ABOUT LYDIA OTERO

A few bio highlights:

•I am a writer, historian, and activist deeply rooted in the Arizona-Sonora border region, where I was born and raised in Tucson. After spending 20 years in Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s, I returned to Tucson in 1998. I love living in my hometown and feel productive, happy, and engaged here. I also take much pride in the time I spent in Los Angeles, visiting often and staying connected to L.A. through family, friends and history. A book project I had abandoned a few years ago, which aims to illustrate the dynamics of settler colonialism and Latine communities, has garnered my attention once again, and I am currently exploring where it takes me.

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•My experiences as a queer activist and blue-collar worker from 1978 to 1998 in Los Angeles form the basis of my latest book, L.A. Interchanges: A Brown & Queer Archival Memoir, published in 2023.

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• I was appointed as an  OAH Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians until 2027.

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• From 2003 to 2020, I was a tenured professor in the Department of Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona.

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​• From 2020 to 2022, I served as the "Historian" for the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission, which is responsible for preserving the region's rich historical heritage.

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• In 2021, I compiled the columns that resulted in the publication of Notitas: Select Columns from the Tucson Citizen by Alva B. Torres, who stands out as one of the first Mexican American women to write a weekly column for a major newspaper.

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•In 2021, my book  In the Shadows of the Freeway: Growing Up Brown & Queer received a 2021 Southwest Book Award from the Pima County Library.

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• In 2019, Arizona’s César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition awarded me the Dolores Huerta Legacy Award for my activism and scholarship focusing on bringing awareness to Mexican American and local history.

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• My first book, La Calle provided the source material for the local Borderland’s Theater's “Barrio Stories,” a site-specific theatrical event that took place over four days in 2016, and that attracted over 5,000 attendees and showcased the power of storytelling. Watch a documentary on "Barrio Stories."

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• In 2011, the Border Regional Library Association awarded my book, La Calle: Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwestern City a Southwest Book Award.

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• I received a BA in 1992 and MA in 1996 from Cal State Los Angeles.

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• I have a PhD in History.

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• Prior to my academic pursuits, I worked as a electrician in IBEW Local Union 11 in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994. My labor contributed to building some of the most iconic structures in Los Angeles, such as the U.S. Bank Tower, Universal Studios’ CityWalk, and the Metro Rail.

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• I was active in Lesbians of Color from 1979 to 1982. I also attended the First National Lesbians of Color Conference in 1983 in Malibu, California.

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• I was active in Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos in Los Angeles from 1983 to 1991. I also served as President for two years, 1988-1990.

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• I was one of the original or founding members of Lesbianas Unidas in 1983.

I served as co-chair multiple years. and remained active in the group until 1991.​​