Abstract Tomás Rivera was born on December 22, 1935 in Crystal City, Texas. Rising from humble beginnings as the son of Mexican migrant farm workers, Rivera went to Southwest Texas State University, where he received his B.S. in English Education in 1958. Aiming higher, he returned to Southwest Texas State to get a Master's in Education in 1964 and then, in 1969, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in Romance Literatures. Rivera taught at the university level for many years at various...