Urrea will give a presentation titled “The Devil’s Highway: A True Story of Illegal Immigration, Desperation and Greed” at 3 p.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. The event is free and open to the public.
The best-selling author of 13 books, Urrea has won many awards for his poetry, fiction and essays, which span every major genre. “The Devil’s Highway,” the non-fiction account of the immigrants, earned him the Lannan Literary Award and made him a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Urrea’s historical novel “The Hummingbird’s Daughter” tells the story of Mexican Joan of Arc Teresa Urrea, who is also known as the Saint of Cabora. The book, which involved 20 years of research and writing, won him a Kiriyama Prize in fiction and, along with “The Devil’s Highway,” was named a best book of the year by many noted publications.
His most recent novel, “Into the Beautiful North,” is a national best-seller that has earned a citation of excellence from the American Library Association Rainbow’s Project. That novel tells the story of inspired young Mexican women who encourage men who immigrated to the United States from their small town to return home.
Sponsors of Urrea’s presentation include the UCF Global Perspectives Office; UCF Political Science Department; UCF Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Program; UCF Department of English; UCF Hispanic American Student Association; UCF International Services Center; Lawrence Chastang and the Chastang Foundation; the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship program; the UCF Global Peace and Security Studies Program; UCF LIFE; the Orlando Rotary Club; and the Global Connections Foundation.