. in 1997 she received an award as Outstanding Faculty
Member at UCSB "for her dedication and contributions to the education
of UCSB students." In 1998 President Clinton honored her at a White
House ceremony marking women’s struggles for equal pay.
Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez
Dr. Jose Angel Gutiérrez is a graduate of
Texas A&M University at Kingsville (B.A.-‘66), St. Mary’s
University in San Antonio, Texas (M.A.-‘68), University of Texas
at Austin (Ph.D.-‘76), and University of Houston, Bates College of
Law, Houston, Texas (J.D.-‘89). His book publications include El
Politico: The Mexican American Elected Official (El Paso: Mictla Publications,
1972); A Gringo Manual on How to Handle Mexicans (Piedras Negras, Coahuila,
Mexico: Imprenta Velasco Burkhardt, 1974); A War of Words (co-authored)
(Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1985); The Making of a Chicano
Militant: Lessons from Cristal (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1998); My Struggle for the Land: Autobiography of Reies Lopez Tijerina,(translated
and condensed). Dr. Gutierrez was co-founder of the Mexican American Youth
Organization (MAYO), Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC) and the La
Raza Unida Party. He has been the subject of many articles and film documentaries,
the most recent being the PBS three-part video series, CHICANO! The Mexican
American Struggle for Civil Rights, and is mentioned in many Chicano history
and political science books for his activism.
Fermin Herrera
Since 1971 Fermin Herrera has been Professor of
Chicano/Chicana Studies at California State University at Northridge.
He earned a B.A. in Spanish from UCLA and has taught extensively in the
field of Chicano Studies specializing in Meso-American civilizations and
the Nahuatl language. In addition to a full teaching load at CSUN, Mr.
Herrera has guest lectured at UCLA, USC and UC Santa Barbara and in Mexico.
He has written numerous articles and papers pertaining to Meso-American
studies, the Nahuatl language and Mexican folk music. He is the author
of several books including Classical Nahuatl: a Textbook for Beginners
and Instructional Workbook for Mariachi Music. Mr. Herrera is an accomplished
musician specializing in the harp. He has collaborated as a harpist with
Linda Rondstadt on the CD Sounds of Mexico: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati
Cano, with Los Lobos on the CD Kiko and on the Grammy Award winning soundtrack
for La Bamba, with Elizabath Waldo on Songs of the New World as well as
recording with his own Jaracho musical group on the CDs Ixya Herrera:
Primavera and Conjunto Hueyapan: Sones Jarochos in the United States.
Mr. Herrera has received a Folk Arts Fellowship three times from the National
Endowment for the arts and has been recognized for his musical accomplishments
numerous times in the United States and Mexico.
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