She studied philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, before moving to Brazil to work and dance.

[1] Tessler became involved in the political theater movement, where she met her future husband, the American anthropologist Daniel Nugent.

[2][3] The two became frequent collaborators and co-wrote the nationally touring production, 13 Days / 13 Dias: The Zapatista Uprising in Chiapas.

One such production, New Moon Over Juarez (2006), adapted by Tessler from a short-story by Victor Hugo Rascon Banda and performed by the Latina Dance Project, focuses on a young maquiladora worker named Coyolxauhqui, who is tortured and murdered in Ciudad Juárez.

[13] In an interview with Tucson Weekly, Tessler stated that her work is meant to upturn stereotypes of Latinas in the performing arts.