I am an Assistant Professor of Latin American Literatures and Cultures in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and a faculty affiliate of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. I received my Ph.D. in Spanish and Latin American Studies in the Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture Doctoral Program at the University of Southern California. I also received a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a B.A. from the University of California, Riverside.

I was born and raised in Central California to an immigrant parent from Mexico. I’ve lived and conducted research in Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Barcelona. When I’m not working, I love to spend time with my cat Charly, cooking, and watching as much Netflix as possible.

Classes Taught Regularly at the University of Illinois

SPAN 254: Introduction to Cultural Analysis

SPAN/LLS 246: From Deviants to Divas: Performance and Storytelling in Latinx Popular Culture

SPAN 326: Sex and Power in the Latin American Aesthetic Imaginary

SPAN 535: The Politics of Pleasure: Latin America Queered, Affected, and Exposed

Research Specializations

My research focuses on modern Latin American and U.S. Latinx literary and visual cultures with a specialization on Mexico, queer theory, performance studies, and critical theory. I enjoy writing on issues of embodiment, sexuality, race, and performance in contemporary visual art and literature.

Current Research Projects

I am currently finishing a book tentatively entitled A Body Exposed: The Aesthetics of Sex, Death, and Mexicanness. This project analyzes the aesthetic representations of sex and death in national narrative literature, detective fiction, LGBTQ fiction, and queer and feminist performance art from the mid-twentieth century to the present.

Favorite Places on Campus

Main Quad and the Krannert Performing Arts Center