Chávez was born to a Mexican American family in
Las Cruces, New Mexico.[2] The first story she wrote was when she was 8, about the
willow tree outside her house.[3] Chávez attended
Catholic school for twelve years.[4] She graduated from Madonna High School in
Mesilla. While in High School, she won a full tuition scholarship to study
drama at
New Mexico State University (NMSU).[5] She received her Bachelor's from NMSU in 1971 and master's degrees in Theater from
Trinity University in 1974.[4][6] While in college, she began writing dramatic works. Later she entered the
MFA program at the
University of New Mexico (UNM) and earned a degree in Creative Writing in 1984 under the direction of mentors
Rudolfo Anaya and
Tony Hillerman.[4][7]
Chávez says that when she is creating new work, she writes in whatever language she is "in the mood to write in," using either
English or
Spanish.[16] Her work questions reality and examines how people's lives follow patterns.[8] She is also interested in writing about people who are often overlooked by society, or considered "invisible."[17] Her characters have individual and unique voices.[4]
In 1986, Chávez published her first collection of short stories, The Last of the Menu Girls. The stories are about a
Chicana young adult living in New Mexico.[18] The female characters in these stories are "well-focused, occasionally naive but never weak," writes the Albuquerque Journal.[19]
Her first novel was Face of An Angel, published in 1994.[2]Face took her seven and a half years to complete.[2] The Albuquerque Journal compared it to
Thomas Wolfe'sLook Homeward, Angel, writing that "Both novels are mammoth in text, deal with family trappings and bickering, are suspiciously autobiographical and give eloquent testimony to oppressive, mundane living."[20]
Chávez published a novel, Loving Pedro Infante in 2001. It is a humorous story about "mismatched lovers," according to the Arizona Daily Star.[21] A story from
Gannett News Service wrote that the story explores "excuses women make for their involvement with men who are no good for them."[22]
Works
The Last of the Menu Girls, Arte Publico Press, 1986