ULIBARRI, Sabine R(eyes) 1919-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born September 21, 1919, in Santa Fe, NM; died of cancer January 4, 2003, in Albuquerque, NM. Educator, poet, and author. Ulibarri was best known for his short fiction, often written in Spanish and frequently published in bilingual editions. A proponent of the Chicano movement in American literature from the 1960s onward, Ulibarri wrote poetry and short stories about Chicano life in New Mexico. His fiction sometimes employed the costumbrismo approach of blending oral folk traditions into contemporary stories, and his work earned the author several awards, including a Hispanic Heritage Award in 1989. Ulibarri taught Spanish and creative writing at the University of New Mexico from 1947 until 1980 and directed the university's Andean Student Center in Quito, Ecuador. He also directed an American institute for languages in Quito in the early 1960s. A firm believer in the importance of bilingual education, Ulibarri worked with publisher D. C. Heath on a project to teach Spanish on television as early as 1962. Ulibarri's writings include the short story collections Tierra Amarilla: Stories of New Mexico, My Grandma Smoked Cigars and Other Stories of Tierra Amarilla, and Mayhem Was Our Business. His poetry collections include Al cielo se sube a pie and Amor y Ecuador. Ulibarri also wrote textbooks such as Spanish for the First Grade.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

periodicals

Albuquerque Journal, January 8, 2003, obituary by Paul Logan, p. B1.

Washington Post, January 11, 2003, p. B7.