Denise ChávezBorn: August 15, 1948; Las Cruces, New Mexico Principal Works - Denise Chávez long fictionFace of an Angel, 1994 Loving Pedro Infante, 2001 short fictionThe Last of the Menu Girls, 1986 Author Profile Denise Chávez was born in the desert Southwest, and she writes about the Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Anglo-Americans, and others who provide the region’s rich cultural tapestry. Her works consistently focus on the strength and endurance of ordinary working-class Latino women. Chávez had twelve years of Catholic schooling and started writing diaries and skits while still in elementary school. She received her bachelor of arts degree in theater from New Mexico State University in 1971, her master of fine arts in theater from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1974, and her master of arts in creative writing from the University of New Mexico in 1984. During her school years she worked in a variety of jobs — in a hospital, in an art gallery, and in public relations. She also wrote poetry, fiction, and drama, always with emphasis on the lives of women. She taught at Northern New Mexico Community College, the University of Houston, Artist-in-the-Schools programs, and writers’ workshops. Chávez has written numerous plays and literary pieces, which she often performed or directed, including a national tour with her one-woman performance piece. Her plays have been produced throughout the United States and Europe. Her plays (mostly unpublished), written in English and Spanish, include Novitiates (1971), The Flying Tortilla Man (1975), Rainy Day Waterloo (1976), The Third Door (1978), Sí, hay posada (1980), The Green Madonna (1982), La morenita (1983), El más pequeño de mis hijos (1983), Plague-Time (1984), Novena Narrativas (1986), and Language of Vision (1987). The Last of the Menu Girls, interrelated stories about a young Chicana, and the novel Face of an Angel have established Chávez’s high reputation as a fiction writer. Both works address critical questions of personal and cultural identity with extraordinary wit and compassion. Chávez has a striking ability to create a sense of individual voice for her characters, and she makes that voice resonate for readers who may or may not be familiar with the places and people about whom she writes. Essay by: Lois A. Marchino Suggested Readings Balassi, William, John F. Crawford, and Annie O. Eysturoy, eds. This Is About Vision: Interviews with Southwestern Writers. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990. Farah, Cynthia. Literature and Landscape: Writers of the Southwest. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1988. Reed, Ishmael. Hispanic American Literature. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. .

1. Denise ChávezBorn: August 15, 1948; Las Cruces, New Mexico
Principal Works - Denise Chávez
long fictionFace of an Angel, 1994
Loving Pedro Infante, 2001
short fictionThe Last of the Menu Girls, 1986
Author Profile
Denise Chávez was born in the desert Southwest, and she writes
about the Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Anglo-
Americans, and others who provide the region’s rich cultural
tapestry. Her works consistently focus on the strength and
endurance of ordinary working-class Latino women.
Chávez had twelve years of Catholic schooling and started
writing diaries and skits while still in elementary school. She
received her bachelor of arts degree in theater from New
Mexico State University in 1971, her master of fine arts in
theater from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1974,
and her master of arts in creative writing from the University of
New Mexico in 1984. During her school years she worked in a
variety of jobs — in a hospital, in an art gallery, and in public
relations. She also wrote poetry, fiction, and drama, always with
emphasis on the lives of women. She taught at Northern New
Mexico Community College, the University of Houston, Artist-
in-the-Schools programs, and writers’ workshops.
Chávez has written numerous plays and literary pieces, which
she often performed or directed, including a national tour with
her one-woman performance piece. Her plays have been
produced throughout the United States and Europe. Her plays
(mostly unpublished), written in English and Spanish, include
Novitiates (1971), The Flying Tortilla Man (1975), Rainy Day
Waterloo (1976), The Third Door (1978), Sí, hay posada (1980),
The Green Madonna (1982), La morenita (1983), El más
pequeño de mis hijos (1983), Plague-Time (1984), Novena
Narrativas (1986), and Language of Vision (1987).
The Last of the Menu Girls, interrelated stories about a young

2. Chicana, and the novel Face of an Angel have established
Chávez’s high reputation as a fiction writer. Both works address
critical questions of personal and cultural identity with
extraordinary wit and compassion. Chávez has a striking ability
to create a sense of individual voice for her characters, and she
makes that voice resonate for readers who may or may not be
familiar with the places and people about whom she writes.
Essay by: Lois A. Marchino
Suggested Readings
Balassi, William, John F. Crawford, and Annie O. Eysturoy,
eds. This Is About Vision: Interviews with Southwestern
Writers. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990.
Farah, Cynthia. Literature and Landscape: Writers of the
Southwest. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1988.
Reed, Ishmael. Hispanic American Literature. New York:
HarperCollins, 1995.