Elena Poniatowska

About

Notable for her human rights-themed works of journalism and fiction, she is particularly recognized for her nonfiction work La Noche de Tlatelolco (1971), which deals with the 1968 massacre of protesting students by the Mexican military and police forces.

Before Fame

When she was only eighteen years old, she began writing for Mexico City's Excelsior daily paper.

Trivia

Her acclaimed, feminist-themed novels include Lilus Kikusy (1954); Hasta no Verte Jesus Mio (1969); and Tinisima (1992). In 2013, she became the fourth female recipient of the prestigious Miguel de Cervantes Prize in Literature.

Family Life

The daughter of French-Polish nobleman Jean Joseph Evremond Sperry Poniatowski and French-born-Mexican mother Maria Dolores Paulette Amor Yturbe, she spent her youth in France and Mexico. She married the Mexican astronomer and astrophysicist Guillermo Haro and welcomed children named Emmanuel, Felipe, and Paula.

Associated With

Her essay Las Siete Cabritas (2000) focuses on the artist Frida Kahlo and six other influential, twentieth-century Mexican women.