This week, book lovers and historians can catch Dennis Raphael Garcia on his book tour in Garden City on Wednesday night at the Finney County Historical Museum; he then heads to Dodge City Public Library on Thursday night. All info is on our online community calendar.
We sat down with Dennis to talk about the new book, his research process, and some of the lesser-known histories of the HPPR listener region in Southwest Kansas as it relates to the experience of Mexican-American labor in the 20th century. To hear the full interview, click the link at the top of this page.
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK (from his website): Las Madres is an incredible story of generational resilience and transformation with family and community at its heart. Dennis Raphael Garcia deftly writes the tale of three generations of women in his family, recounting the difficult challenges each of them faced in their lifetimes as they pursued the same goal—the advancement of the well-being of their families from poverty to success.
Las Madres focuses on Candelaria Garcia, who was born in Mexico; her daughter Rafaela; and Rafaela’s daughter Irene, the author’s mother. Each of these Latina women followed a separate path on their journey to security and freedom from want. Though they traveled with apprehension and uncertainty into unknown places and arenas, they were courageous, patient, and steadfast in their pursuit.
Las Madres dispels any notion that immigrants and their families who come to the United States are given a life of ease. Very few people living on the high plains of Kansas in 1900 had it easy, especially Mexican railroad workers and their families. Their journeys remind readers that there is no one true path to achieve an end. Las Madres will inspire readers, especially Latina women, to continue the pursuit of their dreams.
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website): Dennis Garcia, author of Marine, Public Servant, Kansan: The Life of Ernest Garcia, wrote this inspiring book after he retired from his 30-year career as an attorney and teacher. Like his cousin, Ernie Garcia, Dennis grew up in Garden City, a small town, in Southwest Kansas. His father, a Federal postal carrier, and his mother, a bilingual educator, both encouraged their ten children to obtain an education. Dennis became the first of his family to obtain a Bachelor’s degree when he graduated from the University of New Mexico. He went on to attend the University of Kansas, School of Law, and obtain his Juris Doctorate.
Dennis spent over 30 years as an attorney practicing in many areas of law including representing his community at Kansas Legal Services, prosecuting criminal cases in the City of Mesa, Arizona, representing the Pascua Yaqui Nation in Arizona as a tribal attorney, and sitting as a pro tem Judge in Sahuarita, Arizona.
Dennis also enjoyed a career as a high school teacher in Arizona, teaching law and government classes for over 12 years to students who were a constant source of inspiration.
In his retirement, Dennis continues to share and write the untold stories of Mexican Americans who live in the Midwest and are inspiring examples of the American Dream. In his free time, Dennis pursues his other passion: playing baseball.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: “Las Madres is an intensely personal, generational saga that bridges history, time, and country. Highlighting qualities of resilience and love, this memoir/social history tells of three generations of women through the mid-twentieth century who despite poverty, racism, and exclusion, build an extended family enriched by culture and faith, hard work, and education. More than an empowering narrative of immigrants becoming citizens, Las Madres is a chronicle of hope, perseverance, and character told through stories of everyday lives that truly define la familia with a unique and much needed focus on southwest Kansas.”
—Kathleen Holt, coordinator of the High Plains Public Radio Readers Book Club
“A classic epic of Mexican American life on the Great Plains! With care and compassion, Dennis R. Garcia recounts the personal journeys of his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who brought life and love to the ‘Mexican Villages’ of Dodge City and Garden City, Kansas, in the early twentieth century. Based on stories lovingly shared through generations, Garcia crafts a compelling portrait across centuries and nations as he renders the first-hand accounts of these madres and comadres into a captivating narrative of migration, citizenship, marriage, and community. He offers the first depiction—from a mother’s point of view—of the earliest Mexican American railroad settlements in the Midwest. More importantly, he foregrounds the ingenuity and agency these mothers negotiated in search of better lives for themselves, their children, and their descendants.”
—Laura K. Muñoz, author of Desert Dreams: Mexican Arizona and the Politics of Educational Equality
“Through detailed research and real-life recollections, Dennis Garcia’s compelling story traces the lives of three determined women and their families against the historical background of their times and generations, from the Mexican Revolution to the continuing struggle for equality on the plains of Southwest Kansas. This is authentic Kansas and American history, told through the perspectives of those who lived it.”
—Steve Quakenbush, executive director of the Finney County Historical Society and Museum, Garden City, Kansas
“Dennis Garcia’s family testimony is an intimate, inspiring, and well-researched account of the hopes and fears of three generations of Latinas in the heartland. This book is a must-read for anybody interested in understanding the experiences of Mexican Americans in the United States and learning more about the history of Kansas.”
—José Enrique Navarro, coeditor of Mexican Americans of Wichita’s North End
“Las Madres is a dynamic family story told from the point of view of three generations of women. With a sweeping narrative moving from Mexico to Dodge City, Kansas, from revolution to world wars, Las Madres provides a one-of-a-kind view into the life of Mexican immigrants and their children away from the border.”
—Valerie Mendoza, contributor to Wide-Open Town: Kansas City in the Pendergast Era
