ABOUT ME

I fall in love easily.

With books, movies, music, podcasts, art, theater, and anything else related to pop culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).


The Defiant Curtsy melds two of my passions – pop culture and equity – to give readers the perspective of someone with multiple identities:

Daughter of an immigrant from the Philippines and a Mexican American artist who grew up in East L.A.

Sister. Aunt. Cousin. Friend. Colleague. First generation college graduate.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was the first Young Adult (YA) novel that inspired me to write fiction. Katniss’ iconic curtsy after performing the skills demonstration inspired this website’s name.

(Of course, Lucy Gray Baird’s defiant curtsy in the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is the one that started it all.)

I hope my take on pop culture and equity & inclusion resonates with you!

Welcome!

Tour de Fat, 2022. Photo by Allison Song of Heritage and Bloom.