Cinco de Mayo’s Civil War Connection

April 25, 1859. About 150 people have gathered on the shores of Lake Manzala in Egypt. And one of them, a mustachioed, retired French diplomat, steps forward. He raises his pickaxe and strikes a ceremonial blow. The audacious goal is to cut through the desert to connect the Medit ...  Show more

April 20th, 2004. A quiet suburban development outside Seattle. Brand-new homes. Fresh lawns not yet grown in. Then, in the middle of the night—sirens. Flames ripping through two houses. Investigators quickly find the cause: homemade incendiary devices. And a message, left behind ...  Show more

On January 1, 1994, masked indigenous rebels burst from therainforest in Chiapas, Mexico to launch an uprising that was years in themaking. The Zapatista Army declared war on the Mexican Government demanding basics rights for the diverse Mayan communities who lived in extreme pov ...  Show more

Interstate 35 begins in the border city of Laredo, and its role as a major port of entry has made it more than just an economic hub. Since 1898, it's been home to Washington's Birthday Celebration, a month-long series of events attracting over 400,000 guests in honor of America's ...  Show more

Will Grant, the BBC’s Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent, was recently on the ground at Jalisco’s Rancho Izaguirre, dubbed ‘Mexico’s Auschwitz’, and CECOT, Nayib Bukele’s megaprison in El Salvador. Will spoke to Sean about what he saw in both places, how politics and ...  Show more

In 'We Want Better Education!': The 1960s Chicano Student Movement, School Walkouts, and the Quest for Educational Reform in South Texas (Texas A&M UP, 2023), James B. Barrera offers a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the educational, cultural, and political issues of the C ...  Show more