Patricia Santana
Encyclopedia
Life
She is the eighth of nine children of Mexican immigrants. Her parents are from El GrulloEl Grullo
El Grullo is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 157.2 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 21,825....
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
.
She graduated from University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, and from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
with a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature.
She is a Spanish instructor at Cuyamaca Community College and is also an occasional visiting lecturer at the University of California San Diego, where she teaches creative writing.
She is the mother of Deborah and Isaac.
Awards
- 2009 American Book AwardAmerican Book AwardThe American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
- 2008 Premio Aztlán Literary PrizePremio Aztlán Literary PrizeThe Premio Aztlán Literary Prize is a national literary award for emerging Chicana/o Chicano authors, founded in 1993 by Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya...
- 2003 Best Books for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
- 1999 University of California, Irvine Chicano/Latino Literary Contest.