Mayra Santos-Febres was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. She is an author, professor, and researcher. She studied literature at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and has a doctorate from Cornell University. She is the coordinator of the Racial and Afrodiasporic Studies Program at the University of Puerto Rico. She has won numerous international awards and recognitions. Her literary work has been translated into French, English, Italian, Romanian, Korean, Portuguese and Icelandic. She has published the poetry collections Anamú y manigua (1990), El orden escapado (1991), Boat People (1994), Tercer Mundo (2004), Lecciones de renuncia (2021) and Huracanada (2018). Her essay book Sobre piel y papel (2005). Her books of short stories include Pez de vidrio y otros cuentos, El cuerpo correcto, Un pasado posible and Mujeres violentas. And among her novels are Sirena Selena vestida de pena (2001), Cualquier miércoles soy tuya (2002), Fe en disfraz (2009), Nuestra Señora de la noche (2006), La amante de Gardel (2015), Huracana (2018) and Antes que llegue la luz (2021).