CMASR Special Collections

Biographical Sketch and Historical Background

Angela de Hoyos was a Chicana, poet, author, songwriter and artist active during the 1960’s through the 1980’s in San Antonio, Texas. Born in Coahuila, Mexico she came to the United States as a child with her family. She graduated from Fox Tech High School during the 1940’s and worked as dressmaker. This career is credited with sparking her creative and artistic interests, and through which she met her husband Moises Sandoval whom she married in 1954.

Many of the works of Angela de Hoyos feature feminism, gender, self-reliance, and Chicana philosophy as dominant themes. Throughout her career, she met and mentored prominent Chicana poets and writers in the San Antonio area such as Carmen Tafolla, Evangelina Vigil, and Norma Cantú, many of whose works were published under the printing company owned by her and her husband, M&A Editions. In 2009 she passed away, leaving behind a prolific literary and artistic legacy through which she gained the posthumous sobriquet Poeta del Pueblo.

In the fall of 2021 Moises Sandoval, the husband of Angela de Hoyos, donated materials related to her career as a Chicana author and artist to the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research at Our Lady of the Lake University, under the auspices of Dr. Aimee Villarreal where it currently resides. Joseph de León, CMASR staff and Samuel Delgado, student intern, contributed to the creation of this inventory.

Scope and Content Note

The Angela de Hoyos papers (1924 to 2009) contain approximately 5 linear feet of printed and digitally scanned documents, audio and video saved on CD and DVD (1941 to 2021.) The printed documents include original poetry, books by Angela de Hoyos, instructional pamphlets, awards and recognitions, royalty statements, written correspondence, and various publications in which she was mentioned, or her work was featured. There are also CDs, DVDs, and printed books containing work by de Hoyos, her husband Moises Sandoval, as well as various other artists published by de Hoyos and Sandoval’s publishing company, M&A Editions. The scanned files contain photos of paintings, sculptures, block prints, dresses, and pottery created by de Hoyos, along with poetry and books, instructional pamphlets, awards and recognitions, financial statements, written correspondence, and various publications in which she was mentioned or her work was featured. Also included are original poems and writings by Moses Sandoval (2009-2021.)