Monarchs and Matriarchs: Womyn of Courage

Throughout her life, Emily J. Guerrero has been attentive to the rich ancestral traditions of her family. In her folk art and storytelling, she embodies the ancestral pathways of her courageous grandparents (abuelos) who trekked from the Northern mountains of Mexico S.A. to their settlements in the U.S. Midwest.

As a first generation Mexican American girl born in Chicago during the tumultuous times of the 1960’s anti war, civil rights and feminist protests, she was influenced to seek an alternative path than her elder women.

Often the Only One - the token Latinx individual in schools, at work and in meetings, she worked diligently to break stereotypes and lead the way for others to access opportunities.

This intentional journey has been both difficult and beautiful. It has led her to love, allies and sacred spaces amidst racism, threats and danger.

And now she walks in the world in wholeness, bringing her fullness of being to honoring the strength of the womyn, the traditions as well as the millenniums of migrations of the generations that not only have come before her, but also include her.

Her human book titled Monarchs and Matriarchs: Womyn of Courage, beautifully conveys the intricately woven truths of who she is.