Rolando Hinojosa-Smith has become internationally famous as one of the major authors in Chicano literature. This talk focuses on his Texan birthplace as the base of his fictional work and explores how place has influenced his writing and points of view.

The use of two languages from the two cultures of southern Texas and northern Mexico has allowed Hinojosa-Smith to focus on a third culture, that of the border with its people and its history dating back to 1749.

That part of Texas began as a Spanish colony and became part of Mexico when that country won its independence from Spain. The region subsequently became part of Texas and later of the American Union. After secession, Texas joined the Confederacy and later underwent Reconstruction.

These events, coupled with a century of isolation from Mexico City and Washington, D.C., and the presence of two different and conflicting cultures, form the basis of Hinojosa’s longitudinal work, the Klail City Death Trip series.

Cosponsored by: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Department of Anthropology, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, International Programs and Studies, La Casa Cultural Latina, Program for the Study of Cultural Values and Ethics, Counseling Center, Office of the Dean of Students, Office of Minority Student Affairs