Expertise

Afro-Latinx and Latinx Studies, Caribbean Studies, Border Studies, Afro-Diasporic Spirituality

Biography

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and first came to the Philadelphia area to earn my bachelor's degree from Haverford College. I then moved to Massachusetts and received my Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University. Before coming to Temple, I was an Assistant Professor of Spanish at Colby College.

My current book project, Channeling Knowledges: Afro-Diasporic Waters in Latinx and Caribbean Worlds, centers the multi-directional flows of water, migration, gender, race, and spirituality in Latinx and Caribbean spheres.

Selected Publications

Public Scholarship

• 2021: “The Voices of ‘La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience” in Latinx Talk, an online, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and moderated research platform

Peer-Reviewed Articles

• 2021: “‘Por el mar que nos une: boat people’sLiving Waters” in Chicana/Latina Studies Journal, Spring 2021, pp. 28-59
• 2018: “Por amor en el caserío: Caribbeanizing West Side Story” in Latino Studies, Volume 16 Number 2, pp. 213-229.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

• 2018: “Rippling Borders in Latina Literature” in The Image of the River in Latin/o American Literature edited by Elizabeth Rivero and Jeanie Murphy, Lexington Books, pp. 95-115.
• 2015: “Transformative Currents: An Exploration of the Sea and Identity in the Works of Angie Cruz and Nelly Rosario” in Negotiating Latinidades, Understanding Identities Within Spaceedited by Kathryn Quinn-Sánchez, Cambridge Scholars Press, pp. 9-29.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

• 2002- Hispanic Readings 
• 3001- Advanced Spanish Composition and Conversation 
• 3096- Advanced Analysis and Writing 
• 3142- Puerto Rican Readings 
• 4133- Hispanic Women’s Writing 
• 4152/5152- Latinx Studies 
• 8147- Graduate Seminar in Latinx Studies