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Chapter 1 “A Veces Encuentro Más Palabras En Español”: Taking A Stance Towards Translanguaging As A Socially Just Pedagogy For Bilingual Teacher Preparation, Sandra I. Musanti Jan 2023

Chapter 1 “A Veces Encuentro Más Palabras En Español”: Taking A Stance Towards Translanguaging As A Socially Just Pedagogy For Bilingual Teacher Preparation, Sandra I. Musanti

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Informed by recent explorations on translanguaging practices in higher education and teacher education, this self-case study explores how a bilingual teacher educator, teaching bilingual teacher preparation courses in Spanish at a Hispanic-serving institution on the US-Mexico border embraces a translanguaging stance to leverage teacher candidates’ bilingualism while preparing them to produce and use academic and professional forms of Spanish discourse for teaching. Findings illustrate how a bilingual teacher educator purposefully embeds translanguaging moves to leverage bilingual teacher candidates’ bilingualism to develop a linguistically inclusive bilingual teacher candidates’ repertoire of practice. In addition, the study shows how candidates’ evolving understanding of …


Instructional Framework For Integrating Cross-Cultural Content Using Culturally Responsive And Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies, J. Joy Esquierdo, Maritza De La Trinidad Jan 2023

Instructional Framework For Integrating Cross-Cultural Content Using Culturally Responsive And Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies, J. Joy Esquierdo, Maritza De La Trinidad

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter describes an instructional framework for culturally relevant and affirming teaching and curricula that addresses effective ways to interconnect cross-cultural content to expand cultural and content literacy in K-12. The Culturally and Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies for Local Context (CLAP-LC) Framework was developed to create culturally and linguistically affirming content, promote equitable education, and nurture student engagement. The framework centers on the intersection of cultural knowledge and lived experiences of students, families, and communities in content and curriculum to promote student achievement, especially students from minoritized and marginalized groups.


Unchoreographed Dance: Trust And Venture Into Vulnerability—Building A Plural, Organic, And Recursive Collective, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Eunice Lerma, Karin A. Lewis, Vejoya Viren Jan 2023

Unchoreographed Dance: Trust And Venture Into Vulnerability—Building A Plural, Organic, And Recursive Collective, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Eunice Lerma, Karin A. Lewis, Vejoya Viren

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

In this autoethnography, we—four Hispanic Serving Institution colleagues at the USA–Mexican frontera—share our process of building a collective where a plural, organic, vulnerable, and recursive space was created. In this space, through readings, conversations, feedings, discussions, and memories, un/anticipated stories emerge…in our unchoreographed writings, we whirl, twirl, collide, and craft our collective space, which was at once chaotic, cathartic, and sustaining.


Threshold For Learning: The Case For Prioritizing The In-Between Spaces In Education, Xiaodi Zhou Jan 2023

Threshold For Learning: The Case For Prioritizing The In-Between Spaces In Education, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

In this paper, the author analyses learning as a function of the threshold between parties and ideas. Using Bakhtinian dialogic theory, literacy learning in particular is envisioned as a dialogue of the threshold. This instructional threshold is viewed both in pedagogical and biological terms. The physiological process of learning is described, making a biological case for instructional scaffolding and the gradual release of responsibility in the classroom. The dialogue of different disciplines serves as integration of several thresholds and further strengthening of learning. Curriculum integration is then promoted as a means to lasting learning.


Voces Y Relatos De La Violencia En Jóvenes Universitarias: Coahuila–Texas, Iris Rubi Monroy Velasco, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karla Patricia Valdés-García, Leilani Flores Valdés Jan 2023

Voces Y Relatos De La Violencia En Jóvenes Universitarias: Coahuila–Texas, Iris Rubi Monroy Velasco, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karla Patricia Valdés-García, Leilani Flores Valdés

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

La violencia es una problemática social que compromete la salud pública en el mundo. Podemos encontrar violencia en todos los ámbitos, desde la violencia íntima, en el espacio doméstico con la familia, hasta en espacios de trabajo, estudio o diversión, causada por conocidos o desconocidos y generada por una diversidad de razones. Este capítulo tiene por objetivo entrever los tipos de violencia que experimentan estudiantes universitarias en la frontera Noroeste de México del estado de Coahuila y en la frontera sur de los Estados Unidos en el estado de Texas.


