Rolando hinojosa-smith biography

American writer and academic (–)

Romeo Rolando Hinojosa-Smith (January 21, – April 19, ) was an American novelist, essayist, poet and the Ellen Clayton Garwood professor in the English Department at the University of Texas at Austin.^[1] He was noted for authoring the Klail City Death Trip series of 15 novels written over several decades.

Early life and education

Hinojosa was born Romeo Daniel Hinojosa in Mercedes, Texas, on January 21, ^[2][3] His father, Manuel Guzman Hinojosa, was a Hispanic American sheriff and a veteran of the Mexican Revolution; his mother, Carrie Effie Smith, was an Anglo-American housewife and teacher.^[4][3] The author grew up with Spanish as his native language, however he became proficient through Mexican immigrants, who came in exile to Mercedes after the revolution, that created "las escuelitas", or little schools, as means of teaching people how to formally read and wr