People often ask me where I got the nickname "Chola." It all started back in 1998 as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara. I dressed pretty much the way I dressed in high school, but I really stuck out at UCSB with my Chicano gear: Dickies, Ben Davis, t-shirts with lowriders, Zapata, etc. I guess it didn't help that I wore dark lipstick, large hoop earrings, and dyed my hair burgundy. Someone commented on my clothing and called me "An-Chola" (Angela + Chola) as a friendly diss. "An-Chola" quickly became "Chola." The linguisticly lethargic use the monosylabic "Chol." Some people use "Xola" with the indigenous "X."

It's redundant to say I'm a proud Xicana (as if you couldn't already tell). I have roots in Juichupila, Zacatecas and Tejas (when I say "we didn't cross the borders, the borders crossed us" that's not hyperbole). I learned my broken Spanish by listening to Juan Gabriel. (Big ups to JuanGa!) I grew up in San Jose and Ceres (Modesto area).

I'm down with community organizing and social justice issues. I am involved with the Comite Derechos Humanos (Human Rights Committee), based out of Oxnard, Califas. We believe in dignity, self-determination, and collectivity. My philosophy for this work is derived from Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party for Self Determination, and Roberto Rodriguez (Column of the Americas).

I am a nerd, a writer, and a complete bibliophile. I used to post religiously at Pocho's Cyber Cholo Chatroom, and I currently write for Puro Pedo Magazine. I'm witty, funny, and I love to laugh. I'm a sarcastic smart ass who talks too much shit, but I'm likely to cry if you gave me taste of my own medicine.

I love art and anything creative: drawing, painting, stamp making, jewelry, collages, woodburning, even cooking. (Ask anyone who's tasted my garlic mashed potatoes with corn, they'll tell you.)

My tonalli (Nahuatl name) is Ollicoatl (Movement of Snake). Betta recognize.