Las Cruces, NM - On this edition of PUENTES, bridges to the community, host Emily Guerra meets with local author and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University, Dr. Mike Tapia, to talk to us about his new book “The Barrio Gangs of San Antonio, 1915-2015.”
Tapia was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He said the inspiration for his book came after working for several years with barrio gangs in San Antonio, Texas. He explores over 100 years of street lifestyles and compares Chicano members from the 1940’s through the 1960’s with today’s more socially and technologically advanced youth. After gathering and studying all of his gang related information, Tapia said what struck him the most was “how normative a lot of these things are.”
Another interview with Dr. Tapia is available through Texas Public Radio in San Antonio, at www.tpr.org - The Century-Long Evolution Of Barrio Gangs In San Antonio
“The Barrio Gangs of San Antonio, 1915-2015,” by Mike Tapia is available at Amazon.com.