Living the vast majority of my life in an area that celebrates diversity but thrives because of illegal cross-border activities (undocumented workers, drug imports) at times the distance between the United States and Mexico is in fact as thin as the width of a fence. Though it is typical for a filmmaker to hope to present a unique take on a subject, given how I have seen the topics of immigration and the perspective of the purpose of homeland security portray, I am confident that there is an opportunity to show these issues in a more personal, less aggressive light with the use of first person accounts instead of a dependence on the most violent aspects of these topics. The main subject will give character to this agency by blurring the lines of his life as an agent and as a citizen.

This work addresses the experiences of female asylum seekers from Central and Mexico currently living in Dallas, TX. The main purpose is to analyze how these women engage in the gendered processes of both migrating to and accessing legal resources and protection within the United States. As the women move through male-dominated spaces in their home country, the borderlands, and the asylum court they must challenge the patriarchal institutions that attempt to silence their narratives and criminalize their bodies. Their physical wounds become evidence in the courtroom, while outside of the courtroom their movements are monitored and tracked through multiple mechanisms of state control: ankle monitors, detention centers, ICE check-ins. They face intersectional discrimination as they are targeted as both women and immigrants. However, these female asylum seekers are not victims. They constantly display agency as they represent themselves in court, find solace in their faith, and form community with each other.

Joaquín de Arredondo was the most powerful and influential person in northeastern New Spain from 1811 to 1821. His rise to prominence began in 1811 when the Spanish military officer and a small royalist army suppressed Miguel Hidalgo’s revolution in the province of Nuevo Santander. This prompted the Spanish government to promote Arredondo to Commandant General of the Eastern Internal Provinces, making him the foremost civil and military authority in northeastern New Spain. Arredondo’s tenure as commandant general proved difficult, as he had to deal with insurgents, invaders from the United States, hostile Indians, pirates, and smugglers. Because warfare in Europe siphoned much needed military and financial support, and disagreements with New Spain’s leadership resulted in reductions of the commandant general’s authority, Arredondo confronted these threats with little assistance from the Spanish government. In spite of these obstacles, he maintained royalist control of New Spain from 1811 to 1821, and, in doing so, changed the course of Texas, Mexican, and United States history. In 1813, he defeated insurgents and American invaders at the Battle of Medina, and from 1817 to 1820, his forces stopped Xavier Mina’s attempt to bring independence to New Spain, prevented French exiles from establishing a colony …

In 1521 a band of several hundred Spaniards overthrew the Aztec empire in Mexico and its ruler, Moctezuma II. This defeat in itself created a major cultural shock for the indigenious population, but the later arrival of Spanish officials and colonists constituted a far greater if less dramatic upheaval. For the victorious Spaniards rejected Aztec governmental institutions, considering them to be distinctly inferior, and quickly substituted their own. Moctezuma II and a substantial number of the Aztec ruling class had died during the violence which accompanied the conquest and those who remained were not permitted to exercise leadership. It was, however, the stated policy of the Spanish Crown that the Indian population of New Spain should be treated with kindness, allowed to retain their property, and led gently toward acceptance of the Christian faith. Among the surviving members of the Aztec nobility were several of the emperor's children, to whom Spanish authorities accorded special attention because of their unique position. Moctezuma II's son, Tlacahuepan, who on his conversion was baptized Pedro de Moctezuma, was one who received special grants and favors, for it was the Crown's intention that members of the emperor's family should be treated with consideration and be …

In this dissertation, I examine the Sonoran Desert trilogy by Kathleen Alcalá through the lens of post-oppositional theory as developed by AnaLouise Keating. Moving beyond the use of post-oppositional theory to analyze non-fiction works, I apply this theory instead to the fiction of Kathleen Alcalá—whose work appears in such anthologies as The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature. Alcalá, though well published, is underrepresented in contemporary literary criticism, as can be seen by the only eight entries under her name in the MLA International Bibliography. Therefore, I have chosen her most significant fiction work, her trilogy about the Sonoran Desert, as the perfect text upon which to map post-oppositional theory. Through analysis of her three novels, I show that her work is an ideal example of post-oppositionality in action and that her characters act as post-oppositional revolutionaries and prophets within the pages of the text. The first chapter outlines the parameters of the project. In Chapter 2, I argue that post-oppositionality can be seen in Alcalá through gender bending, looking at the characters of Membrillo and Manzana, Corey, and Rosalinda. In Chapter 3, I argue that the characters of Estela, La Señorita, and Magdalena are enacting post-oppositionality through their transcendence of …

Daily newspaper from Matamoros, Mexico that includes local and national news from the United States and Mexico along with advertising.

