Emily Gracielle Rodriguez

Gracielle’s pronouns are she/they. She was born in Laredo, Texas, and raised in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She embraces her identity as a second-generation transborder individual, navigating between two cultural and ecological worlds. At the center of her heart is the Río Bravo, which sustains both flora and fauna while weaving together two nations.

 

Gracielle’s Nepantla, or “land between fears” in Nahuatl, consisted of slowly witnessing how urban and industrial growth impacted green spaces, water resources, and local ecosystems. She recognizes that both cities and nations share the same flora, fauna, culture, and heritage—just as she does as a second-generation Mexican American. At 23, she realized that she is from both here and there, finding comfort in Spanglish poetry and queer Latin American literature. Although she feels most at home in the waters of the Río Bravo, where Mexico and the United States meet in confluence, she now lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Gracielle embraces her Nepantla through her academic work at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she is pursuing her Master of Arts in Spanish with a focus on Latine LGBTQ+ communities, iterative archives, creative arts, and digital humanities. Her goal is to continue advocating for more open and inclusive creative spaces where marginalized communities can navigate their own Nepantla.