Biography

Dr. Ernesto Antonio Mares, was born May 17, 1938 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mares attended the San Felipe de Neri School in Old Town Albuquerque and St. Mary's parochial high school. He completed a bachelor's degree in Spanish in 1960 from the University of New Mexico, were he studied with the exiled Spanish novelist Ramón Sender and the New Mexican author Sabine Ulibarrí. In 1962 Mares obtained a master's degree in Spanish from Florida State University, with a thesis entitled, The Philosophy of José Ortega y Gassett: Towards an Ultra-Utopian Society.

Two years of teaching Spanish at North Texas State University in Denton dampened Mares' enthusiasm as a language teacher but awakened his professional interest in history and political activism. He returned to the University of New Mexico in 1965 as a doctoral student in history and helped organize the UNM chapter of Students for a Democratic Society. His 1974 dissertation is entitled, Elements of Myth in Spanish Thought and in the Writings of the Generation of 1898.

While at the University of Arkansas from 1967 through 1969, Mares participated in workshops conducted by Jim Whitehead, James Seay, James Dickey, Allen Ginsberg and Miller Williams. It was at this time that Mares honed his poetic craft.

Dr. Mares has taught at several institutions including New Mexico Highlands University, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, North Texas State University and was curator of education at the Albuquerque Museum. He is also a frequent contributor to the review pages of local newspapers and journals including the Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe Reporter.

Mares' most significant early publications as a poet and essayist were with the Academia de la Nueva Raza and its journal Cuaderno. His career as a dramatist began in 1979 with the Compañía de Teatro de Albuquerque's production of his play Lola's Last Dance. Mares' most recent essays deal with issues of science and ethics in New Mexico. His works include: Myth and Reality: Observations on American Myths and the Myth of Aztlan, 1973; The Unicorn Poem, 1980; Padre Antonio José Martínez de Taos, 1983; Las Vegas, New Mexico: a Portrait, 1983; El Corrido de Joaquín Murieta, 1984; Los Alamos: From Where the Zig-Zag Lightning Strikes, 1985; Padre Martínez: New Perspectives from Taos, 1988; and The Shepherd of Pan Duro, 1989.