Harnessing Cultural Epistemology In Literacy Studies: Take A Walk In My Shoes, Isela Almaguer Dec 2022

Harnessing Cultural Epistemology In Literacy Studies: Take A Walk In My Shoes, Isela Almaguer

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

The influence of our increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse school age population is experienced throughout our educational system. Teachers diversify their pedagogical practices to best meet students’ needs in their classrooms, thereby amplifying the importance of valuing culturally and linguistically diverse learners’ rich and plentiful cultural knowledge. It is essential to expand our literacy lens to include multifaceted and multidimensional opportunities which acknowledge and respect the cultural and linguistic learner diversity that reverberates across cultures. Engaging students in culturally relevant pedagogy accelerates learning by helping students make connections to concepts and topics. The impact is twofold as culturally relevant pedagogy …


Composing Her Growing Identities As A Mexican American, Xiaodi Zhou Jul 2022

Composing Her Growing Identities As A Mexican American, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This article studies the growing and changing cultural identifications of one early adolescent Mexican American girl as represented by her engagements with literacy. Her writing behaviors in particular manifested a changing cultural identity that reacted to and represented her response to a changing world. Her bilingualism and biculturalism manifested a dialogic innervation of distinct voices and truths, particularly set in the Trump-era United States. Through a theoretical framework of cultural hybridity and bordered identity, this study analyzes the complex linguistic, developmental, and cultural identities of a young Mexican American woman in the rural South.


Straddling Differences: Celebrating Contradictions And Confusion At The Frontera, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karin A. Lewis, Vejoya Viren Jul 2022

Straddling Differences: Celebrating Contradictions And Confusion At The Frontera, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karin A. Lewis, Vejoya Viren

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

A yearlong collective auto-ethnographic stories of three colleagues at a Hispanic Serving Institution at the U.S.–Mexican frontera culminated in the realization that our disparate experiences, the multiple voices used in articulating these, and the diverse ways these manifested in classroom practices and interactions had crafted the only academic space where we-three felt to belong.


Testimonio At Work: The Power Of Malintzin Researchers, Freyca Calderon-Berumen, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karla O'Donald May 2022

Testimonio At Work: The Power Of Malintzin Researchers, Freyca Calderon-Berumen, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Karla O'Donald

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

We are three Latin American women, once travellers – now US dwellers, mujeres de color, Mestizas, Neplanteras – sometimes ‘Malintzin researchers’ struggling to make sense of all our pieces, identities and changing faces. We draw upon the disruption of apartheid of knowledge in academia, arguing for counter-narratives through the use of pláticas and testimonio as tools to theorize personal experiences that contribute to the decolonization of educational research. We are advancing pláticas and testimonios as epistemological and methodological approaches to challenge and disrupt widespread Westernized research approaches that continue colonizing the U.S. education research.


Translanguaging Practices Of Chinese/English Bilingual Engineers’ Communications In The Workplace, Juan Du, Xiaodi Zhou May 2022

Translanguaging Practices Of Chinese/English Bilingual Engineers’ Communications In The Workplace, Juan Du, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Existing literature argues for the urgent need to improve workplace and professional communication in the engineering field across the world. This paper reports on a study examining Chinese/English bilingual engineers’ translanguaging practices in their communications in English-speaking high-tech corporations in the United States. Evidence showed that bilingual engineers translanguaged extensively to construct meaning to meet the diverse communication needs at their workplace, which enables them to demonstrate their professional talents and skills. However, when English was the sole language for the interaction, they struggled to sound like English native speakers to convey their ideas and present their work, which disadvantaged …


Translanguaging Space In A Bilingual Program In New York City Chinatown Middle School, Xiaodi Zhou, Danling Fu Mar 2022

Translanguaging Space In A Bilingual Program In New York City Chinatown Middle School, Xiaodi Zhou, Danling Fu

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This study explores how translanguaging pedagogy was practiced in a New York City Chinatown middle school to engage emergent bilingual students (EBs) with diverse language literacy backgrounds in their study of the grade level social studies curriculum. The data were collected over the past two decades while we worked with classroom teachers in search of effective ways to improve EBs’ school performance. We revisited this data utilizing a translanguaging lens to reconceptualize this past work and reframe our analysis to deepen understanding of translanguaging teaching praxis. Therefore, this research not only seeks possible ways to meet challenges in the education …


Nations Within Nations: The Heterogeneity Of Mexican Transnationals Of Indigenous Descent From Anzalduan Lenses, David Martinez-Prieto Feb 2022

Nations Within Nations: The Heterogeneity Of Mexican Transnationals Of Indigenous Descent From Anzalduan Lenses, David Martinez-Prieto

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter analyzes the significance and limitations of utilizing Gloria Anzaldúa’s framework when examining Mexican transnational communities of Mesoamerican ancestry after they return to Mexico. In this way, this chapter calls for a better understanding of the historical and political factors that impact the identities of Mexican transnationals of Indigenous origin. Based on data collected during three investigations with transnational (pre)service teachers from Indigenous communities in the Mexican states of Puebla (2017), Tlaxcala (2017), and Oaxaca (2018), the author analyzes the pertinence of Anzaldua’s framework in understanding the subjugation and internal differences of Indigenous transnational populations. This chapter also examines …


