A look at antonio continues and we hear from author John Phillips santos about the history of the latinos in the culture. Where in the very first phase of this cultural area and the reason that is important is that the creek, rather than the river went to the site in the city in the first sentiment and among other things the dividing line between the scinto news communities. So the kind of borderline within the city but it connected us to the deepest stories of the georgians. My family like many chicano families have deep and complex origins in this place. My families came here in my dads side, 100 years ago. This was during the mexican resolution when many families left the turmoil of mexico to seek refuge through what was in effect, mexican city even though it wasnt the united states, many of our families recognized this is the place of kindred ancestry. My moms family beginning in that period of 1737 and 17th century, they went to the water itself where became the usmexico border in places like texas, laredo texas, places in texas. To this old mexican city. This secret mexican city in the united states. So is a fascinating story the way that many people from all over the world found around here. That all roads, via one. During the mexican revolution. There was such a huge number of people who came here to seek refuge. The city demographics makeup shifted again. By the middle of the 20th century, this was the majority mexican city again. As it has been ever since pretty so i grew up in a sense in a place where i was thought of as a minority but we were a majority minority city. And that way we attested to americans future. A majority minority city and a majority, it was becoming a majority minority republic. So as a chicano writer, artist, filmmaker, attested to those transformations. Trying to encompass as much of that history and a cultural meaning as we can bring to our work. Ive always thought that the Latino Community in the mexicanamerican and chicano communities in the units communities. , was unique in the panorama of latin communities for a couple of reasons. We are older than the American Republic in this places older than the American Republic so we test to the complexity of our origin in the indigenous world in a time of and thats important for all kinds of reasons that had to do with history and cultural within the good part of what it was to grow up here, which is very different from say la. In those the proximity to mexico. The fact that mexico, the border literally is only an hour and a half away. It might even be closer to a destination from the border than an hour and a half. The border, seeks through the landscape and all sorts of mysterious place. I actually think about is being part of the borderland. So the proximity to mexico to the since of origin in the case of my fathers family. It was the organic part of that area. At least to her family and imparted, a sense of main deeply rooted in this secret story of another way of being american. And in 2020, it is a place of unanticipated vibrancy in terms of literary culture and artistic culture. So theres an incredible urgency and vibrancy about the way that literary and artistic culture is played a role in reimagining this area. And this is reminding our communities of the complexities of our past. The incredible challenge and promise of our future we still have a huge issue with literacy. A huge issue with the economic study. But the artist in the writers, and all kinds of different ways has been socially engaged in playing a role in reshaping the citys presence in future. I invite americans to come, to experience another way of thinking about what it is to be american. Americans as people who carry long and fight history of becoming something new. How we live up to the challenges that nature presents us in terms of ways that we have treated and dangerous people, the way we have treated south africans, the way we treated it disenfranchised people. This is a place where in the American Republic, we hear that story every day. We live that story every day. When it is the in the mission or whether it is pieces of art or literary culture, because right into that. Twice a month, cspan citys store takes American History to be on the road to explore the literary life in history of a selected city. Working with our cable partners, literary and Historic Sites in the interview local historians. Authors and civic leaders. You can watch any of our past interviews and taurus online by going to booktv. Org and selecting cspan city stewart from the series drop down at the top of the page. By visiting cspan. Org cities tour. You can also follow the cspan city stewart on twitter or behind the