Stories from the Barrio offers a new look at the history of Fort 
Worth. In his search to discover the roots of the Hispanic 
community, Carlos E. Cuéllar was surprised to discover the lack of 
historical documentation of the rise of the fastest-growing ethnic 
minority in the city. "People of Mexican descent have traditionally 
been considered an invisible people, largely undocumented, as if 
unworthy of notice," he writes. But the history of this forgotten 
people—from the stories of early Mexicanos escaping hardships 
and terrors of the Mexican Revolution, to the attempts of second 
generation Mexican Americans to assimilate, to the political voice 
and freedoms secured by the Chicano generation—belies any 
thought of unworthiness.

    Sprinkled among analyses of census data, city directory entries, 
and newspaper articles are fascinating interviews with surviving 
relatives of the first Mexicanos, recording their early history in 
Fort Worth. Cuéllar traces patterns of migration and explores early 
areas of settlement—the barrios near the major sources of 
employment: meatpacking plants along the Chisholm Trail. He 
considers the skills these pioneers brought to the new land, their 
emigration ordeals, their struggle to make a living, and the 
pressures and joys of settlement.
 
    Second generation Mexican Americans experienced a clash of 
cultures between traditional Mexican mores and increasingly 
commercial American values. For some this conflict was so 
profound that they rejected their heritage and language, later to 
regret these efforts to assimilate so completely. Cuéllar follows the 
rise of an entrepreneurial class among Mexican Americans through 
interviews with leading Hispanic business owners of Fort Worth. 
Those who served their country in World War II came home 
determined to change the landscape of the city, only to be met with 
racism.
 
    Children of Mexican Americans openly flouted prevailing 
conventions and became part of the Chicano Movement of the 
1960s and 1970s. Chicanos promulgated pride in heritage, 
language, and culture and were responsible for social change that, 
for the first time, acknowledged that Fort Worth culture was not 
only white Anglo. Cuéllar examines the struggle of Hispanic 
individuals aspiring to public office: how people of Mexican 
descent came to serve on the school board, on the City Council, 
and in other heretofore white bastions of power and influence.
 
    Fort Worth Hispanics have struggled to make their communities, 
and their larger world, better. Cuéllar’s Stories from the Barrio is 
the first attempt to examine the process, the people, and their 
history, thus paving the way for further research into Fort Worth’s 
diverse past, as well as that of many other cities.

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CARLOS E. CUÉLLAR is director of the D.D. Hachar Honors 
Program, Department of Social Sciences, Texas A&M International 
University, Laredo.



What people are saying about this book

"This book is long overdue. Cuéllar’s contribution to our 
understanding of how Fort Worth’s Mexican-American community
established itself and grew into the vibrant powerful community
it is now is enormously important. It paves the way for more
stories to come out of the barrios."—Carol Roark, author, Fort
Worth Then & Now and Fort Worth’s Legendary Landmarks