Fostering Successful Communities Of Collaboration Through Educational Partnerships: Strengthening Bilingual Learners' Language And Literacy Achievement Along The Texas-Mexican Border, Isela Almaguer Jan 2022

Fostering Successful Communities Of Collaboration Through Educational Partnerships: Strengthening Bilingual Learners' Language And Literacy Achievement Along The Texas-Mexican Border, Isela Almaguer

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

There is an undisputable need to form collaborative partnerships between schools, families, homes, and communities across the nation. Collaborative educational partnerships are the cornerstone for student success. With increasingly diverse student populations, schools must communicate and collaborate with families and communities to bridge the wide gap that exists between home and school. With a dominant Spanish-speaking population of Mexican descent, as that of children living in the Southern tip of the Texas-Mexican border, known as The Rio Grande Valley, barriers such as low social economic status and limited English proficiency may impede much-needed communication between schools, homes, and communities. These …


8 National Perspectives On Mexican Transnational Eal Teachers: Ideological And Professional Challenges, David Martinez-Prieto, Kristen Lindahl Jan 2022

8 National Perspectives On Mexican Transnational Eal Teachers: Ideological And Professional Challenges, David Martinez-Prieto, Kristen Lindahl

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Desgarrandonos De Nuestra Lengua: Ripping Us From Our Language, Lillian Ramos, Julia N. Ramirez Dec 2021

Desgarrandonos De Nuestra Lengua: Ripping Us From Our Language, Lillian Ramos, Julia N. Ramirez

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Using a testimonio methodology, this study provides insight on how language ideologies, family, and education in the Texas Borderlands impacted two Latina teachers’ view and understanding of their identity. Through our personal experiences as PK-16 students, classroom teachers, and doctoral students, we were able to understand the colonization of our language and the subsequent endangerment of our bilingualism, which upon reflecting, had an impact on how we see ourselves as individuals, bilinguals, teachers, and Latinas. Our experiences with our bilingualism affected the way in which we perceive ourselves and our community. The reflection and analysis of our experiences allowed us …


Translingual Practices For The Development Of Latinx Teacher Candidates: A Pedagogy For The Border, Alcione N. Ostorga Dec 2021

Translingual Practices For The Development Of Latinx Teacher Candidates: A Pedagogy For The Border, Alcione N. Ostorga

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This article explores the application of translingual pedagogies within a course on the development of bilingualism for Latinx bilingual teacher candidates (BTCs) in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Using a self-study methodology, it examines the application of translanguaging pedagogies for Latinx BTCs, and their evolving language ideologies. The participants were mostly emergent bilinguals (EBs) whose native Spanish language development was negatively impacted by hegemonic educational practices in the local K-12 schools. Therefore, while the first aim of my pedagogical practices was to promote learning of the content of the course, a second aim was to promote the development of academic Spanish language …


(Re) Actualizing Culturally Sustaining Read Aloud Practices: Enriching Latinx Bilingual Learners’ Literacy Development, Isela Almaguer Jul 2021

(Re) Actualizing Culturally Sustaining Read Aloud Practices: Enriching Latinx Bilingual Learners’ Literacy Development, Isela Almaguer

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Focusing on culturally sustaining literacy practices, I sought to conceptualize the integration of culturally rich literature as inclusionary practices for the reading and literacy development of Latinx bilingual learners. It is forecasted that by 2036, Latinx students will make up a third of the nation’s 3 to 17 year old learners - our school age population (US Census Bureau, 2010). Recognizing the importance of engaging with culturally sustaining read alouds and the value in learners seeing themselves reflected in the stories allows for increased opportunities for engagement in the literature used in the read alouds. I steadfastly advocate for asset-based …


Engaging In “Dangerous Discussions”: Fostering Cultural Competence Through The Analysis Of Depictions Of College Life In Popular Films., Elena M. Venegas, Lakia M. Scott, Karon N. Lecompte, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Yongpen Zhu Mar 2021

Engaging In “Dangerous Discussions”: Fostering Cultural Competence Through The Analysis Of Depictions Of College Life In Popular Films., Elena M. Venegas, Lakia M. Scott, Karon N. Lecompte, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Yongpen Zhu

