Xochitl Luna[]
Xochitl Luna was born on May 20, 1970 in Capitola, California. She is a well known professor from Santa Clara State University (SCSU) who teaches Chicano Studies. She is the author of the nonfiction book The Journey, which explores the life of Gerardo, an illegal immigrant, and his family. In 2007 Book Lovers ranked The Journey as the second bestseller nonfiction book. The Journey shows how Gerardo struggles to support his family financially because he can’t find a job in the United States and he is always in fear of getting deported back to Mexico.
Personal Life[]
Xochitl Luna was born in Capitola, California to Flor Luna and Gregory Smith. Being the last child and only girl her three older brothers were over protective. Xochitl grew up in a barrio where the community accepted her and her siblings even though they are half- White and half- Mexican. Xochitl Luna’s parents named her Xochitl Smith but when she turned eighteen she decided to change her last name to Luna because she had a deeper connection to her Mexican culture. She married her college sweetheart Tony Cruz but decided to keep her maiden name. She and Tony have four children, Gregory Cruz, Carlos Cruz, Flor Cruz, and Vicky Cruz.
Education & Career[]
Xochitl Luna went to Santa Clara State University to study Chicano Studies. In 1994 she graduated from SCSU with a bachelors degree in Chicano Studies and a minor in Business Administration. She decided to minor in Business to give her an opportunity in finding a job to help her pay for her masters degree in Chicano studies also at SCSU. Through her masters program she started to write her book The Journey because she wanted to learn more about the struggles an illegal immigrant faces. In 1996 Xochitl graduated with her masters degree in Chicano Studies. With her experience in research with the Latino/a community Xochitl got hired at Santa Barbara University in 1998, and she taught at Santa Barbara University for four years. In 2002 she was given the opportunity to teach at Santa Clara State University. It took Xochitl 12 years to finally publish her book The Journey, which was published in 2007.