María Acosta Cruz received a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature from the State University of New York at Binghamton. She is Full Professor of Spanish at Clark University, USA, where she explores Hispanic Caribbean language and culture issues. Using ecocriticism, she looks at the impacts of socio-political history on nationhood, gender constructions, and Puerto Rican culture. Among her published works is Dream Nation: Puerto Rican Culture & the Fictions of Independence.