19 Facts About Alurista

Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia was born on August 8, 1947, and better known by his nom de plume Alurista, is a Chicano poet and activist.

Alurista went to the United States when he was thirteen, settling with his family in the border city of San Diego, California.

Alurista graduated from high school in 1965 and began studying business administration at Chapman University in Orange County, California.

Alurista disliked the field, however, and transferred to San Diego State University to study religion.

Alurista changed his major several times before earning a B A in psychology in 1970.

Related searches

Alurista went on to earn an M A from SDSU in 1978, and his PhD in literature from the University of California-San Diego in 1983.

Alurista has taught at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, Escuela Tlatelolco in Denver, Colorado, and at the University of Texas at Austin.

Alurista has lectured and read his poetry in venues throughout the world.

Alurista held several jobs, including working for the Volunteers in Service to America program, part of the Lyndon B Johnson administration's War on Poverty.

Alurista is credited with popularizing the Chicano Movement-era concept of "Aztlan" and imbuing it with a spiritual dimension through his poetry.

Alurista identifies as both a Buddhist and a Roman Catholic.

Alurista says that he engages in Native American practices, and is "connected to [his] Father Sun and Mother Earth and [his] brothers and sisters, trees and ants and what not.

Alurista has received numerous rewards and has made his mark in the Chicano community.

Alurista has read his poetry all over the world, from Mexico, to the United States, to Europe.

Alurista was producer and subject of the video, "Torn in Two", which featured four Chicano poets.

Alurista's work is being collected in the "Mexican American Archives at the Benson Collection: A Guide for Users", University of Texas, Austin.

Alurista is a professor and scholar, having obtained his Ph.

Alurista is the cofounder of multiple academic and community organizations, such as Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan at San Diego State, Concilio for la Justicia, Centro Cultural de la Raza, and the Department of Chicano Studies at San Diego State University.

Alurista's papers are held at University of Texas, Austin and at California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives.