Hispanic Legacies: Essays and Interviews

Rolando J. Díaz, PhD, is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of English, Humanities, and Languages at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma. Rolando Josué Díaz Rodríguez was born in Allende, Coahuila, Mexico on September 22, 1964. He grew up in Eagle Pass, Texas and was the first in his family to graduate from high school in 1983. In 1987 he married Lewanda Lou Fields, also a graduate from UT Austin (1986). In 1987, Rolando graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Drama. In 1988, Rolando graduated with an M.A. in Drama from the University of North Texas. In 1990, he graduated from Texas Woman’s University with an M.A. in English. In 2008 he graduated with an M.A. in Bilingual Education / English as a Second Language, and in 2010 he graduated with an M.A. in Spanish. Both of these degrees were attained at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. In August of 2017 he graduated with his Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from Texas Tech University. His dissertation, “Transnational Noir: Chicano and Catalan Elements in the Detective Fiction of Lucha Corpi and Alicia Giménez Bartlett,” examines various aspects of the Chicano and Catalán identity in crime narratives. He spent 17 years in higher education administration in multicultural student affairs, international student affairs, and student activities. He is a published author of short stories, scholarly articles, and poetry. His most recent publications include: Hispanic Legacies: Essays and Interviews (2025); Tales from the Tortilla Curtain and Other Stories, Second Edition (2024), and The Messiah of Villa 31 (Spanish to English translation) (2023). Upcoming books include Revolucionaria: Real Women Have Courage (Memoirs of Josefina López) and Todos los huesos son blancos (English to Spanish translation of the book, All Bones Are White, by Carlo Perez Allen). His research interests include Peninsular Literature, Latin American Literature, Chicano Literature, Crime Fiction/ Detective Narratives; Translation – English/Spanish and Spanish/English; and Classic Science Fiction. Rolando is a nationally recognized speaker on the Latino/Chicano/Hispanic experience and identity and has presented at national and international conferences.