Isidra Mencos: Promenade of Desire

Isidra Mencos was born and raised in Barcelona when her home country was under the oppressive rule of Franco and strict religious teachings. Isidra spent her twenties experimenting with the new freedoms afforded by the end of Franco’s dictatorship, causing her to have a double life of “good girl” and “rebel.” She immersed herself in books and dancing, and working at various jobs. In 1992 she moved to the US to earn a Ph.D. in Spanish and Latin American contemporary literature at UC Berkeley, where she taught for twelve years. After a ten-year stint in the corporate world managing teams in several countries, in 2016 she focused on creative writing. She tells of her journey in her memoir, Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir, published in 2022.