WRITERS' LEAGUE OF TEXAS
formerly the Austin Writers' League
March's
Program
2004
MARCH 2004 MONTHLY MEETING
March's Meeting features Dr. Felix Almaráz
"Historians and Novelists: Similarities and Contrasts...Or, How I Got into the History Biz-ness"
Don't
miss this very entertaining, and informative, presentation from Dr. Felix
Almaráz. After taking a summer off from teaching at the University
of San Antonio to devote time to writing, he took his family to the Canary
Islands, Spain, to meet with archivists, historians, public officials,
and business empresarios to acquire background material for his research-and-composition
project on the isleno migration to North America. This migration culminated
in the founding of the first municipal government in Texas in 1731.
In March 2003, the Spanish Ambassador awarded Dr. Almaráz one of Spain's highest honors, the Medal of the Order of Civil Merit from Juan Carlos I of Spain. Dr. Almaráz has also been designated a Piper Professor of 2003 by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation and bestowed a Luciano Guajardo Historical Awareness Award by the Webb County Heritage Foundation for his book, Knight Without Armor, a biography of Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, renowned Texas historian.
Castañeda sought equality for his people and improvement of the educational systems. He served on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Committee on Fair Employment Practice during World War II. The apex of Castañeda's scholarly career was his multi-volume Our Catholic Heritage in Texas,1519-1950, which has been called the best work ever written on the Spanish colonial era in Texas. Curiously, as prominent as he was in his community,Castañeda received little recognition as the preeminent historian of Hispanic descent with eighteen books and fifty articles published over thirty years.
Dr. Almaráz did not personally meet Castañeda, but feels he derived insight into his subject through the interviews, photographs and writings for Knight Without Amour.
Dr. Almaráz, Professor of History at UTSA, lives in San Antonio.
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