A vegan Taurus sun with a Leo rising and a Sagittarius moon dog mama.

Borderlands

I am a Chicana, born under a full moon in Jalisco, Mexico, and raised on Turtle Island (known as North America). In 1994, my family and I migrated to Napa, Califas, the unceded territory of the Patwin, Pomo, Miwok, and Onasatis people. To survive Napa's economic apartheid in the early 2000s, my family operated a clandestine cenaduría (home restaurant) to feed our immigrant community and earn supplemental income. Since 2015, we have operated a Mexican food truck and catering family business called Tacos el Muchacho Alegre. My family’s food production is at the heart of my scholarship as a doctoral student. Over the past fifteen years, I have served my community as an educator, scholar, artist, organizer, leader, and storyteller.

Decolonial Veganism

In 2017, I transitioned to veganism, a lifestyle and political ideology that seeks to minimize harm by abstaining from all non-human animal domination, consumption, exploitation, and commodification. Inspired by the movement to "decolonize my diet" (Abbott Mihesuah, 2005; Calvo & Esquibel, 2015; Robinson, 2018), I study how communities decolonize veganism.

Education

I am a first-generation scholar and organic [food certified] intellectual trained in Ethnic Studies and Chicana/o Studies. I obtained a Master of Arts in Women, Gender, Spirituality, and Social Justice from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Today, I am a doctoral student in the Chicana and Chicano Studies department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. My research examines veganism within Mexican and Chicana/o communities in the 21st century.

Community

Alongside my teaching, research, and service commitments, I often enjoy sunbathing outdoors with my Chilean dog, Quilla. My interests, reflecting my Earth sign, include reading about food, biking around town, shopping at the farmers' market, dancing salsa, and trying out the latest vegan restaurants