Luis Alberto Urrea’s life is the stuff of great novels. Son of a Mexican father and Anglo mother, Urrea grew up first in Tijuana and then just across the border in San Diego. Over the years he has produced a series of acclaimed novels, including The Hummingbird’s Daughter, The Devil’s Highway, and his latest, Queen of America – each a rich and revealing account of the people of the borderlands that join and separate our two nations.
Earlier this year, a number of books were removed from Tucson, Arizona classrooms when the Tucson school district eliminated a Mexican-American studies program on the accusation it was “divisive.” The program included references to Urrea’s work. Urrea talks with Bill Moyers about that episode as he unfolds the modern reality of life on the border.