Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - A cikin 1963, an tattara Villanueva zuwa Sojojin Amurka, kuma ya kwashe shekaru biyu a Yankin Canal na Panama
, inda ya shiga cikin wallafe-wallafen Hispanic, yana karanta Rubén Darío da José Martí. Ya sauke karatu daga Jami'ar Jihar Texas, a kan G.I. Bill, daga Jami'ar Jihar New York a Buffalo tare da MA a 1971, kuma daga Jami'ar Boston tare da digiri a cikin Mutanen Espanya a 1981. Ya koyar a Kwalejin Wellesley, kuma ya yi baƙo a Jami'ar Texas-Austin, Kwalejin William da Maryamu, da Kwalejin Bowdoin. Har zuwa lokacin da ya yi ritaya a shekarar 2015, Villanueva ya yi aiki a matsayin babban malami a cikin Mutanen Espanya, Sashen Nazarin Romance a Kwalejin Kimiyya da Kimiyya a Jami'ar Boston.