Brenda Montaño is Xicana-Indigena from California. Her ancestors come from what is today southern California and Jalisco, Mexico. She was raised in the Inland Empire but has deep roots in both the Bay Area and Northern California.

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Brenda's work is grounded in Xicanisma, Reproductive Justice, Traditional Mexican Medicine, Indigenous wisdom, environmentalism and grassroots organizing. She has always recognized the power of the written and spoken word and now, as a mother, has been enlightened by the magic of birth. 

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Brenda received her BA in Raza Studies and Journalism from San Francisco State University. Her schooling connected her to community organizations, such as the Freedom Archives and the SF Day Laborer Program and Women's Collective; as well as publications like El Tecolote and Cipactli. In 2013 she started Zines Rasquache with her first two zines: East Oakland Tierra de Lucha y Limones and Xicanistas y Punkeristas: Say it Loud! Over the last decade, Brenda has been behind the creation of several zines. Her work has been shared with people from around the world. Today, she loves hosting zine workshops for community at both the virtual and in-person level. 

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In 2016 she completed a full spectrum doula training with Roots of Labor Birth Collective after a traumatic birth left her feeling lost. This experience opened her up to the beautiful network of birthwork. Since 2016, she has completed training in:

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• Placenta encapsulation

• Abortion Doula Support

• Lactation Education Specialist

• Cerradas

• Full-spectrum birth support
   

Over the years, Brenda has had the pleasure in supporting several organizations and individuals whose focus is in perinatal wellness. These include Sumi's Touch,

Indigemama and Corazon Counseling and most recently, Seeds of Ancestral Renewal. 

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Outside of media making and birth work, Brenda loves spending time outside with her plantitas, familia and ancestor trees, laughing with her community, and learning new, necessary, self sustaining skills in preparation for the (r)evolution.

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Follow her on Instagram to get a further glimpse into her daily life @zineswithsol