Profe Anita Tijerina Revilla, PhD

This space is rooted in a life shaped by family, struggle, love, and a deep commitment to healing. I was raised on the Southside of San Antonio in a family where love and hardship coexisted. My mom, a young widow, raised three of us with strength, humor, and a belief that we could build something more for ourselves. From an early age, I learned that we survive through each other, and that consciousness is developed not only in books, but in our homes, activism, stories, art, and the ways we show up for one another. I am a first-generation student who navigated poverty and possibility simultaneously, making my way to elitist institutions like Princeton, Columbia, and UCLA. I carried my family and my community with me into those spaces, always believing education would help my family survive. The most transformative journey of my life, however, has been becoming a parent.

When my sister became too ill to care for her children, I stepped in to raise them. I became their tía Honey, caregiver, legal parent, and their everyday anchor. This was not a role I had planned for, but it became one of the most meaningful and defining parts of my life. Being Honey has taught me that caregiving is not separate from scholarship, pedagogy, or activism. It is central to it all. Muxerista caregiving, as I live and understand it, is about loving deeply while also learning how to care for ourselves. It is about interrupting cycles of harm, moving beyond expectations of self-sacrifice, and building practices rooted in healing, dignity, accountability, and collective well-being. It is ongoing, imperfect, and transformative. This space grows from that understanding. Here you will find my essays, articles, and creative work, along with ideas that continue to evolve around muxerista studies, jotería, pedagogy, femtorship, and community-rooted ways of moving in the world. My work is grounded in the belief that our communities and students are creators of social transformation.

Muxerista and jotería frameworks are at the heart of what I share here. They emerge from activism, art, queer and feminist struggle, and the everyday work of surviving and dreaming, visioning, and building. They are about claiming who we are, refusing erasure, and creating spaces where we exist fully and with dignity. Muxerista-Jotería femtorship is one of the ways I practice this work. It is about walking with others across different stages of life, guiding and being guided, and building relationships rooted in care, trust, and shared growth. Over the years, I have mentored students into graduate programs, supported colleagues, and helped create spaces where people can move toward their dreams. Muxerista-Jotería pedagogy, in this space, is not limited to the classroom. It lives in community, organizing, storytelling, art, family, and everyday acts of resistance and care. My work on student activism has shown me that some of the most powerful learning happens when people create their own spaces of belonging and transformation.

You will encounter many parts of me here. Scholar. Educator. Activist. Caregiver. Artist. Honey. All of it is connected. This space is for students, community, familia, colegas, collaborators, and anyone searching for connection, healing, or possibility.