BIO

Bonnie Ilza Cisneros is a fourth-generation educator in a line of Tejana schoolteachers. She taught middle school English for five years in San Antonio Independent School District and coordinated the El Placazo Barrio Newspaper program at San Anto Cultural Arts. Bonnie earned a Creative Writing Master's degree from Texas State University, was altered forever at the Macondo Writers Workshop in 2016, and was awarded the first artist grant she ever submitted from NALAC in 2018.

Her poems and essays appear in El Retorno, Chicana/Latina Studies, R iver Teeth, Porter House Review, Infrarrealista Review, La Voz de Esperanza, Buckman Journal, and Contemporary Creative Nonfiction.

Moonlighting as DJ Despeinada, she spins all-vinyl soundscapes of the borderlands. Throughout the pandemic, she has led workshops and published zines at San Antonio Public and Chicago Public libraries, presented lectures for community colleges and universities, recorded radio shows for WFMU, and curated a vast variety of cultural experiences within her community as part of an ecosystem of local artists who cross-pollinate their talents, resources, and energies for collective healing.

All the while, Bonnie and her husband raise two m’ijas and keep a flock of six gallinas in San Antonio, Texas. She has many exciting upcoming projects and is available for creative commissions, DJ gigs, and collaborations.

Bonnie’s work is a continuation of her Río Grande Valley ancestors who were educators, artists, poets, and storytellers. She is determined to remember the history and culture of South Texas, and is currently at work on Saluté International Bar archival zine publication (Bisnieta Press) and art/artifact exhibition at Central Library Art Gallery (March 2026) while curating a group art exhibition, Madre_Land, for the City of San Antonio at Centro de Artes in historic Market Square, which opens in October 2026.

Education & Experience

School Girl Por Vida

University of the Incarnate Word, BA Interdisciplinary Studies, Concentration in English, 2000.

Portland Community College, 24 hours English/Screenwriting/ Film Studies, just for fun, 2006-2008.

Texas State University, MFA Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction Thesis, 2017.

Maestra For Life

Texas Certified Teacher, Grades 1-8,

English/Language Arts Specialization..

Teaching Cred

Nathaniel Hawthorne Academy,

San Antonio Independent School District,

7th and 8th Grade ELA/Social Studies Teacher,

2003-2006 & again from 2009-2011.

San Anto Cultural Arts

El Placazo Barrio Newspaper Coordinator & Editor

2011 - 2012

Six issues of the publication with themes including Urban Farming, Ancestral Knowledge, Domestic Violence, Día de los Muertos, La Pinta, Sustainability, School to Prison Pipeline, Youth Empowerment, Graphic Design, Poesia y Performance, Oral History, Mural Projects.

DJ Despeinada

Vinyl DJ

2011 - now

Vinyl Me, Please brand ambassador,

coordinator of The Spins, a worldwide vinyl listening party

@ La Botánica & Luchador Bar

2017 - 2019

PUBLICATIONS & EXHIBITIONS

• Madre_Land: South Texas Group Art Exhibition curator, Centro De Arts, San Antonio, Texas, October 2025.

Songs in the Key of SWU, Vol. 2: Dignidad, Justicia, Liberación. Southwest Workers Union, Spotify SúperMix, 2024.

• Connecting the Dots: Sam Rawls's 'Latent Blatant' & the Art of Healing Ourselves. Creative nonfiction essay/art criticism for Presa House Gallery. San Antonio, Texas. December 2023.

• Siempre Verde: Creative Ecosystem for Feeling & Healing zine catalogue featuring artwork, artist interviews, essays by Dr. Sylvia Mendoza & Bonnie Cisneros, and cover art by Linda Monsivais Hernandez. Bisnieta Press. San Antonio, Texas. December 2023.

• Siempre Verde: Creative Ecosystem for Feeling & Healing. Curatorial debut / group art exhibition featuring 24 San Anto artists + 1 from Chicago. Galeria E.V.A. San Antonio, Texas, October 2023.

• Padre_Land: Altar for Sergio Angel & Salvador Alberto. A multimedia collage in collaboration with my mother, Ilza Villarreal for Nuestra Delta Mágica: Settler Imaginaries & Community Resistance, curated by Nansi Guevara y Monica A. Sosa. Brownsville, Texas, April 2023.

