Lydia R. Otero is a Chicanx/

Latinx ''Latinx'' is an English neologism used to refer to people with Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The term aims to be a gender-neutral alternative to ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' by replacing the masculine and fem ...

historian and author. They are known for their work on marginalized communities in Arizona.

Education and career

Otero descends from the first family to have a land grant in Arizona. Otero was born in Tucson in 1955 and lived there until graduating from high school in 1973. Otero received a bachelor's degree in 1992 and a master's degree in 1995 from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

(CSULA). In 2003 they earned a Ph.D. from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. Otero was a tenured professor in the Department of Mexican American Studies Department at the

(2003-2020).

Academic work

Otero is known for their work on

ethnic studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

, latinx urbanization and

placemaking Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the urban planning, planning, design and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces tha ...

in latinx communities. In the 1980s Otero was president of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos and Lesbianas Unidas, politically active groups in California. Otero has participated in local activism to remind people about Tucson's past and connection to Mexico, and examined the impact on people living in neighborhoods targeted for urban renewal. In 2010, their book ''La Calle: Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwestern City'' focused on an urban renewal project in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

which targeted the most densely populated eighty acres in the state and the changes that occurred during the project. The book received a 2011 Southwest Book Award from the Border Regional Library Association, and was reviewed by multiple scholarly publications. In 2019 their book, ''In the Shadows of The Freeway: Growing Up Brown & Queer'', combined personal memoir and family history with historical archives. In 2021, the

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

Library selected the book as one of their annual 44th "Southwest Books of the Year", and the book was reviewed by the

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 201 ...

and the '' Journal of Arizona History''.

Selected publications

* * *

Awards and honors

In 2019, Arizona’s César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition awarded Otero the "'

Sí se puede "Sí, se puede" (Spanish language, Spanish for "Yes, you can"; ) is the motto of the United Farm Workers of America, and has since been taken up by other activist groups. UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta created the phrase in 1972 during César C ...

' Legacy Award" for their activism and scholarship focusing on bringing awareness to the

history of Arizona The history of Arizona encompasses the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Post-Archaic, Spanish, Mexican, and American periods. About 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians settled in what is now Arizona. A few thousand years ago, the Ancestral Pu ...

and

Mexican Americans Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

. In 2021, Otero was named a distinguished lecturer by the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad incl ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otero, Lydia Living people 1955 births 21st-century American historians American women historians California State University, Los Angeles alumni University of Arizona alumni University of Arizona faculty