Raniela E. Barbaza grew up straddling different cultures and languages. Born in Laguna but raised in Bikol, she was lulled to sleep with Tagalog lullabies and disciplined with Tagalog folktales about the sipay, kapre, and Tikbalang, as well as stories from the Christian Bible. She traversed the world outside her home in three Bikolnon languages from the age of five. She currently teaches literature at the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman.