What Jazmine Ulloa's 'el Paso' Teaches Us About The American Experiment

In 2019, journalist Jazmine Ulloa traveled to her hometown of El Paso to screen nan aftermath of a deadly shooting successful nan separator city. A gunman, who admitted to authorities that nan onslaught was racially motivated against Latinx people, drove complete 9 hours from North Texas to an El Paso Walmart and killed 23 people, while injuring 22 others.

Ulloa, a Mexican American pinch roots successful neighboring Ciudad Juarez, went to schoolhouse 3 minutes distant from wherever nan wide execution occurred. When she arrived to El Paso, she recovered herself much emotionally distraught than she had anticipated.

“I thought I had a heavy ammunition from my years of covering crime and courts arsenic a young reporter,” Ulloa told The Times. “It was very difficult to clasp it together.”

It was aft attending a hillside memorial astatine nan tract of nan incident — which offered sweeping vistas of El Paso and its sister metropolis Juarez conscionable crossed nan separator — that thing clicked for Ulloa.

“I did a batch of reasoning location astir wanting to return someday and really look astatine this massacre, not arsenic this rupture successful history, but portion of this overmuch larger legacy,” she said.

Nearly 7 years later, Ulloa — now a newsman for nan New York Times — published her book “El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory” astir nan fraught and instructive history of her hometown connected March 3.

After spending much than a decade covering immigration, Ulloa utilized her connections and investigation skills to chronicle really nan past 100 years successful El Paso and Ciudad Juarez person been marked by each nan maladies and movements that person travel to style nan existent authorities of American and Mexican society. Ulloa bounces betwixt a linear, humanities telling of nan political, economical and group shifts successful nan area and nan individual accounts of 5 families from nan region, including her own.

Part of her ngo for nan task was to reposition nan sister cities from “forgotten places” successful nan American consciousness to “the halfway of not only American history, but Mexican history.”

Ahead of her quality connected nan De Los shape astatine nan Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend, Ulloa said to The Times astir her investigation process, nan challenges she faced while penning nan book, really she landed connected which family histories she wanted to chronicle and nan galore ways that nan ever-evolving dynamics of a separator metropolis tin thief explicate nan existent authorities of nan U.S.

This question and reply has been edited and shortened for clarity.

How galore years of investigation did you person to do for nan book?

I was moving connected telling this communicative done 3 nationalist predetermination cycles, truthful it was done complete nan people of astir 4 years. As I was doing nan research, I was walking nan federation for work. I was moving retired of hotels, java shops and airdrome lobbies. I’d walk nan full time trailing candidates and talking to voters successful different states and past astatine nighttime I’d do reference and investigation for nan book. It was a really absorbing process because migration was becoming much and much of a salient rumor pinch each predetermination cycle. Candidates were sounding angrier connected nan rumor of migration and American voters were much divided, moreover if they did not ever fresh into these neat ideological boxes connected nan issue. To me, nan echoes of history and of my hometown were ne'er excessively acold away.

How did you extremity up landing connected these 5 families to position nan history of El Paso through?

Some of nan families I had met done nan people of reporting regular news stories. The Rubio sisters — California authorities Sen. Susan Rubio and Calfornia authorities Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) — I had really met arsenic a statehouse newsman erstwhile I was moving astatine nan Los Angeles Times successful nan Sacramento bureau. They were Democratic authorities leaders and were positioning nan authorities arsenic a bastion of guidance against nan first Trump administration.

Part of nan situation was making judge I could corroborate arsenic overmuch arsenic I could astir each these families’ stories. So I had to find families who had kept documents aliases who were very unfastened and who would would let maine into their lives. That’s a difficult inquire because galore immigrants bring truthful small erstwhile they travel into this state aliases erstwhile they’re deported during nativist periods. A batch of families don’t person heirlooms aliases don’t support records of deportations.

One of nan families was really nan family of a historiographer who had already been search immoderate of that information. The Chews really weren’t portion of nan original five. I was doing investigation and I kept coming crossed this photograph of a woman who was dressed arsenic a Mexican female combatant of nan Mexican Revolution wearing a bandolier. Growing up, I had seen that photograph and ever thought she was a Yaqui Indigenous female because she’s identified arsenic specified successful immoderate archives. Once I started digging into her backstory, I recovered retired she was a Chinese Mexican female and that galore of her descendants were still alive. They had go salient lawyers and judges successful nan separator metropolis and were very overmuch shaped by nan communicative of their grandmother. So that’s erstwhile I started trying to way them down.

With nan Ixil Mayan family of Kaxh Mura’l from Guatemala, he was 1 of nan galore immigrants who had been stranded successful Ciudad Juarez while I was covering nan “Remain successful Mexico” policy nether nan first Trump management and past nether nan Biden administration.

What was nan biggest situation successful penning this book?

I wanted it to consciousness different from a regular news story. I wanted it to sound for illustration your grandfather aliases your grandma telling you a story. I wanted it to sound really my mother would show maine stories astir Mexican history aliases her upbringing successful Juarez erstwhile I was younger.

I wanted it to consciousness really Mexican — for illustration nan Mexican-ness of that region. But I besides wanted to seizure nan diverseness wrong that Mexican-ness, wrong that Latinx identity. I was trying to travel backmost to that astatine each move and make judge that I included nan perspectives of not only eminent scholars from Texas, but besides from Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua successful Mexico, and Chinese Mexican scholars who had worked connected some sides of nan border. I besides interviewed indigenous scholars who had been digging up their ain history connected some sides of nan border. I tried to make judge I included arsenic galore perspectives arsenic possible. History depends connected who’s telling it and it tin alteration depending connected your perspective.

The communicative of nan Chinese Mexican Chew family delved into nan complexities of identity. They faced favoritism successful nan early 1900s done anti-Mexican and anti-Chinese authorities successful nan U.S. and successful Mexico done anti-miscegenation policies and deadly assaults. Was that thing you felt powerfully you needed to see to show that 1 broadside of nan separator is not needfully much conscionable aliases civilized than nan different and that you being from location doesn’t make you unsighted to immoderate of nan injustices that were going on?

I tried to thin into that complexity of identity, of nan unit and section astatine each turn. [The Chews’] communicative stood retired to maine because it was truthful emblematic of nan migration done there. I was trying to show really El Paso is nan American metropolis that astir tells america astir our nation’s migration battles coming and that knowing its communicative lets america spot that our confederate borderlands person ever been these rich, multiracial, multi-ethnic stomping grounds wherever nan forces of conservatism, liberalism, achromatic supremacy and resistencia person agelong been astatine odds.

I felt for illustration nan Chews really captured that. In Herlinda Wong Chew’s letters you tin really spot really there’s ever been these expansive debates astir title successful America. All those debates were already happening successful her clip period, but really she lived her personality was overmuch much complex. Identities tin collide and illness into each different and group tin forge these caller forms of civilization and connection, contempt nan galore waves of dislike and section that person swept nan state done nan eras.

What benignant of reception person you gotten from group from Juarez and El Paso?

The reception has been incredible. It’s benignant of blown maine distant because I knew that El Paso was a captious gateway into nan United States — that’s what I group retired to show. I’ve heard from truthful galore families whose grandparents aliases parents crossed done these 2 separator cities. So galore group person besides been coming distant to show maine their ain stories of crossings.

I was amazed by really galore group who came to nan first reference successful New York were from El Paso and Juarez, and we were comparing notes connected who we knew. It feels for illustration El Paso’s a metropolis that’s really existent to its name.

Do you consciousness that arsenic things change, nan much they’ve stayed nan same, not only successful position of El Paso, but besides really nan state has moved done periods of ideological and legislative turnover?

I consciousness that El Paso is nan metropolis that’s cardinal to knowing nan nation’s migration battles and really they’ve shaped, not only Latino identity, but American personality itself. The communicative of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez matters because without it, we don’t spot that location is nary Latino penetration of nan United States; we don’t spot that Mexican American civilization and history person ever been portion of who we are arsenic Americans.

As I was crisscrossing nan state for work, I was passing done truthful galore cities and towns that had seen these large demographic changes successful caller decades and we’re now starting to person a batch of nan aforesaid debates and fears of nan “other” that had been truthful coming successful El Paso’s history for galore generations. I consciousness nan United States arsenic a full tin study a batch from wherever I’m from.

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

Join De Los astatine nan L.A. Times Festival of Books this weekend

This Saturday and Sunday connected nan USC campus, nan L.A. Times is hosting its yearly Festival of Books — nan largest book show successful nan country.

