Originally a presidio on the frontier of New Spain, Tucson was a Mexican community before the arrival of Anglo settlers. Unlike most cities in California and Texas, Tucson was not initially overwhelmed by Anglo immigrants, so that even until the early 1900s Mexicans made up a majority of the town's population. Indeed, it was through the efforts of Mexican businessmen and politicians that Tucson became a commercial center of the Southwest. Los Tucsonenses celebrates the efforts of these early entrepreneurs as it traces the Mexican community's gradual loss of economic and political power. Drawing on both statistical archives and pioneer reminiscences, Thomas Sheridan has written a history of Tucson's Mexican community that is both rigorous in its factual analysis and passionate in its portrayal of historic personages.

Thomas E. Sheridan holds a joint appointment as professor of Anthropology at the Southwest Center and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. He has authored or co-edited eleven other books.

"Thomas Sheridan's fine book tells an increasingly familiar story of how mexicanos in a southwestern community have fared over time under Anglo-American control. . . . A splendid book." —Pacific Historian

"Widely acclaimed as a model of innovative research, inspired writing, and thoughtful analysis." —Journal of Arizona History

"This is a rich and wide-ranging history of Mexicans in Tucson from the post-Mexican War era to World War II. . . . A valuable new addition to Chicano and southwestern community history." —The American Historical Review

"Blending oral histories, biographies and computer-processed census data, Los Tucsonenses traces the flowering of this Mexican culture." —Arizona Republic

"A model of how such studies should be executed and presented." —SMRC Newsletter

"Everyone who reads it will emerge with an enriched understanding of the city's history." —Tucson Citizen

"The subject matter alone makes this a significant study. But beyond that, the book has two other strengths: it is thoroughly researched and documented, and the author has avoided model building in favor of telling the story his facts support. . . . A noteworthy addition to regional, urban, and ethnic history collections" —Choice