Viramontes graduated from Garfield High School, one of the high schools that participated in the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, a series of protests against unequal conditions in East Los Angeles public schools. The Chicano Movement played a significant role in her development as a writer and the writing style she developed reflected her understanding and upbringing in the streets of East Los Angeles. She then worked part-time while attending Immaculate Heart College, from which she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English literature in 1975.