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This qualitative case study utilized critical media literacy to guide the analysis of the depiction of racially and ethnically diverse college students in contemporary popular films. Participants in this study were racially and ethnically diverse undergraduate students enrolled at a private, predominantly White institution in the United States. Three primary themes emerged from this study. First, students of color were more apt to recognize stereotypical portrayals of people of color in the films, whereas White students’ responses were more attuned with color-blind racial ideology (CBRI). Second, media-centered discussions provided an outlet for students of color to share their personal experiences …


Translanguaging For Equity, Xiaodi Zhou Feb 2021

Translanguaging For Equity, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


David E. Dematthews And Elena Izquierdo (Eds.): Dual Language Education: Teaching And Learning In Two Languages, Alcione N. Ostorga Jan 2021

David E. Dematthews And Elena Izquierdo (Eds.): Dual Language Education: Teaching And Learning In Two Languages, Alcione N. Ostorga

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This edited volume includes the contributions of a respected community of scholars, many well-known figures in the field of bilingual education. The book presents a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of dual language (DL) education, an additive bilingual education approach for English language learners, currently identified as emergent bilinguals (EBs). Although the focus of this volume is on DL and the bilingual education context in the state of Texas, and particularly along the US–Mexico border, it nevertheless provides information for principals, teachers and teacher preparation programs with implications that are relevant for other states within the US. Written in three parts, …


On The Road To Translanguaging In A Dual Language Classroom: Teaching Math And Science In Mandarin And English, Xiaodi Zhou Jan 2021

On The Road To Translanguaging In A Dual Language Classroom: Teaching Math And Science In Mandarin And English, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This article examines the evolving instructional practice of one Chinese dual language instructor in the US as she employs a translanguaging-inspired approach in her math and science Mandarin medium classes. Contrary to the school language allocation policy requiring 90% Mandarin in her Chinese classes, she encourages the utilization of English as well as Mandarin in her instruction. This offers comprehensible input to learners, also making possible greater student participation. Findings from observations and interviews reveal how a focus on meaning-making in instruction resulted in the gradual evolution of bilingual language use and effective communication of content by students and the …


Acknowledging And Affirming University Students’ Linguistic And Cultural Capital In An Education Course, J. Joy Esquierdo Jan 2021

Acknowledging And Affirming University Students’ Linguistic And Cultural Capital In An Education Course, J. Joy Esquierdo

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

In order to effectively prepare K-12 teachers to serve linguistically and culturally diverse students, it is vital to provide opportunities for them to develop their intra- and intercultural understandings. This paper describes how a faculty member designed and delivered a teacher preparation class centered on culturally relevant approaches. Students enrolled in this course completed assignments that were designed to guide them through an intracultural reflection to then expand their understandings to an intercultural context. Considering the students’ diverse linguistic and cultural experiences, assignments and projects provided opportunities for them to recognize their linguistic and cultural wealth in order to build …


Myth Busting: Low-Income Latinx Immigrant Parental Involvement, Kathy Bussert-Webb, María E. Díaz Jan 2021

Myth Busting: Low-Income Latinx Immigrant Parental Involvement, Kathy Bussert-Webb, María E. Díaz

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This longitudinal qualitative study, involving low-income parents and children, tutorial-agency staff, and one college student (all Latinx), took place in a city along the U.S./Mexico border. Data sources included field notes through participant observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The authors asked, “How are parents involved in their children's education? What limitations or barriers do they express?” Using a social justice framework and grounded-theory data analysis, these types of parental involvement emerged: academic, social skills, school volunteerism, extracurricular activities, community, and college enrollment. Conversely, parents expressed involvement obstacles. Implications relate to changing the deficit discourse regarding low-income, immigrant parents' involvement. Collaborating with …


Flipping A Virtual Efl Public Speaking Class Integrated With Moocs During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Zhuo Li, Xiaodi Zhou Jan 2021

Flipping A Virtual Efl Public Speaking Class Integrated With Moocs During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Zhuo Li, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This case study explored Chinese undergraduate EFL students’ attitudes to and perceptions of an online English public speaking course, which employs a virtual flipped classroom model and MOOCs during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Since all classes were moved online, a previously flipped public speaking course integrated with MOOCs was converted into a virtual flipped classroom. All 25 participants of the study were undergraduate students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field. Zoom, Blackboard, and QQ instant messenger were platforms utilized in instruction. There were weekly two-hour Zoom meetings with learning activities using MOOCs on Blackboard. The study collected …


Transformando La Clase Universitária: El Uso De Photovoice Como Herramienta Metodológica [Transforming The University Classroom: The Use Of Photovoice As A Methodological Tool], Sandra I. Musanti, Bettina Steren Dos Santos Sep 2020