From 1924 to 1929 the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State engaged in the crucial stage of a long-time struggle to determine whether the former would be independent of or subordinate to the latter. This thesis analyzes Church-State relations during this five year period and stresses the activities of President Plutarco Elías Calles, the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and more fanatic Mexican Catholics.

Daily newspaper from Matamoros, Mexico that includes local and national news from the United States and Mexico along with advertising.

"The purpose of this study was to show the position of Texas in the relations between the United States and Mexico from 1876 to 1910. With this thought in mind, the general problem has been to link the two countries through Texas. The Texas border relations between the United States and Mexico during this period were interesting because they showed the continued success of the efforts of the past years in building up better principles of settlement. " --leaf 129

My work already shared some of the characteristics of the gravesites that I proposed to study. They were similar in that they both attempted to integrate sacred and profane imagery. Both called attention to personal events and related these events to a larger scheme. Finally, both were involved with the creation of objects of veneration according to personal edicts, but in relation to already established mythologies. I proposed to create a body of work based on the information gathered from the investigation of three predominantly Mexican graveyards-- one in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and two outside of Laredo, Texas.

Daily newspaper from Matamoros, Mexico printed in Spanish and English that includes local and national news from the United States and Mexico along with advertising.

"Leftwich's Grant is the second volume in a series that is intended to document the colonization of an area in Central Texas that eventually became known as Robertson's Colony." It covers "the three years that [Robert] Leftwich spent in Mexico City and Saltillo" and includes "a complete account of his official negotiations with both the national government in Mexico City and the state government of Coahuila and Texas. It also includes documents concerning Dr. Felix Robertson, President of the Texas Association, and the group of young men who came to Texas with him in the fall of 1825 to explore the grant and survey land for the stockholders" (p. 11). The index begins on page 667.

This thesis examines the imagery of Jose Guadalupe Posada in the context of the Mexican Revolution with particular reference to the corrido as a major manifestation of Mexican culture. Particular emphasis is given to three corridos: "La Cucaracha," "La Valentina," and "La Adelita." An investigation of Posada's background, style, and technique places him in the tradition of Mexican art. Using examples of works by Posada which illustrate Mexico's history, culture, and politics, this thesis puts Posada into the climate of the Porfiriato and Revolutionary Mexico. After a brief introduction to the corrido, a stylistic analysis of each image, research into the background of the song and subject matter, and comments on the music draw together the concepts of image, music, and text.

U.S. immigration procedures are complex and may elude the average individual seeking admission to the United States. Understanding this, the current study investigates how information resources are used by potential migrants to learn about the migratory process. Using a mixed-methods approach, I interviewed 30 Mexican immigrants with unauthorized immigration experience about the process of gathering migration information in the pre-migration phase. Qualitative data were coded using seven themes generated from the primary research questions, including: Information Resources, Resources Used During Migration, Motivation for Migration, Method of Migration, Lack of Information/Misinformation, Types of Help and Types of Information. Findings suggest that the factors motivating migrants to come to the U.S. are combined in complex ways and lack of information about legal alternatives to unauthorized migration is an important factor influencing method of migration. Also, while access to new information resources is increasing, these resources are not being tapped for migration information.

This essay attempts to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of Corral's public life, especially for the period of his vice-presidency. It is divided into three parts, covering Corral's career in state and national politics and in exile.

