Carlotta (Charlotte) Hernandez Terry was born in San Diego on April 13, 1937 and was raised in Logan Heights and National City. She attended the Seventh Day Adventist Elementary School until 1951, and studied voice at a young age. Hernandez attended San Diego City College where she studied bilingual education and technical illustration, and worked as a teaching assistant for the Chicano Studies Department. She also attended San Diego State University where she took courses in the Mexican-American Studies department. Hernandez became an accomplished singer, songwriter, and artist during the 1960s and 1970s when she composed protests songs, becoming known as the "Chicana Bob Dylan." Hernandez's accomplishments include performing at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C., and conducting a music workshop in Mexico City at the International Women's Year Conference in 1975. Hernandez also performed at many universities and colleges, and served as a planner and muralist for the Chicano Park Steering Committee from 1972-1979. In 1977 she was also a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts teaching grant. Some of her signature songs include "Living in the Barrio, Life Is Just Like That" and "Mamma Works Hard for Her Weekly Pay." Hernandez had a long career that included community work counseling juveniles, battered women, and H.I.V. patients. She worked for the Maximize Access to Advance our Community (M.A.A.C.) project, San Diego County Probation Department, San Diego Unified School District, the San Diego County Chicano Federation, and was a member of the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women in 1977. Carlotta Hernandez Terry passed away June 16, 2006 at her home in National City.