Traqueros: Mexican Railroad Workers in the United States, 1870 to 1930

Traqueros: Mexican Railroad Workers in the United States, 1870 to 1930 By Jeffrey Marcos Garcilazo. Foreword by Vicki L. Ruiz. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2012. vii + 235 pp. Maps, tables, illustrations, references, bibliography, index. $49.95 cloth.

Beginning in the latter part of the nineteenth century, railroads transformed the economy, environment, and cultural landscape of the United States. A massive labor force was required to construct, maintain, and operate the extensive rail network that crisscrossed the Southwest and Great Plains. Traqueros, Mexican workers, made up much of that labor force. According to Professor Garcilazo, however, the traqueros' contributions have been largely ignored or overlooked. This study, which focuses primarily on the Southwest and Great Plains regions, sheds light on the Mexican laborers who...