This paper examines theoretical linkages between Anzaldua's borderland scholarship, in particular the notion of mestiza consciousness, and participatory action research. Two studies with high school and college co-researchers falling along different points of the PAR spectrum are described to illustrate these conceptual linkages. Points in the process including critical decisions in crafting questions and conducting actions, reflections on who are the knowledge holders and producers, and struggles with responsibilities and vulnerabilities doing this work, are discussed through a lens of mestiza consciousness.