(Re)constructing Memory, Place, and Identity in Twentieth Century Houston

Explore what it means to be Mexican American in Houston, TX, through the story of three generations of the Mendoza-Martinez family.

What does it mean to be Mexican American in Houston, TX?

For the Mendoza-Martinez family, the answer to this question is complicated and evolving. In this fascinating memoir, author Dr Louis Mendoza tells his family’s story over three generations, exploring the ongoing efforts to negotiate intense racialization in Texas. Examining questions of community, belonging and home, migrancy, and social strata, the book considers the interconnectedness of ethnic identity and place through the lens of lived experience.

Explicitly addressing the challenges of constructing—or reconstructing—a multi-generational family narrative when the traditional resources of family archives are limited, this memoir will enhance and illuminate courses in Latinx or Latin American studies, migrant studies, American studies, sociology, oral history, and cultural anthropology.

Prologue
Introduction
1: Fragments of the Past
2: Becoming Americans
3: Coming of Age in the Space City
Coda
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