AnzaldĂșa (Gloria) Altares collection, 1942-2004

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Summary

Title:
Gloria AnzaldĂșa Altares collection
Dates:
1942-2004
Creators:
AnzaldĂșa, Gloria and Keating, AnaLouise, 1961-
Abstract:
This collection of figurines, small clay pots, masks, rattles, candles, altar cloths, and other ephemera was used by Gloria AnzaldĂșa as altar (altares) objects at her home in Santa Cruz, California. These altares were an integral part of her spiritual life and creative process as a writer.
Extent:
27 Linear Feet 26 boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Gloria AnzaldĂșa Altares collection. MS 308. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection of figurines, small clay pots, masks, rattles, candles, altar cloths, and other ephemera was used by Gloria AnzaldĂșa as altar (altares) objects at her home in Santa Cruz, California. These altares were an integral part of her spiritual life and creative process as a writer.

Biographical / historical:

"I sit here before my computer, Amiguita, my altar on top of the monitor with the Virgen de Coatlalopeuh candle and copal incense burning. My companion, a wooden serpent staff with feathers, is to my right while I ponder the ways metaphor and symbol concretize the spirit and etherealize the body. The Writing is my whole life, it is my obsession." Gloria E. AnzaldĂșa from Borderlands/La Frontera (Aunt Lute Books, 1999)

Independent scholar and creative writer Gloria E. AnzaldĂșa was an internationally acclaimed cultural theorist. As the author of Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, AnzaldĂșa played a major role in shaping contemporary Chicano/a and lesbian/queer identities. And as editor or co-editor of three multicultural anthologies, she played an equally vital role in developing an inclusionary, multicultural feminist movement. AnzaldĂșa's writings have been included in over 100 anthologies to date. Her works greatly impacted a wide variety of academic disciplines, including (but not limited to) American studies, Chicano/a studies, composition studies, cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminism and feminist theory, literary studies, queer theory, and women's studies. A versatile author, AnzaldĂșa published poetry, theoretical essays, short stories, autobiographical narratives, interviews, children's books, and multigenre edited collections. Her published works include This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981, co-edited with Cherr?e Moraga), a ground-breaking collection of essays and poems widely recognized by scholars in Women's Studies as the premiere multicultural feminist text; Borderlands/La Frontera (1987), a founding text of Chicano/a Studies and Border Studies, as well as a classic of twentieth-century American literature; Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists-of-Color (1990), a multigenre collection used in many university classrooms; two bilingual children's books "Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado and Prietita and the Ghost Woman/Prietita y la Llorona; Interviews/Entrevistas (2000), a memoir-like collection of interviews; this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation (2002, co-edited with AnaLouise Keating), a multigenre collection that examines the current status of feminist/womanist theorizing; and additional stories and essays. AnzaldĂșa and her works won numerous awards, including a fiction award from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, the Lamda Lesbian Small Book Press Award, the Susan Koppelman Award, the Smithsonian Notable Book Award, and the Americas Honor Award. Borderlands/La Frontera was selected as one of the 100 Best Books of the Century both by Hungry Mind Review and by Utne Reader.

AnzaldĂșa was born in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, the eldest child of Urbano and Amalia AnzaldĂșa. She received her B.A. from Pan American University, her M.A. from University of Texas, Austin, and her Ph.D. (awarded posthumously) from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

AnaLouise Keating

Acquisition information:
Gift of AnzaldĂșa Family in 2005.
Physical location:
Stored in Special Collections & Archives: Advance notice is required for access to the collection.
Physical facet:
25 cartons, 1 roll box
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
M. Carey, Irene Reti
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-08-05 11:15:33 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for viewing.

Terms of access:

Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.

Preferred citation:

Gloria AnzaldĂșa Altares collection. MS 308. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections and Archives, University Library
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064, US
Contact:
(831) 459-2547
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
Website