El Mesquite: A Story of the Early Spanish Settlements Between the Nueces and the Rio Grande

Through the voice of the gnarled old tree, Elena Zamora O'Shea tells South Texas political and ethnographic history, filled with colorful details of daily life such as songs, local plants and folk medicines, foods and recipes, peone/patron relations, and the distinctive Tejano ranch vocabulary. The work, engaging and lively, is an important example of the historical-folkloristic literary genre used by Mexican American writers of the period. Using the literary device of the tree's narration, O'Shea raises issues of culture, discrimination, and prejudice she could not have addressed in her own voice in that day and explicitly states the Mexican American ideology of 1930s Texas. The result is a literary and history work of lasting value, which clearly and courageously articulates the Tejano claim to legitimacy in Texas history.

José E. Limón

...the mesquite narratively guides us through a considerable amount of Texas history...engaging, lively at moments, serious at others and well-written. — José E. Limón

ELENA ZAMORA O'SHEA (1880–1951) was born at Rancho La Noria Cardenena near Peñitas, Hidalgo County, Texas. A long-time schoolteacher, whose posts included one on the famous King Ranch, she wrote this book to help Tejano children know and claim their proud heritage.