Spanish settlers brought the precursor to the bassoon, el bajón, to Mexico in the late sixteenth century. Documentation of the bassoon was intermittently from the sixteenth century on, the current playing traditions were not established until the second half of the twentieth century. Bassoon education in Mexico flourished in the 1970's because several bassoonists became expatriates, and chose to live and work in Mexico for the entirety of their careers. Two major pedagogues, Lazar Stoychev and Jerzy Lemiszka paved the way for the current Mexican bassoon community. This dissertation presents a selective lineage of bassoonists who have held positions in major Mexican orchestras and universities since the mid-twentieth century. The purpose of this study is to recognize the contributions these players and teachers have given to the bassoon world. In recent years, Mexican bassoonists have commissioned hundreds of works for the bassoon and this significant achievement has placed the Mexican bassoon community in an upward trajectory. To place these players in proper historical context, a brief history of classical music institutions in Mexico since the sixteenth century is given. This dissertation documents the history and pedagogy of recent bassoonists in Mexico via a cohesive family tree.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of Santos Degollado in the history of Mexico during the 1850's and to determine his contributions to the cause of constitutional reform in that period.

This dissertation presents an overview of Church- State relations in Mexico from 1924 to 1938. It examines the actions and motives of prominent national leaders, the papacy, the episcopate, and the Mexican citizenry to determine justification and culpability. This dissertation presents several conclusions. When Calles enforced the anticlerical provisions of the Constitution of 1917, the clergy withdrew from the churches in protest. The episcopate as a body bore a moral responsibility for the Cristero rebellion that resulted, but avoided implication in the movement. Because the Church's supporters were in the minority, that institution in 1929 accepted a settlement requiring clerical obedience to the constitution. Churchmen consoled their parishioners with the thought that the Church would rise again.

Businesses cluster to achieve agglomeration benefits. However, research in developing countries suggests that the economic environment limits small business’ propensity to benefit from agglomerations. The study examines the location, networking patterns, formal structures and owner characteristics of 1256 micro businesses from ten industries and thirteen sample areas in Toluca, Mexico. First, the thesis analyses whether clustering has a positive impact on the success rates of the surveyed enterprises, e.g. higher sales per employee. On an industry scale only Retail benefits from agglomerations economies. However, results of the neighborhood data show that specific areas benefit from urbanization economies. Overall, the study finds that businesses located within agglomerations, have higher levels of formalization, networking and professional training, hence constituting a more sophisticated base for economic development. Conclusions can be drawn for development policies and programs, arguing for a more differentiated approach of small business development depending on business location and cluster characteristics.

This publication describes major global environmental issues and policy decisions during 2006.

Quarterly publication of the Alpha Chi Sigma chemistry fraternity containing articles related to chemistry research and the activities of the organization, including local chapters and groups.

Since their introduction to the United States from Japan in the 1980s, inter-organizational cooperation practices between buyers and suppliers have provided lower costs, shorter development and production cycles, and higher levels of quality and productivity. Many studies of interorganizational cooperation have relied on transaction cost economicsframeworks,which ignore cultural differences. Few studies have analyzed inter-organizational cooperation in Mexico, a less-developed country (LDC) with a cultural and industrial environment differentfromthe U.S. This study is concerned with the influence of interorganizational trust, individualism and collectivism (indcol), and the superordinate goal ofjust-in-time/total quality management (JIT/TQM) on inter-organizational cooperation.

This study examines in detail the public career of Santos Degollado during the era of the Mexican Reforma, and, because of his central role in national events of that period, the story is presented in the context of a general history of the Reforma. Sources of information were largely primary, including manuscripts and newspapers from Mexican archives. The richest of these were the collection of Degollado's letters at the Instituto de Antropologia e Historia; manuscripts from the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores archive, the Archivo Juarez of the Biblioteca Nacional, and the Centro de Estudios de Historia de Mexico; as well as documents from various collections at the University of Texas Latin American Collection. Important published sources included the 36-volume collection edited by Genaro Garcia and the 15 volumes of Benito Juarez papers edited by Jorge L. Tamayo. In seeking to explain and justify aspects of Degollado's conduct and behavior which have heretofore often been characterized as aberrations, this study has suggested some revised interpretation of the role of Benito Juarez in the Reforma. This great Mexican hero of the nineteenth century has long overshadowed the other important figures of the period, including Degollado. This study contends that not only should …

This study is an empirical evaluation of the relationship between perceptions of the elements of the remote environment of business and the mode of transfer utilized by 90 United States companies transferring technology to Mexico. Characteristics of the technology, the company, and the industry were found, from a thorough search of the literature, to be the key aspects of technology transfer. The primary hypothesis predicted that a significant relationship would exist between perceptions of barriers and choice of transfer mode.