Adriana Citlali Brenes-Rios is the writer behind the pen name Diosa Xochiquetzalcóatl. The name Diosa means “Goddess” in Spanish and Xochiquetzalcóatl comes from the Nahuatl language. The name itself has many meanings, depending on how one wants to divide the three-word compilation. Xochiquetzal is known as the Mexica deity of fertility, sexuality, and pregnancy, whereas cóatl means “snake.” Xochitl means “flower,” whereas Quetzalcóatl is the Mexica deity of wind, motion, and wisdom. If we take the name and break it down into its three words, we have: xochitl, meaning “flower;” quetzal, meaning “bird;” and cóatl, meaning “snake”—collectively, the “blossoming of spiritual enlightenment.” Either way, Adriana Citlali resonates with all of these, and as thus, takes you on a poetic journey through the beginning phases of the Sixth Sun, the Aquarian Age, and the New World in an attempt to shed outdated belief systems, dismantle the oppressive structures of the past, and bring to light that which serves the greater good.

About the Author

Diosa Xochiquetzalcóatl, or Diosa X for short, is a multilingual and multidimensional Xicana, Indigenous, MeXicana poetiza. She is a seasoned language arts educator with a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in Cross-Cultural Education, as well as a Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Instructor and a student of Nahualísmo. Diosa X has been writing since her preteen years, first publishing her poems in her high school’s bilingual literary magazine, Las Voces. But it wasn’t until adulthood that she began to participate in open mics at Tia Chucha’s and Tonalli Studios; and it was then that she recommitted to her poetry and finally embraced her life as a poet, and eventually, author.

In 2022, Diosa participated and won Chicago’s only Spanish-language slam, Slam Diáspora, which sent her, in partnership with the Fiesta Literaria de la las Periferias (FLUP) to the continental tournament, Abya Yala: Copa América de Poetry Slam in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prior to this experience, she also competed in the 2017 CABE Conference Spoken Word Competition, tying for first. Most recently, Diosa X became the RGVIPF’s first slam champion in 2023.  

In the world of publishing, her poem, I Think I Was Born Angry, which is part of her full-length poetry collection, West of the Santa and Other Sacred Places (Riot of Roses Publishing, 2023) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in that same year. Additionally, her first short story, Desierto, was nominated for the Best Small Fictions Award in 2023. Furthermore, her poetry collection titled, When the Leaves Come Tumbling Down, which was entered into Inlandia’s Hillary Gravendyke Prize in 2023, received Regional 2nd Runner Up, and from that same collection, Diosa’s second short story, The Weight of the Scales, was nominated for Best Raza Short Story of the Year 2023 which made finalist.

Diosa X has been published in a variety of anthologies, journals and magazines on both side of the US-Mexico border and most recently, Brazil. Some of these publications include: the Latino Book Review; the Somos Xicanas anthology by Riot of Roses; Cabrillo College’s Journal X; the Los Angeles Press; RGVIPF’s anthology, Boundless 2023 and 2024; anthologies by Coordenadas de voces femeninas in Mexico; the Praxinoscope anthologies; Mobile Data Magazine; Inlandia’s Literary Journal; and the San Diego Poetry Annual 2023-24; to name a few.     

This poet has facilitated poetry workshops in English, Spanish, and bilingually for the Sims Library/Los Angeles Public Library’s Adult Literacy Program; Tumblewords Project; Contracorriente: Cruce de poesía y transgresión, a binational women writers retreat in Ixtapa, Mexico; Ovitt Library in the city of Ontario; the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival; Circulo de poetas and writers Conference, the La Raza Youth Empowerment Conference at LA Mission College, Palabras del Pueblo, and several SoCal schools as a Poet-Teacher with California Poets in Schools.

Diosa Xochiquetzalcóatl is currently serving as a board member for Circulo de poetas and Writers at https://circulowriters.com/; works as a Poet-Teacher wtih California Poets in the Schools at https://www.californiapoets.org/ as well as a Writing Coach for Quill and Company; is an active member of Women Who Submit at https://womenwhosubmitlit.org/ and the international women’s poetry troupe, Tesoro at https://firesingers.com/; and lastly, is a proud contributor to Somos Xicanas: The All Xicana, Multi-Genre Anthology at https://www.somosxicanas.com/.

May we always continue to seek the light in the darkest moments of our journey.

~Adriana Citlali Brenes-Ríos

Photograph by Stacy Soriano Photography