UTRGV Students in the Bronc Trail, in UTRGV 90% of all students are latinos. Diego Montano/Vaquero Radio
For UTRGV professor emeritus of literature and culture Eduardo del Río, writing has become a way to connect the different cultures that have shaped his life.
Born in Cuba, raised in Puerto Rico and a resident of the Rio Grande Valley for nearly 3 decades, del Río has drawn from those experiences to create The Lost Train and Other Stories, a collection of 10 short stories exploring Latino identity in imagined futures.
The project began around 2019, when growing debates over immigration led him to wonder how today’s social challenges might affect future generations.
“If we continue in this direction, what could possibly happen?”, del Río said.
That question became the foundation of the book’s opening story, which follows John Santo, a naturalized Mexican American citizen and Marine veteran confronting immigration-related challenges in a fictional future.
Although Santo’s’ story inspired the collection, he does not appear in the remaining nine stories. Each follows different characters and situations, connected by their Latino backgrounds and visions of the future rather than a continuous plot.
For del Río, representing those different perspectives was personal. His experiences across Cuban, Puerto Rican and Mexican American cultures influenced his decision to explore Latino identity beyond a single nationality.
“I was born in Cuba. I was raised in Puerto Rico. I’ve been in the Valley for about 30 years, and so I see myself as a combination of three cultures,” he said.
After nearly 30 years teaching literature, del Río brought both his academic experience and cultural background into the collection, creating characters with Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and Nicaraguan roots.
Their stories explore how cultural traditions and human relationships might evolve alongside immigration, technological developments, religion and climate change.
In one story, a chef must reinvent his cooking after environmental changes eliminate ingredients he once relied on. In another, changes within the Catholic Church create an unfamiliar version of religious life.
Through these imagined futures, del Río explores how people adapt when the traditions and environments they have always known begin to change.
But beyond their cultural differences and unfamiliar circumstances, del Río said he hopes readers recognize something universal in his characters.
“I was hoping to do as well, that even though, again, even though the book is about Latinos, that anyone can see themselves in those characters, whether or not you’re Latino,” he said.
Del Río said the collection reflects his belief that Latino communities can have different histories, traditions and identities while sharing common human experiences.
The Lost Train and Other Stories was published in 2026 by FlowerSong Press.
For more information about the book and the author’s other works, visit eduardordelrio.com.
This is Diego Montano for Vaquero Radio.
