Episode 164 with Yasmin Ramirez, Author of ¡Ándale, Prieta! and Professor and Writer of the Sensuous, the Personal, the Profound, and the Unique

Episode 164 Notes and Links to Yasmin Ramirez’s Work

   On Episode 164 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Yasmin Ramirez, and the two discuss, among other things, her early reading and music loves, her unique and powerful relationship with her beloved “Ita,” her family dynamics, teenage rebellion, the power of Nirvana, the power of her classes at UTEP, and issues and themes revolving around her magnificent memoir.

   Yasmin Ramirez is a 2021 Martha's Institute of Creative Writing Author Fellow as well as a 2020 recipient of the Woody and Gayle Hunt-Aspen Institute Fellowship Award. Her fiction/CNF works have appeared in Cream City Review and Huizache among others.

She is an Associate Professor of English, Creative Writing, and Chicanx Literature at El Paso Community College. She stays active in the Borderplex arts community and serves on the advisory board of BorderSenses, a literary non-profit. Her memoir ¡Ándale, Prieta!, by Lee and Low Books, is now available.

Buy ¡Ándale, Prieta!: A Love Letter to My Family

Yasmin Ramirez's Website

Hip Latina Article about ¡Ándale, Prieta!: A Love Letter to My Family

At about 6:50, Yasmin describes the multiple meanings of “Andale, Prieta” in context of her book 

At about 7:50, Yasmin shouts out upcoming virtual and in-person Washington Library and Él Paso (UTEP) events, as well as a book club with Las Comadres 

At about 8:30, Yasmin highlights her contact and social media info as well as bookstores that she recommends for buying her book

At about 9:55, Yasmin and Pete discuss her early relationships with language and reading

At about 11:55, Yasmin references formative and transformative reading, including some Anne Rice works

At about 14:30, Yasmin responds to Pete’s questions about her ideas of representation in being able to read borderland-inspired books; she cites “The Danger of a S

At about 17:35, Pete and Yasmin discuss cliques from their adolescent years and Yasmin’s love of Nirvana and music’s role in that part of her life

At about 20:00, Yasmin lists some writers she has taught at the college level, like José Olivarez, Luis Alberto Urrea, Maria Hinojosa, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, and Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

At about 22:00, Yasmin notes how a reliance on the unchanging “canon” dissuades students from reading

At about 22:55, Yasmin shouts out memoirists, like Sonya Livingston, Joy Castro, and Nick Flynn, who inspire and thrill her

At about 25:05, Yasmin talks about seeds for the book and how it seemingly had a mind of its own in directing her 

At about 26:20, Pete asks Yasmin about the role of Dr. Abarca’s UTEP class on food and writing and some of her takeaways from the class and the feedback she received from Lex Wiliford

At about 28:15, Pete notes Yasmin’s skill in making her child’s POV “au