Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas — The Museum of South Texas History will host the Sunday Speaker Series presentation “The Alamo Train Crash of 1940: From class podcast project to book” with Juan P. Carmona and Taylor Seaver De La Fuente at 2 p.m. Nov. 17.
What began as a podcast project with Donna High School’s Mexican American Studies class, has now blossomed into a book project. The deadly Alamo train crash of 1940 occurred when a train collided with a truckload of farmworkers on their way to work in the fields. The crash resulted in the deaths of 29 people and the emotional scarring of all those involved. It would also result in transportation safety changes in Texas. The families affected by the crash were confronted with struggles and accomplishments as they dealt with the loss of family members and their breadwinners. Carmona—author of the “Alton Bus Crash”—and co-author Seaver De La Fuente, who narrated the podcast, will share their research and share the history of this seminal event.
Carmona is a social studies teacher at Donna High School and a dual enrollment history instructor through South Texas College. He graduated with honors from the American Military University with a master’s degree in American history and was awarded the 2018 James F. Veninga Outstanding Teaching Humanities Award by Humanities Texas. He is a member of the NACCS Tejas Foco Committee for Mexican American Studies K-12 and the Social Studies Coordinator for the Rio Grande Valley Coalition for Mexican American Studies. Carmona is also a member of the award-winning Refusing to Forget Public History Project. His primary field of research is the history of South Texas borderlands. He is the co-founder of Nosotrxs Por El Valle and author of the book “The Alton Bus Crash” and co-author of “The Deadly 1940 Alamo Train Crash.”
Seaver De La Fuente is a Rio Grande Valley native from a family of Mexican and Mexican American migrant farmworkers. Her current graduate research at the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley focuses on the evolution of Mexican American studies and the civil rights contributions of Chicanx youth within the RGV.
Sunday Speaker Series is included in the fee for regular museum admission. FRIENDS of MOSTHistory are admitted free as a benefit of FRIENDship and must present their FRIENDship card at the Admissions Desk.
Technologies and furnishings for the Sunday Speaker Series is generously provided by H-E-B. This program is made possible with generous support from the Carmen C. Guerra Endowment. Mrs. Guerra was deeply committed to supporting educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley. This named endowment was created at the museum by her family to honor her memory and to continue her commitment to providing opportunities for education to the community.