• Recuérdela: Rosas Pa' Rosie Jimenez commissioned altar art for Planned Parenthood South Texas, November 2022.

• DJ Despeinada's Molcajete de Música playlist for Panocha Zine, November 2022.

• "When We Get Home" commissioned essay for the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture's The Status of Women in San Antonio: Reflections on the Pursuit of Gender Equality official exhibition catalogue, October 2022.

• "Tejas is Heaven to Me" Guest Radio Show for Marfa Public Radio's Mi Tesoro Hour. Mixed & Mastered by Jeremy McCord Longoria at Hot Box Studio in Dale, Texas, July 2022.

• "Altar-ing Con Nuestro Poder" Zine Workshop Series for Latinx Heritage Month 2021 at Chicago Public Library in collaboration with Daylily Alvarez & Jaime Bravo, Independence Branch. Zine Release March 2022.

• "Emergency Dance Break" Spotify playlist commissioned for radical joy coach Jordan Maney's Emergency Break Slumber Party, 2021.

• "Sanarás Mañana: music is medicine mix" Spotify playlist commissioned by SanArte Healing & Cultura Clinic for their Circulo de Remedios herbal gathering, 2021.

• "I know who you are." Spotify playlist for ire'ne lara silva's "Hibiscus Tacos" published by Alabrava Press, San Antonio, Texas, 2021.

• "Tenemos Más Influencia: DJ Despeinada's Jukebox Chicanx" Infrarrealista Review issue 1.5, Plancha Press: 2021 + Spotify playlist, 2021.

• Bubble Fest at Home, 2021. Backyard DJ set filmed by Santiago Lopez IV/GIV Productions in San Anto, Texas for Ruby City + Spare Parts. JULY 2021

• "Take a Trip, but Come Home Soon." WFMU Radio Row Guest Spot #3, JULY 2021

• "Aretes in the Alley" for Centro San Antonio Peacock Alley Friyay Activation: DJ, concept & coordination. July 2021.

• "Boca Chica Beach, Texas: The Soundtrack." Spotify Mix for Our Ancestral Beach with Great Love for the water, the living beings, and all our stories. APRIL 2021

• "Raza y Rolas" Radio Xicanismo Interview & Mini DJ Set w/ Xico González. FEB 2021

• “Love Came Here and Never Left” WFMU.org Radio Row Guest Spot #2,. FEB 2021

• "The Beauty That Has Always Been Here: Tejana Rebirth, San Anto Style." Mixcloud Radio Show for Manny Castillo & All Who Loved Him. DEC 2020

• “Missing My Muertos” WFMU Radio Row Guest Spot #1, NOV 2020

• Bubble Fest at Home: Backyard DJ set filmed on a iPad taped to a shovel by Carlos Sanchez De La Garza in San Anto, Texas for Ruby City & SpareParts. SEPT 2020

• Altar-ing: A Latinx Memoir Workshop Zine. Editor, SA Public Library. SEPT 2020

• "Que Florezca la Luz, San Antonio" Luminaria 2018 Festival Catalogue & La Voz Vol 33, Issue 7.

• “Bienvenidxs a San Anto: A Literary Guide to My Beloved City.” Porter House Review, 2020

• Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: An Anthology. Debra Monroe, Ed. In which “The Ana Files” is anthologized amongst the greats. 2019

• Grunge Tejana: An Altar of Artifacts for “The Ana Files.” Plancha Press. 2018

• River Teeth Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2 “The Ana Files.” 2018

• Buckman Journal. “South Texas Gift de Thrift.” 2018

• Deep in the Corazón. Master's of Fine Arts/Creative Writing Thesis, Texas State University. San Marcos, TX / 2018.

• Front Porch Journal. “Resilient Como Nopales.” 2016

• Front Porch Journal. “Preguntas for Ana Castillo.” 2016

• Chicana/Latina Studies: The Journal of MALCS. “How the Sábado Gigante Dancers Changed.” 2013

• Tejano Conjunto Festival Magazine. “El Corrido de Azeneth y Esteban.” Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. 2013

• El Retorno: Our Serpent’s Tongue. University of Texas RGV Press. “Ciudad Hermana / Sister City.” 2013

WORKSHOPS & GUEST LECTURES

• Domestic Poetics: Or How I Made a Home of Poems. Guest Lecture & Writing Workshop for Dr. Cecily Parks, Graduate Poetry Workshop, Texas State University. February 2024.

