Day 1: Latina Luminaries: Amplifying the Voices of our Escritoras (Writers)

As a young Chicanita, I spent many summer days lost in the world of Sweet Valley with Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, and Kristy Thomas as she turned her “great idea” into a business with her friends. The books brought me joy, inspired me to write my own stories, and launched my dreams of becoming a published writer. 

It wasn’t until middle school and high school that I realized what I was missing – books where I could see myself, my family, and my community represented – as protagonists, with all our complexities, and in all our joy. As an adult raising my own daughter, I recognize the continued lack of representation of our stories in the world while at the same time witnessing the powerful ways that our stories – stories of young, multidimensional Latina protagonists – are being written and published for youth today and for future generations.  

In Dreaming Somos Escritoras, a writing and art workshop for Latina adolescent girls, I also created the space for my younger self – the space I needed and wanted – to write alongside girls my age and share the stories and ideas close to my heart. A space to be in community, find sisterhood, and be proud of my cultura, step into my power as a storyteller, and publish my writing. 

Our inaugural Somos Escritoras Latina Luminaries blog series is an extension of this space – to make the writing and art of our escritoras public and bring their voices to the world. At NCTE 2023, I was happy to have a moment with Tricia Ebarvia, and we talked about writing and #31DaysIBPOC writers, an event she launched alongside Dr. Kim Parker – to create a space to amplify IBPOC voices. 

In this vein, I am excited to launch Latina Luminaries to promote, amplify, and engage the community with the voices of our escritoras- as they create art and compose from their hearts about their everyday experiences as they journey through the liminal space of adolescence to stepping to their lives as young women. 

Over the next 30 days, we will highlight the voices of 30 of our escritoras and mentors – celebrating our perspectives, ideas, hopes, dreams, and joy. Our escritoras span nine summers (2016- present) of Somos Escritoras workshops, remote and in-person, hosted at partner schools throughout Austin and at the Benson Library at the University of Texas at Austin and Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix, Arizona.

We are proud of our escritoras who continue to use their writing and art to speak truth, define themselves, rewrite false narratives, document their histories, change the world, and to heal. Their words are part of a legacy of writers, storytellers, artists, and creatives – that paved the way for our own composing and art. Their words continue to pave the way today, for the present, and for future generations.

About the Author

Dr. Tracey Flores, Associate professor of Language and Literacy in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin

 Dr. Flores is a former English Language Development (ELD) and English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, working for eight years alongside culturally and linguistically diverse students, families, and communities in K-8 schools throughout Glendale and Phoenix, Arizona. Her research focuses on Latina mothers and daughters' language and literacy practices, teaching young writers in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, and family and community literacies.

Dr. Flores is the founder of Somos Escritoras/We Are Writers, a creative space for Latina girls (grades 6-12) that invites them to share and perform stories from their lived experiences using art, theater, and writing as a tool for reflection, examination, and critique of their worlds. She believes in the transformative power of reading and writing to change lives, help us understand our experiences, imagine our futures, build community, and heal.

About the Blog Series

The #LatinaLuminaries Blog Series by Somos Escritoras. The series was created to illuminate the wisdom, experiences, voices, and truths of Latina women and girls and the broader Latinx community. The blog series features writing from escritoras (participants) and writing mentors from Somos Escritoras Latinx Writing Workshop. Published Latina authors, writers, poets, and illustrators who presented at our workshop also contributed to the blog series.