Leonor Villegas de Magnón, founder of La Cruz Blanca, was born in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in 1876. Sympathetic to the 1910 Mexican revolutionary cause and nicknamed La Rebelde, Leonor Villegas de Magnón, with her friend Jovita Idar, wrote for La Crónica, a Laredo newspaper published by Nicasio Idar.

Arte Público published Houston's first Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Zepeda's first book, a short story collection published in 2004. Humorous and poignant, the book continues the Press' tradition of depicting the ever evolving experiences of Latinas.

The critically acclaimed novella by Sandra Cisneros was first published by Arte Público in 1984, and was the recipient of the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award in 1985.