• On the Record: Becoming DJ Despeinada Guest Lecture, Hispanic Heritage Month, Northwest Vista College. Oct. 2023.

• Nicho Sonido: Música for Grieving & Healing. DJ stage curation + Evergreen Garden installation + FREE art print commission for Muertos Fest at Hemisfair Park in San Antonio, Texas. 2021, 2022, 2023.

• "Es Mi Orgullo Ser" archival vinyl DJ set for Soy de Tejas: A Statewide Survey of Latinx Art curated by Rigoberto Luna. Centro de Artes, San Antonio, Texas, February 2023.

• Style Files: Ancestral Aesthetics of South Texas---Ayer, Hoy, y Siempre Teaching to Power Speaker Series, Dr. Sylvia Mendoza, UTSA Women's History Month, March 9, 2022. ZINE FORTHCOMING.

• "Siempre Verde: Feeling & Healing in a Creative Mutual Aid Ecosystem in San Antonio, Texas During the Pandemic & Beyond." Field-Wide Conversation, National Association for Latino Arts and Culture: National Latin Summit. October 2, 2021.

• Save As: San Anto Archives, Altars, Arts, & Autohistoria in the Digital Age y Después. Guest Lecture at Dr. Sylvia Mendoza's Mexican American Studies Research / Feminist Research Methodologies class. April 1, 2021. UTSA.

• Tejanas Behind the Turntables: Spinning Cultural Context & Curating Selections. Presentation and Playlist, Northwest Vista College. 2020.

• Altar-ing: A Latinx Memoir Workshop Series, Latino Collection and Resource Center @ San Antonio Public Library. 2019.

• Border/Bordad: Writing, Embroidery, Creating Autohistoria in San Antonio, Latino Collection and Resource Center @ San Antonio Public Library w/ Laurie Ann Guerrero & Sarah Castillo. 2018.

• Chingona Fest. La Botánica, San Antonio, Texas. Workshops, DJs, Vendors, Poesia. w/ Denise Hernández, Cristina Martinez, Rebel Mariposa. 2016.

• Sandra Cisneros Archive Committee. Wittliff Collections, Texas State Univeristy, San Marcos, Texas. Archive Grand Opening and La Botánica Celebration. 2015.

• Dr. Carmen Tafolla Rebozos Publication Celebration. Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, San Antonio, Texas. Co-coordinated Event. 2012.

• Dr. Carmen Tafolla. San Pedro Springs Event. Co-coordinated event and Original Poem Performed by Dr. Tafolla. 2012.

• Noche de Poesia, Día de los Muertos Barrio Procession, Huevos Rancheros Gala. San Anto Cultural Arts. Co-coordinated events, 2010-2011.

• Love Lost and Found. Fiesta Me Molesta, Ugly Sweater Party at Saluté International Bar, N. St.Mary's Strip, San Anto, Texas. 2009-2011.

Awards & Such

James E. Tilton Creative Writing Award, University of the Incarnate Word, 1999.

One-Act Play Festival. “The Ballad of Sad Antonio.” Portland Community College. 2009.

Macondo Writers Workshop, 2015.

National Association of Latino Arts & Culture, NFA Grantee, 2018.

Interviews & Bits of Press

‘Sunday is for oldies’: Local DJs put a new spin on San Antonio’s Westside sound

by Josh Feola October 18, 2020

'A labor of love': MFA women express inclusivity, culture through writing

by Andie Mau March 31, 2021

San Antonio Public Library Celebrates National Library Week - Message from Bonnie, Patron and local DJ, April 7, 2021

DJ'ing as Community Education: An Interview with Infrarrealista Review,

by Cloud Cardona August 30. 2022.

La Zona, San Antonio's cool new place to play, is hidden away in a historic stretch of downtown,

by Deborah Martin August 30, 2022

Words on a Wire Radio Show with host Tim Z. Hernandez on KTEP, November 2022.