| year | milestone |
|---|---|
| 1955 |
A star is born (same birthday as Charlotte Brontë and probably the ’55 Chevy; Pedro Páramo is published)
|
| 1960 |
A kindergarten school in El Grullo, Jalisco, Mexico (which she didn’t complete because she was homesick for San Diego. No doubt, the ghosts of El Grullo had a hand in this.)
|
| 1966 |
Sunnyslope Elementary (Mr. Smith, you’re the best!)
|
| 1969 |
Southwest Junior High (go Ocelots!)
|
| 1973 |
Montgomery High School (glory garden days of cheerleading, Homecoming Court and MEChA; Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is released)
|
| 1977 |
University of California, San Diego, Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude
|
| 1981 |
University of California, Los Angeles, Master of Arts Specialization: Comparative Literature
|
Patricia Santana was born and raised in Palm City, a little enclave in south San Diego. Plenty of palm trees, yes, but the eucalyptus and California pepper trees reigned. She is the eighth of nine children of Mexican immigrants. Her parents are from the small, subtropical town of El Grullo, Jalisco, about three hours west of Guadalajara.
Patricia’s five oldest siblings were born in Mexico—Victor in El Grullo, followed by Oscar in Ensenada, eleven months later Jorge in Rosarito, Gloria in Tijuana, and Sergio in Tecate--before the family crossed the border into San Diego where the final four daughters—Delia, Irma, Patricia and Beatriz--were born. So while Hansel and Gretel may have foolishly marked their journey with breadcrumbs, Manuel and Victoria wisely marked their journey with gorgeous, twinkly-eyed babies. As her father has often pointed out: Enough children to start a baseball team.
Instead of playing baseball though, Patricia earned her Bachelor’s degree amid the Torrey pines and eucalyptus trees at the University of California, San Diego in English and Spanish Literature, and a Master’s degree amid impossible wealth and fame (not hers) at the University of California, Los Angeles in Comparative Literature.
Patricia Santana’s first novel, Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility (University of New Mexico Press, 2002), was selected as a Best Books for Young Adults 2003 by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and is also San Diego Magazine’s 2003 Book Award winner in fiction.
In manuscript form, Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility was the 1999 winner of the University of California, Irvine Chicano/Latino Literary Contest.
Patricia's second novel, Ghosts of El Grullo (University of New Mexico Press, 2008) is the winner of Premio Aztlán 2008, San Diego Book & Writing Award in Fiction 2008, and the American Book Award, 2008.
Patricia is a Spanish instructor and Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Cuyamaca College.
She is the proud mother of Deborah, who lives and works in D.C but promises to come back to California one of these days, and Isaac, who contemplates the meaning of life and lovely women amid the redwood trees of Santa Cruz. Both keep Patricia young, honest and ever-wondering if they turned out to be great children because of their parents or in spite of their parents. Do we ever really know for sure?