Ramona González Collected Writings

Ramona González (1906-1995) was born and raised in El Paso, Texas in the city's Chihuahuita neighborhood. As a young child Ramona wanted to become a journalist and writer. She graduated from El Paso High School in 1924 and subsequently devoted herself to a domestic life in central El Paso in 1930. González known as Doña Ramona raised four children.

Doña Ramona live on the U.S./Mexico border for 89 years and her writings reflect that lived experience – growing up in a bilingual and bicultural city and her knowledge of the Chihuahuita neighborhood. Doña Ramona was a community cook and store owner, she ran González Grocery for forty years.

In the 1950s-1970s, Ramona returned to her dreams of being a writer. Five of her Spanish language short stories appeared in Book 1 Chicanas en la literatura y el arte (1973) of the four-part book series from El Grito, the Chicano literary journal.

Doña Ramona mainly wrote in Spanish and self-translated some of her work into English.

In 2014, Ramona's daughter, Dr. Norma G. Hernández recovered and shared with the family a box of Ramona's writings.

A majority of Doña Ramona's writings were translated into English by Dr. Neil J. Devereaux, her son-in-law.

The forthcoming Rhymes and Stories from a Far West Texas Border Barrio: The Writings of Doña Ramona González by Dr. Cristina D. Ramírez will share Doña Ramona's writings with a wider audience. Dr. Ramírez is Ramona's granddaughter.

Sources:

The Ramona González Papers Biography page, Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections, accessed May 30, 2023, https://usldhrecovery.uh.edu/exhibits/show/the-ramona-gonzalez-papers/biography

"El Grito (Book Series) Book 1," Open Door Archive, accessed June 6, 2023, https://opendoor.northwestern.edu/archive/items/show/378

Cuadros, https://usldhrecovery.uh.edu/exhibits/show/the-ramona-gonzalez-papers/cuadros