Born: 1 October 1964, Mexico
Died: NA
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
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Cristina Rivera Garza was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1964. She is the author of close to seventeen books, including Nadie me verá llorar (No One Will See Me Cry) (1999), La cresta de Ilión (The Iliac Crest) (2002), La Muerte me da (Death Hits) (2007), and El mal de la taiga (The Taiga Syndrome) (2012). She has also contributed to literary magazines such as BOMB, Hispanic American Historical Review, and the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. Rivera Garza has taught at San Diego State University, the Technological Institute of Higher Studies of Monterrey, the University of California, San Diego, the University of Houston, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Among some of her awards are the José Rubén Romero National Book Award, the Anna Seghers Prize, and the Roger Caillois Award; however, she is mostly known for having won the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Price twice. She currently holds a position at the University of California, San Diego.
Cristina Rivera Garza is also associated with the Postmodern literary movement. She adds a transnational perspective to her novels, further highlighting oppressed border voices. Rivera Garza is most known for her missing persons literature and the disappearance aesthetic. Through her writing, Garza offers a reflection on Mexico’s missing people crisis.
Rivera Garza is also known for her transmedial techniques, cross-referencing her novels within one another. This evokes Garza’s philosophical style that books can interact with reality and be a manifestation of thinking. Her works destabilize the authorial authority and seeks to create a new narrative space. She has become an influential writer in new gender, identity, and narrative literary themes.
Cristina Rivera Garza nació en Tamaulipas, México en 1964. Es la autora de cerca de diecisiete libros, entre ellos Nadie me verá llorar (1999), La cresta de Ilión (2002) y La Muerte me da (2007). Algunas de sus obras han sido publicadas en revistas como BOMB Magazine, Hispanic American Historical Review (Revista Histórica Hispanoamericana) y Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences (Revista de Historia de la Medicina y Ciencias Aliadas). Rivera Garza ha enseñado en una gran variedad de universidades como el Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, La Universidad de California (San Diego y Santa Barbara), La Universidad de Houston, y la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Entre sus galardones se incluyen: el Premio Nacional del Libro José Rubén Romero, el Premio Anna Seghers, el Premio Roger Caillois, y se le otorgó dos veces el Premio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Rivera Garza enseña actualmente en la Universidad de California, San Diego.
El mal de la taiga
Lo mismo
Que habían vivido ahí, me dijieron. Que ésa era la casa. Y la señalaban con una especie de timidez que bien podía confundirse con el respeto o con el terror. Sus dedos apenas lograban asomarse por las bocamangas de unos abrigos pesados y negros. El olor a carbón bajo sus brazos. Las uñas sucias. Esos labios tan resecos. Sus pupilas, que se movían con discreción hacia el objeto señalado, no tardaban en regresar a su punto de partida: la mirada frontal. ¿Qué buscaba ahí en realidad? Eso era lo que me preguntaban sin atreverse a preguntar. Y yo, que tampoco lo sabía con exactitud, acoplaba mis pasos a los suyos. Y los seguía de regreso a la comarca entre la nieve.