Meet Ana Aguirre Cavazos

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ana Aguirre Cavazos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ana Aguirre, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I truly believe that work ethic is a learned behavior. I come from true salt of the earth ancestors, as many of us do.
Living in a humble family who worked hard to put food on the table for five children and survive on a day to day basis, I internalized the mentality that nothing is free and that “nothing changes if nothing changes” We had to be the conduit of our own energy.
By the same token, they taught us that we must work for what we want and that life is something we carve out through education, skills, and knowledge that we obtain as we went through life’s journey, and we could not expect it to be handed to us on a silver platter. We had guided experiences with advise and redirection as we muddled through things. Nothing was sugar coated, as it was imperative that we understand that we had to set goals and work towards them. There was no time to sugar coat this. It was the expectation.

I get my work ethic from a father who never missed work, rain or shine. Someone who valued reading, good values, and education. He was always on time and truly contributed to his job. I got my strong work ethic from my mother who made sure we had warm meals, a clean home and clean clothes. She also valued education and made sure we attended school daily and met all expections at school and at home.
I get my work ethic from my grandmother who, in spite of being raised by her grandparents, was optimistic and worked her farm with a determination to make it successful. I got my strength and warrior spirit from her, as I watched her care for her husband for nine years who was paralyzed from a stroke. She cared without complaining and I understood that this was just something that had to be done.

I do believe that work ethic is a learned behavior and parents are the key to molding this in their children. I am grateful for parents with a strong work ethic.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Hi,
I am Ana A. Cavazos. I am an author, writer, and a poet. I am excited to share a bit about myself with all your readers.
As an avid reader, I fell in love with words and stories early in life.
My life’s journey took me through education and then I worked as an educator and librarian. As a librarian, I curated story collections for school communities which gave me an exciting insight to different books written by different authors. My appreciation for illustrating, photography, and the arts was born as I perused through many different resources for all ages.
It was dueinf that time that I realized that there was a shortage in stories about people from the Rio Grande Valley written by local people; thus there was a gap in stories about the unique culture in the regional area.
I was born in Los Angeles, California, but raised here in the Rio Grande Valley and as a resident of this regional area, I understand the blended Mexican and American culture. One example is the unique taste of our dishes which are not all Mexican or all American dishes, but are certainly something only we can depict with its history and creation.
I write to capture stories of glimpses of daily life in the Rio Grande Valley. I write to capture stories that involve my family and ancestors before they disappear altogether. You see, there are no stories about people like my grandmother who could lasso a calf rising e as a young girl, or the same grandmother who used to communicate with her neighbor in a farm approximately 200 acres away by firing a rifle into the air. Or my great grandmother who used to visit people in their homes and give them medicinal advise, help deliver their children, or help perform last rites for people who were dying. It is up to us to write these stories and keep our culture’s history alive.
I am excited to visit students of all ages and share my journey as a native of the Rio Grande Valley.
because I was a student in the same schools and they need to know that this is a dream they can achieve.
It is imperative that students learn as much from life as they do at school. It is important for them to realize that every experience and job will build their character. Both students and adults must value the stories of their grandparents talk about the importance and benfits of their history and where they come from. When I visit schools, I talk to students about preserving their history, being mindful about their education, and about the benefits of journaling and writing.

My stories are, “Through Fields to an Education” and this is a day in the life of a migrant worker. It is a sensory rich short story that takes the reader through the day from getting on the back of a pick up truck to working in the fields in the hot sun.

The Comic Strips and Cartooning Book is an award winning resource shock full of “How-To’s” and templates for storyboarding, developing a character, and laying out a story from beginning, middle, and end. This resource begged to be put together for those students who come up and ask, “How can I get my story published?” There is an ebook available for teachers to use in the classroom when taching writing. Nothing like using a comic strip template in a lesson and to excite young writers and illustrators.