For nan 3rd twelvemonth successful a row, De Los and L.A. Times en Español are joining forces to coming programming that highlights Latinx voices successful nan literate world.

People of each ages tin bask children’s book readings connected some days and euphony from Mariachi Corazon Hispano connected Saturday morning.

My workfellow Andrea Flores wrote about immoderate of nan can’t-miss panels that will return spot connected nan De Los shape this weekend.

On Saturday astatine 1:05 p.m. Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro will talk his book “Río Bravo: Mexico, Estados Unidos y el Regreso de Trump” pinch Times journalist Soudi Jimenez.

Emmy-winning writer Gloria Calderón Kellett will caput a speech astir nan portrayal of Latina motherhood successful useful of fabrication astatine 2:55 p.m connected Saturday. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes, New York writer Alejandro Heredia and Cuban American writer Alisha Fernandez Miranda will subordinate successful connected nan discussion.

At 3:50 p.m. connected Saturday, writers Alex Crespo, Carolina Ixta, René Peña-Govea will talk astir dealing pinch “big feelings” successful a speech moderated by Locatora Radio big Ariana “Diosa Femme” Rodriguez.

Los Angeles writer Yesika Salgado will lead a poesy sheet astir personality and powerfulness that will characteristic poets Matthew “Cuban” Hernandez, Karla Cordero and Sonia Guiñansaca connected Sunday opening astatine 12:50 p.m. There will beryllium a poesy reference pursuing nan conversation.

De Los’ resident Bad Bunny-ologist Suzy Exposito is moderating a chat pinch chap Benito experts Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau astir their book “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became nan Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance.” The chat starts Sunday astatine 2 p.m.

Stories we publication this week that we deliberation you should read

Unless different noted, stories beneath were published by nan Los Angeles Times.

Politics and immigration

• Sheinbaum orders accrued scrutiny of ICE detention centers aft deaths of Mexicans successful custody
• DHS advised migrant children to self-deport until a California judge stepped in
• Sex toys thrown astatine detention installation successful L.A. anti-ICE protest; constabulary state unlawful assembly
• Anti-Latino dislike crimes reached a grounds precocious successful 2025
• Swalwell suspends run for governor amid allegations of intersexual assault, nude photos
• Swalwell ungraded sparks fears of deeper rot connected Capitol Hill
• This year, tax play brings much than conscionable money woes for immigrants
• CSU professor acquitted of assaulting U.S. agents during migration protest
• Minnesota investigates nan apprehension by ICE of a Hmong American man arsenic a imaginable kidnapping (AP)
• Spain finalizes amnesty measurement for perchance hundreds of thousands of immigrants (AP)

Arts & Entertainment

• Karol G, first Latina to header Coachella, urged Latino fans: ‘Don’t consciousness fear, consciousness pride!’
• Meet L.A.’s Mariachi Reyna, nan all-woman set that joined Karol G astatine Coachella
• These Latino poets research nan conception of sovereignty — or, what it intends to beryllium to yourself
• Felipe Staiti, Enanitos Verdes guitarist and vocalist, dies astatine 64
• Musical ‘Mexodus’ loops successful the travel of enslaved state seekers beneath nan border
• Hollywood offshoring: A look astatine who’s winning nan world accumulation race
• Hollywood stars statement up against Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition
• Disney originates 1,000 occupation cuts this week crossed nan company
• Why theatre owners are balking astatine Hollywood’s latest mega deal

Southern California

• LAUSD onslaught averted; schools unfastened Tuesday arsenic unions scope tentative deals pinch raises
• The price of LAUSD national bid will beryllium $1.2 cardinal a year. Next up is paying for it
• Fraud allegations, fires, national cuts: What’s successful L.A. County’s $48.8-billion fund plan
• Ex-UCLA expert admits to sexually abusing 5 patients aft erstwhile condemnation overturned
• L.A. family linked to Iranian Revolutionary ‘propagandist’ arrested by feds
• The communicative of L.A.’s iconic basking condiment and how Ozempic is making it moreover hotter
• Snap is cutting 1,000 workers successful nan latest tech layoff
• L.A.’s trailblazing location builder is nan latest to time off California
• How Waymo and Waze are pitching successful to thief lick L.A.’s pothole problem