Join the Book in Common Community Read Challenge and read Héctor Tobar’s Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of ‘Latino’ in preparation for the author’s visit to campus on April 10.
Community Read Challenge 2
By April 1
- Get your copy of Our Migrant Souls and read the following chapters: “Cities,” “Race,” and “Intimacies” (pages 54–113).
- Join the Four-Week Book Club and attend the second discussion on April 1 from noon–1 p.m. in the Arts and Humanities Building (ARTS), Room 227.
- Look at discussion questions for “Cities,” “Race,” and “Intimacies."
- Plan on attending the panel “‘What Are You?’: Negotiating Hispanic/Latinx Identities” on March 27 at 5:30pm in ARTS 150 (Recital Hall).
- Get your ticket for the Book in Common talk by Héctor Tobar, April 10, 7:30 p.m. at Laxson Auditorium (tickets $27, youth age 17 and under $17, free for Butte College and Chico State students).
Featuring an interview with computer science major Matthew Hernandez, conducted by Eric Galvan, computer science major and cultural program coordinator at El Centro Latinx Resource Center:
Our Migrant Souls by Héctor Tobar paints a vivid picture of resilience within Latino communities—how individuals take on leadership roles, overcome systemic challenges, and redefine success on their own terms. Tobar discusses how higher education can be a transformative space, but also one where Latinos often navigate financial struggles, imposter syndrome, and a desire to uplift their communities.
The following story highlights a student who embodies many of these themes. As a computer science major, the president of Latinos in Technical Careers, and now a candidate for Associated Students president, Matthew has taken on leadership roles while balancing academic and financial challenges. His journey mirrors the determination Tobar describes—demonstrating how perseverance and community support can shape a leader. Matthew explains:
“A very big turning point in my life was last year when I was a sophomore. I was going through a particularly difficult financial situation. I had to work 20 hours a week on campus, plus DoorDash off campus, and also work another off-campus job with overnight graveyard shifts. I’d get off at 3 or 4 a.m., especially on nights I had to wash dishes. I was working 35, almost 40 hours a week. On top of that, I was taking 19 and 20 units per semester and was also the webmaster and co-president of Latinos in Technical Careers. So, I had two leadership positions, was working nearly full time, and had a full academic workload.
I had to manage my time not just effectively, but efficiently. That was a huge change for me. It pushed me to be better—not just in making day-to-day choices but also in showing me that I could tackle hard challenges and overcome adversity. I’ve grown tremendously, and I honestly want to thank Chico State for that. Coming into college, I was very timid. I didn’t consider myself outgoing—I still don’t—but I’ve definitely broken out of my shell. I was nervous about putting myself in leadership positions because, in my eyes, that meant being vulnerable, which was intimidating. I also dealt with imposter syndrome—not knowing whether or not I was qualified. Being president of Latinos in Technical Careers has been an amazing opportunity—not only for me to develop professionally but to give back to the community that gave so much to me.
Every day I am learning to be a better leader. For example, I know mistakes happen. Sometimes you think you’re making the best decision, and later, you realize you weren’t. In hindsight, it’s easy to see where you went wrong. But when making decisions with the information available, you do your best. The key is to own up to your mistakes, publicly apologize when necessary, and take steps to ensure they don’t happen again. Leadership isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being accountable."
For more student stories, follow El Centro on Instagram (@elcentro.chicostate) and look for the #FacesofElCentro series.
| "Throughout United States history the ways this country organizes labor and produces wealth have shaped our ideas and our laws about ‘race’ and ‘aliens.' In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as the number of Latino laborers in U.S. homes and on farms and in other workplaces increased, the laws defining ‘alien’ status grew more numerous and complex. . . . In my lifetime I’ve seen the creation of several new categories of immigration status (TPS, DACA, etc.), and the invention of a new term to describe the uncomfortable legal situation in millions of American homes: ‘mixed-status families.’ I’ve seen immigration laws become harsher and more inhuman, until finally the United States created camps and cells for detained children. In effect, this country’s immigration laws seek to teach the American people to keep race discipline and to punish Latino immigrants because so many families and employers have come to depend on them and trust them, and because the United States cannot eat without Latino labor.” (pages 101–102) | "A lo largo de la historia de Estados Unidos, las formas en las que este país organiza el trabajo y produce riqueza han dado forma a nuestras ideas y leyes sobre la ‘raza’ y los ‘extranjeros.’ En los siglos XX y XXI, a medida que aumentaba el número de trabajadores latinos en los hogares estadounidenses, así como en la agricultura y en otros sectores laborales, las leyes que definían la condición de ‘extranjero’ se hicieron más numerosas y complejas. . . .A lo largo de mi vida he visto la creación de varias categorías nuevas de estatus migratorio (TPS, DACA, etc.), y la invención de un nuevo término para describir la incómoda situación legal en millones de hogares estadounidenses: ‘familias de estatus mixto.’ He visto leyes de inmigración cada vez más duras e inhumanas, hasta que finalmente Estados Unidos creó campos y celdas para niños detenidos. En efecto, las leyes de inmigración de este país pretenden enseñarle al pueblo estadounidense a mantener la disciplina racial, y castigar a los inmigrantes latinos porque muchas familias y empleadores han llegado a depender de ellos y a confiar en ellos, y porque Estados Unidos no puede comer sin la mano de obra latina.” (páginas 110–111) Traducción de Laura Muñoz Bonilla y Tiziana Laudato T |
Photo from the kick-off event for the Book in Common in September 2024, a reading of the prologue by Latinx/é faculty, staff, and students.
Héctor Tobar is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and novelist. Our Migrant Souls won the Kirkus Prize for nonfiction, the Zócalo Book Prize awarded to a nonfiction work that explores community, human connectedness, and social cohesion, and it was named to best of the year lists by The New York Times Sunday Book Review, Time, and NPR, among others. In addition to Our Migrant Souls, Tobar is the author of the critically acclaimed Deep Down Dark, The Barbarian Nurseries, Translation Nation, and The Tattooed Soldier. Tobar is a professor of English and Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine. The son of Guatemalan immigrants, he is a native of Los Angeles, where he lives with his family.