My third book, “Is That You Tooth Fairy?” is the true story of a first grader caught between two cultures when he has to choose who to give his tooth to, his (American) tooth fairy or his grandmother’s tooth fairy from Mexico, Spain, and Peru who was a mouse. This book includes appendices with information about tooth fairies from different countries.
A special bonus in this story is that three insects were hidden throughout its pages for children to find by three young students from Harlingen CISD. Students, Jaylin (8th grade), Emma (3rd grade), and Chloe (3rd grade) created these insects and helped hide them throughout the book. Inviting students to create this story was delightful and the seed has been planted that they too can be an author/illustrator.

I enjoy hosting comic strip camps for children and writing worshops for older students. I am available to be part of career day, visit classrooms, and to present to large groups.

I am working on a collection of stories and poems depicting life in the Rio Grande Valley.
In addition, I am Vice President of one of the oldest writing organization established in 1943,in the Rio Grande Valley, Valley Byliners. We are working on an anthology of short stories and poems by different creators. My social media is at: https://linktr.ee/acavazos4 Valley Byliners can be found at: www. rgvbyliners.org.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Three Qualities or areas of knowlege that were most impactul in my journey are:

One: Learn as much as you can as you journey towards long term goals. The mindset is to learn it all, not to ever think: “That is not my job”, for it is the person who has the most knowlege and skill that is more well rounded and the most likely to “get the job” or be chosen for a job.
An example of this is when I was given an Apple computer lab in 1990’s when computers were just making their appearance in an educational setting. I went to it, moving things around on the destop and just playing with it. I completely killed three computers when I dropped the hard drive into the trash can. They were not secure at the time and so it was very possible to do this. Technology was not my career pathway, but I didn’t shy away from it. It was all that I learned during the three years working in that computer lab, that gave me the skills to run a contemporary library with 60 percent of our collection online and help distribute and teach with the latest technology in terms of hardware and software.

Two: Optimism is so important. Thinking in terms of, ok this happened now, so where do I go from here?, instead of just wallowing in despair. There is a solution for everything or a new pathway to go down when things don’t go as we plan. Do not give up or feel defeated, think aobut what you learned form this experience and move forward.

Third: Take advantage of the resources around you. The vast amount of books, resources, and the latest technology I was provided throughout my career absolutely set me up with a strong background to be able to run the last library I worked in. This state of the art library was the central hub in a technology school for young adults. This knowledge also encouraged me to write my stories and help preserve hitory for my family and for readers.

My advice to anyone who is early in their journey is dream as big as you can, research and learn as much as you can about your passion to take yourself down the career pathway of your choice. Find a job in the area that you wish to work in and then take time to develop this dream/passion. You have all the tools at your fingertips, literally, and all you need is the desire to learn and reach your goals. Start learning about your dream now and hone your skills. Imagine how much stronger you will be if you hone your skills at an early age? As a student or young adult, there are many educators who will help you free of charge along the way, as an adult, everything you want to learn has a price. Put all those skills, knowledge and experience in your pocket, as you willl use it at some point in your life.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

The people who have been the most impactful in helping me overcome challenges or build and develop essential skills, qualities, or knowlede needed to be successful are members of my family. My mother and father told me that I was just as good or better than other children when they weren’t kind. They told me that education would help me have an easier life. They believed in me enough to help me get through school and gave education such a value that I could not grow any other way except in the direction I was placed.
Teachers and friends also had a hand in nudging me towards believing in myself first and foremost. My third grade teacher was kind and always pointed out my good qualities and this was essential in shaping my character as well. She read stories to us and gave us permission to let our imagination soar.

Librarians also gave me the freedom to pick any nugget of knowlege from their shelves that I wanted. They also showed me that I could read and visit places I would never see- or thought I would never see.
My children and grandchildren gave me the courage to continue building my dream when I thought I was done. They gave me the motivation to write stories down for them to enjoy long after I am gone. I have intrinsic motivation as a result of my life’s journey, which keeps me going. As an older person, I have learned to draw digitally and illustrate my stories. “Knowledge is Power “. I have control of how I design my stories, and when I design them.

You see, it truly took many people and many experiences to shape who I am. This is why it is important to learn all that we can from the world around us. “Knowledge and Skill are Power”.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All photos taken by Ana A. Cavazos

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