Transformando La Clase Universitária: El Uso De Photovoice Como Herramienta Metodológica [Transforming The University Classroom: The Use Of Photovoice As A Methodological Tool], Sandra I. Musanti, Bettina Steren Dos Santos

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Improving teaching practices in higher education requires an understanding of the impact of pedagogical innovations in student learning through the analysis of the theoretical implications and the articulation of creativity, motivation and learning. This article describes a pedagogical experience that integrates the use of Photovoice, a strategy originally designed to combine photography with digital narration and social participation. This experience was implemented in an online master's course for educators at a southern university in the United States. The use of Photovoice allowed students to explore issues of equity, social justice and education through digital images as the mediating element to …


The Poetics Aesthetics Of Testimonios . Subverting “I” For Social “I/We.” Una Lengua Que Desquicia La Academia, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Freyca Calderon-Berumen Sep 2020

The Poetics Aesthetics Of Testimonios . Subverting “I” For Social “I/We.” Una Lengua Que Desquicia La Academia, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Freyca Calderon-Berumen

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

I/We are immigrants in the United States, passionately engaged in a decolonizing project, working with testimonios encargados. I/We respectfully chose to share them as POC epistemologies to correct its omission in most history and presence of millions of residents of this land. Based on this sharing, we also subvert the Western “I” for a community shared, social “I/We” and advance the poetics aesthetics of testimonios.


Separate Is Never Equal: Utilizing Question-Answer Relationships To Foster Elementary Students’ Reading Comprehension, Elena M. Venegas Apr 2020

Separate Is Never Equal: Utilizing Question-Answer Relationships To Foster Elementary Students’ Reading Comprehension, Elena M. Venegas

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter presents lessons for the English language arts and reading classroom using the Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) strategy with the book Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation. Both the book and the lessons presented center on historical and contemporary issues surrounding school segregation, desegregation, and resegregation. Thus, the lessons presented in this chapter are also appropriate for the social studies classroom and may be used to address curriculum standards set forth by the National Council for the Social Studies. Through its use of both explicit and implicit questioning, the Question­Answer Relationships strategy can be …


Cultivating An Ethic Of Care At A Hispanic-Serving College Of Education: Individual Stories And A Collective Narrative, Karin A. Lewis, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Jacqueline B. Koonce, Vejoya Viren Feb 2020

Cultivating An Ethic Of Care At A Hispanic-Serving College Of Education: Individual Stories And A Collective Narrative, Karin A. Lewis, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Jacqueline B. Koonce, Vejoya Viren

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

The “ethic of care,” according to Sander-Staudt, is built on the “motivation to care for those who are dependent and vulnerable, and is inspired by both memories of being cared for and the idealizations of self”. Research on teaching behaviors that make a difference to student learning implies that good relationships with students and the ethics of care are important practices of teaching. However, these are not overtly stated, “possibly because the concepts are nebulous and more philosophical than pragmatic”. The impact of one’s teaching practice on students is revealed through meetings with former students who remember interactions, unrelated to …


The Hispanic-Serving College Of Education Special Interest Research Group Initiative: Building A Community Around A Question, Janine M. Schall, Patricia Alvarez Mchatton, Eugenio Longoria Sáenz Feb 2020

The Hispanic-Serving College Of Education Special Interest Research Group Initiative: Building A Community Around A Question, Janine M. Schall, Patricia Alvarez Mchatton, Eugenio Longoria Sáenz

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter aims to establish Hispanic-Serving Institution Special Interest Research Group (HSI SIRG) initiative as one way to become consciously skilled at addressing the question of what it means to be an Hispanic-Serving College of Education. While a fundamental component of the SIRG initiative was the need for accountability, the opportunity to provide various kinds of support was equally important. One common issue was overambitious research plans, with SIRGs proposing projects that would realistically take several years to complete. Other SIRGs realized that their proposed projects only shallowly addressed the focus of the SIRG initiative and more tightly aligned their …


Cultural Narratives And Counterstories: Examining Representation In “Prietita Y La Llorona”, Christian E. Zúñiga Feb 2020

Cultural Narratives And Counterstories: Examining Representation In “Prietita Y La Llorona”, Christian E. Zúñiga

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Stories can be a powerful medium through which to simultaneously reinforce and counter oppressive discourse. This article examines Gloria Anzaldúa’s children’s book, Prietita y La Llorona, as a counterstory method within the larger genre of Latinx children’s literature. Counterstories are a powerful method used by Critical Race and feminist theorists to center the delegitimized experiences of marginalized communities. Drawing on theories around discourse, representation, and intersectionality, the article explores the ways in which Anzaldúa counters cultural narratives that diminish community cultural wealth and women’s positions as agents of knowledge through the characters of Doña Lola and La Llorona.