Lilvia Soto was born in Nuevo Casas Grandes, immigrated to the United States at the age of 15, resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic language and literature from Stonybrook University on Long Island, New York. He has taught literature and creative writing at Harvard and other American universities. She was co-founder and director of La Casa Latina: The University of Pennsylvania Center for Hispanic Excellence. She was resident director of a study abroad program at Cornell, Michigan, and Pennsylvania universities in Seville, Spain.