Natalia Toledo Paz (born 1968) is a Mexican poet who writes in Spanish and Zapotec. Her work helped to revive interest in the Zapotec language.[1] Ida Kozlowska-Day states that Toledo is "one of the most recognized contemporary poets in the native languages of Mexico."[2]
Toledo Paz was born in Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca.[3] She is daughter of the painter Francisco Toledo[4] and sister of Dr Lakra. Until she was seven and moved to Mexico City, Toledo Paz lived in a community where Zapotec was the main language spoken.[2] Toledo Paz has been writing since she was young.[1] Toledo Paz studied in Casa de la Cultura de Juchitán and Sociedad General de Escritores de México (the General Society of Writers of Mexico, SOGEM).[3]
Toledo Paz's writing has been concerned with women and their relationship to the environment.[5] Her writing, along with other writers' use of the Zapotec language in their work, has helped boost demand in Mexico to make indigenous cultures more visible.[6] Toledo Paz enjoys using the Zapotec language because she feels that it has "a great aesthetic sensibility for creating images and beauty."[2]
Toledo Paz has also collaborated with her father, Francisco, to create children's stories, such as Light Foot/Pies ligeros (2007).[7]
Toledo Paz has been a fellow of Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (the National Fund for Culture and for the Arts, FONCA) (1994–1995; 2001–2002), and Fondo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes de Oaxaca (the Fund for Culture and for the Arts of Oaxaca, FOESCA) (1995–1996).[3]
She is the president of Patronato de la Casa de la Cultura de Juchitán (Fund of the House of Culture of Juchitán).
^Wadham, Tim (March 2008). "Light Foot/Pies ligeros". School Library Journal. 54 (3): 192. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
^Rosario, Mari Pino del (2014). "Global Issues in Contemporary Hispanic Women's Writing: Shaping Gender, the Environment, and Politics". Hispania (1): 154–155. doi:10.1353/hpn.2014.0006. S2CID143936518.