We are so excited that our Spring Issue for 2026 is finally in the world. As co-directors, we have spent the late fall and spring adjusting to our new roles and workflow following the death of our co-director, Michele Shaul, in the fall. Michele has left impossibly large shoes to fill, and we miss her insight, humor, and wisdom dearly. She was deeply involved in the early editorial work for this issue, and it has been a bittersweet honor to finish the work she started.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You may notice we have made a few changes to the issue that we intend to be permanent moving forward. We have moved to continuous numbering inside each volume, in line with industry practice. After some discussion, we have also decided to change the default font for the journal, which will be visible in the PDF articles. We are moving from Times New Roman font to Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, a family of fonts created by the Braille Institute. <\/span>Atkinson Hyper<\/span>legible<\/a> focuses on letterform distinction and thus is a font that is easier to read. The font is available and free for public use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A special thanks to all the contributors to this issue. Thank you for your patience with this process and for the grace you have shown. We appreciate you and are grateful you have trusted us with your work!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Melissa Birkhofer and Lorna L. Perez, Co-Directors<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Melissa Villa-Nicholas<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Melissa Villa-Nicholas<\/b>\u00a0is an associate professor at UCLA’s Department of Information Studies. Her work focuses on the histories and practices of information and technology among Latinxs, immigrant information rights, and critical approaches to information science. Her first book, <\/span>Latinas on the Line: Invisible Information Workers in Telecommunications<\/span><\/i> (Rutgers Press), received an honorable mention from the Labor Tech Network book award for 2022. Her second book, <\/span>Data Borders: How Silicon Valley is Building an Industry Around Immigrants,<\/span><\/i> was released with UC Press and received the McGannon Center Book Award from Fordham University (2023) and the Association of Borderlands Studies Past President Book Award (2025).\u00a0<\/span> <\/p>\n By Leah Ariana Silva<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Leah Ariana Silva<\/b>\u00a0holds both a master’s degree (Texas State University) and a Ph.D.(The University of Arizona) in Spanish Literature. Her research interests center around Mexican-origin theater\u00a0<\/span>and the capacity of this art form to influence Mexican-origin communities, Mexican-origin representation within the greater American community, and the merging of communities from different cultural backgrounds. <\/span>Currently, she is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish at St. Mary\u2019s University and enjoys playwriting in her spare time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo<\/b>\u00a0is a professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies and American Studies and Culture at Washington State University Vancouver.\u00a0 Her books\u00a0<\/span>Feminism after 9\/11: Women\u2019s Bodies as Cultural and Political Threat\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Palgrave MacMillan 2017),\u00a0<\/span>Project(ing) 9\/11: Race, Gender, and Citizenship in recent Hollywood Films<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(Rowman and Littlefield 2014), and\u00a0<\/span>Containing (Un)American Bodies: Race, Sexuality, and Post-9\/11 Constructions of Citizenship<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(Rodopi 2010) were co-authored with Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo. Her edited collection\u00a0<\/span>A New Kind of Containment: \u201cThe War on Terror,\u201d Race, and Sexuality\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Rodopi 2009) was also co-edited with Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo, and her book\u00a0<\/span>Animating Difference:\u00a0 Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary Films<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>for Children<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(Rowman and Littlefield 2010), was co-authored with C. Richard King and Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo. Dr. Lugo-Lugo has also (co)authored numerous articles and book chapters on cultural productions of 9\/11, and cultural constructions of race, culture, citizenship, immigration, and gender, as well as Latinas\/os in US popular culture.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Keishla Rivera-Lopez<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Keishla Rivera-Lopez<\/b>\u00a0is a literary and cultural studies scholar, writer, and poet specializing in Latina\/o and Caribbean literature, Latinx Studies, and Puerto Rican Studies with a focus on Latinidad, cultural production, archives, and memory. She received a PhD in American Studies at The Graduate School-Newark at Rutgers University, where she was awarded the 2019-2020 Dean\u2019s Dissertation Fellowship. Currently, Keishla is a visiting assistant professor in the English Department at Haverford College.\u00a0\u00a0Keishla was born and raised in Newark, NJ, to Puerto Rican migrants and reflects on what it means to be a child of diaspora in her scholarship and writing. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, short stories, plays, and essays. Her writing has been published in <\/span>Centro Journal,<\/span><\/i> Label Me Latina\/o Journal<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Hispan\u00f3fila Journal<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Chiric\u00fa Journal<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>The Acentos Review,<\/span><\/i> Decolonial Passage<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>The Newarker<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>The Journal for Latina Feminist Criticism<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Angelica Barajas<\/strong><\/p>\n Angelica Barajas<\/b> is a graduate student at San Diego State University, receiving her Master\u2019s in Feminist Studies. She received her undergraduate degree from California State University, Fullerton, in Women\u2019s Studies, with minors in American and Chicana\/o Studies. Her research interests include Chicanx art, public Los Angeles memory, and the politics of pleasure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\nArticles<\/h2>\n
The Shadowed Self Archetype of Mexican Gender and Technology in Michael Pe\u00f1a Films <\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/span>Acknowledgements: The author gratefully acknowledges Anna Robinson-Sweet for reviewing and editing early drafts of this article, and Sydney Triola for providing theoretical support for this work. The author also thanks the editors and reviewers of Label Me Latina\/o. Finally, the author honors the memory of Michele Shaul, an early editor of this work.<\/span><\/p>\nMexican-American Theater: Challenging the Marginalization of Mexican-Origin Communities in Education and Immigration<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n
Short Stories<\/h2>\n
La Oscuridad<\/a><\/h3>\n
The Watcher <\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n
Poetry<\/h2>\n
Placements <\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n
Love Letter and Twisted Gold <\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n