Summary
Languages: Spanish, English and Spanglish. Some proficiency in French, Portuguese and Italian.
I was born in Texas and raised in Phoenix. I am the son of migrant farmworkers and was a farmworker myself as a young child. My parents were also born in Texas, but my extended family is from Guanajuato and Sonora, México, with roots in Yaqui culture. I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and college. I attended Arizona State University, where I completed a B.A. in Mathematics, an M.A. in Comparative Literature, and a Ph.D. in Spanish with a specialty in Chicanx and Latinx literature and culture.
I joined the 推荐杏吧原创 Department of World Languages and Literatures in 2004 as an assistant professor and became an associate professor in 2010. My research centers on Jotería studies — gender and sexuality in Chicanx and Latinx culture. I’m a founding member of Alianza, the Department of Gender, Race and Identity, and the Latino Research Center at the 推荐杏吧原创. I have the distinct pleasure of serving as Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the College of Liberal Arts. I also serve on the board of the national Association for Jotería Arts, Activism and Scholarship (AJAAS).