'Taco USA' author Gustavo Arellano comes to UW-Whitewater

October 16, 2013

Popular writer Gustavo Arellano will explain how Mexican food has conquered America when he presents "Taco USA" in a public lecture at UW-Whitewater.

This year's Contemporary Issues Lecture Series continues with Arellano's speech at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, in Young Auditorium.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

Arellano is the editor of OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Orange County, Calif., and author of the nationally syndicated column "¡Ask a Mexican!" He is the author of "Orange County: A Personal History" and "Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America."

Arellano will explore the truth of what is real Mexican food and what is not and what it means to American culture.

"With the issue of immigration reform being very much in the news, we're excited to have Gustavo Arellano speaking at UW-Whitewater," said Susan Johnson, assistant dean for student success in the College of Letters and Sciences and coordinator of the lecture series. "It will be a light-hearted look at how Mexican food has become American food to most people and how that represents a broader integration of Mexican culture into American culture."

Arellano is a lecturer with the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department at California State University, Fullerton. He received the Los Angeles Press Club's 2007 President's Award as well as the Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

He was recognized by the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a 2008 Spirit Award.

For more information on Arellano and the next four lectures in the 2013-14 series, see www.uww.edu/cls/about/lectures. Lectures will be presented at 7 p.m. on the following Mondays: Dec. 2, Feb. 17, March 10 and April 21. The lecture series is sponsored by the College of Letters and Sciences.