A writer, performer, and teacher, Michelle Otero is the author of Malinche’s Daughter, an essay collection based on her work with women survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her work has appeared in Artful Dodge, Brevity, and Puerto del Sol, and her awards include an Associated Writing Programs Intro Journal Award and a Fulbright Fellowship. She is a member of the Macondo Writers’ Workshop.
Together with visual artist Chrissie Orr, she teaches multigenerational art and storytelling workshops through El Otro Lado: The Stories that Connect Us. She holds a B.A. in History from Harvard University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College. A tenth-generation New Mexican, she is Creative Director of Valle Encantado, an organization promoting sustainable development initiatives in the Atrisco historic core in Albuquerque, and co-founder of Connecting Community Voices, an Albuquerque-based organization building positive social change through creative community expression.
Vessel 
I am a survivor of both sexual abuse and domestic violence and I am always looking for my brothers and sisters who share my voice. I speak out through my poetry and my blog.
Michelle,
I am a 100% disabled veteran and I recieve disability for the Veterans Administration as well as Social Security. It is hard to think that I gave up 8 years of my life, seen and have been party to atrocities. All the while knowing I would be taken care of if anything happened to me. After I left the Army I spent 4 years getting disability and 2 more to get social security. Then I read in the news that for the third year in a row, there will be no increase in COLA. All the while gas prices go up, mortgages are still there. And life goes on.
Ike, thank you so much for sharing this on the blog. More importantly, thank you for your service. Yes, it’s the agreement that those in the military make with our government, that they will be taken care of if anything happens to them.
My maternal grandfather was also a 100% disabled veteran, due to the trauma he experienced in World War II. If it weren’t for the VA and Social Security, he would not have been able to support himself or his family. Now, here we are, two generations later, and these programs aren’t receiving the funding they need to keep up with the rising cost of living. I hope this changes, for you and for all the men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Please let me know how I can help, if there is a specific piece of legislation that my readers and I can push our lawmakers to support.
Michelle, by reading your available information, I’m learning more about you! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and the very important work you do in so many respects. I’d like to talk to you as soon as possible about the Albuquerque Cultural Conference. Please write me at jcrawfor@unm.edu or call 362-4062. Thanks so much.
Hola Michael me recuerdas soy Claudia de Oaxaca estaré en santa fe para la fiesta de viva México en el rancho de las golondrinas. Te mando un fuerte saludo