José Rivera, professor of Planning at UNM and research scholar at the Center for Regional Studies, has just announced the release of his newest book: La Sociedad: Guardians of Hispanic Culture Along the Río Grande, published by UNM Press. The book focuses on La Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (Society for the Mutual Protection of United Workers), a Hispanic mutual aid society that flourished in theSouthwestern United States in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. While not directly related to EPSCoR research, José explains that much of his research on acequias coincides directly with La Sociedad and other mutual aid societies.

According to José, "Even though the book is not part of EPSCoR, it does describe the same culture. People who joined this and other mutual aid societies in southern Colorado and New Mexico were of the same culture and from the same villages, usually members of both the local acequia association and the "mutualista" society. In fact, acequias are a type of mutual aid organization and are described in this book as a forerunner institution, a model of collective action, or "ayuda mutua" in Spanish. And both were, and still are, self-governing entities with their elected leadership and rules of organization for members to follow."

Congratulations, José! For more information on Jose and his research focus, please visit the EPSCoR Directory. To the right is an image of the book's front cover; click on it to see the full cover spread (PDF)