Tejano Talks

Macario García won the Medal of Honor in 1944. A year later, a Texas café refused to serve him.
 
He was still in uniform. The Medal of Honor was weeks old. He had crawled alone into German machine gun fire at Hürtgen Forest so his company could move. Then he sat down at the Oasis Cafe for a cup of coffee, and the sign on the wall said he wasn't welcome. When it was over, it was García the law took away. He never talked about any of it. Not the medal, not the café, not the night he came home with blood on his hands.
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with Lupe Garcia, Macario's younger brother, a Navy veteran born in Sugar Land while his brother was at war. Lupe tells the story Macario never would: the battlefield, the two-year wait for citizenship after the White House ceremony, the courthouse record that says "detained" where the newspapers said "arrested," the night in 1963 when Macario greeted President Kennedy at the Rice Hotel, and the whites-only café Lupe himself was turned away from in Sugar Land in 1960.
 
More Tejano Talks:
Joe Campos Torres and the Houston history you won't learn in school:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyt9-bfj1_8
"Don't Be Ashamed You're Mexican": Adrian Garcia's father's 5 rules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY690h7Eo3w
 
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IN THIS EPISODE
— What Macario García did at Hürtgen Forest on Nov. 27, 1944, and why his captain put him in for the Medal of Honor
— The immigrant who applied for U.S. citizenship in 1945, was decorated by President Truman that August, and still waited until 1947 to become a citizen
— The Oasis Cafe in Richmond, Texas: the sign on the wall, the refusal, and why it was García the law took away, not the owner
— Arrested or "detained": what Lupe says a professor found in the Fort Bend County courthouse decades later
— The only time Macario ever hinted at the medal to his little brother: "They didn't make many of them"
— How Macario came to greet President Kennedy at the LULAC banquet at Houston's Rice Hotel, the night before Dallas
— The GI Bill, night classes at Sam Houston High, and Lupe's message to students who are thinking about dropping out
— Lupe's own memories of segregated Sugar Land, the poll tax, and why he has voted in every election since the Navy
 
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold open: who Macario García was
01:28 Lupe Garcia: "a lot of these things you don't read in school"
02:35 Hürtgen Forest, Nov. 27, 1944: two machine gun nests
04:05 He applied for citizenship. He got a letter from Washington
06:09 The big brother who never talked about it
07:17 The Oasis Cafe, Richmond, Texas
08:57 Arrested, or "detained"? What the courthouse record says
11:28 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
11:59 Kennedy, LULAC and the Rice Hotel, 1963
13:52 The GI Bill, night school and "diploma first"
15:44 Why he kept it to himself
16:56 The book offer he turned down
17:35 Sugar Land's whites-only cafe, 1960 to 1962
19:39 Lupe's advice to the next generation
21:50 The poll tax
22:47 Closing
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
LUPE GARCIA is the younger brother of Staff Sgt. Macario García, the first Mexican immigrant to receive the Medal of Honor. Born in Sugar Land, Texas, in 1943, while Macario was overseas, Lupe is a U.S. Navy veteran who lives in the Houston area and has spent decades keeping his brother's story in front of the public. His 2016 oral history for the Civil Rights in Black and Brown project is held by the University of North Texas Libraries:
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth987500/
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #MacarioGarcia #MedalOfHonor

"Forget about the bank. Get you a banker." Frost Bank's EVP Mario Quintanilla on how loans work.
 
Mario talks about growing up in his family's business in Dallas, being the first in his family to go to college, and leaving big-bank deals to lend to small businesses in Dallas's southern sector. Then he explains what a banker actually looks for before saying yes.
 
Hiram and Domingo ask Mario the questions most of us never got answered: why bookkeeping comes before a loan, how your credit score changes what you pay, why a checking account beats a check casher, what a CD is, how to tell if you can afford a house, and why payday lenders and hard-money loans keep people stuck. They also talk about what it's like to be a Latino voice on the boards that run Dallas, and how redlining still shapes who gets credit.
 
🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• History of Tacos with José R. Ralat, Texas Monthly's Taco Editor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGPVqvKYlSY
• "I Was Declared Dead" Domingo Garcia Says Check Your Voter Registration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTcaFnYlOdM
 
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IN THIS EPISODE
— Why financial reporting is the first thing a lender asks for
— Credit scores, interest rates, and why there's no fast fix for bad credit
— Banking 101: checking, savings, money market, CDs, debit vs. credit
— The real cost of check cashers, payday lenders, and hard-money loans
— What a banker means by "free cash flow," and how it decides your loan or mortgage
— Writing a business plan before you open the doors
— Redlining in Dallas, then and now
— Being the Latino at the end of the table, and refusing to stay quiet
 
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:35 Growing up in a Dallas family business
02:11 From field examiner to banker
03:02 23 years at JPMorgan Chase, then Frost
05:53 Why bookkeeping comes before a loan
09:15 How credit decides your loan and your rate
11:09 Fixing bad credit takes time
12:14 A Latino voice on Dallas boards
15:13 Banking 101: why open a checking account
17:32 Debit cards vs. credit cards
19:21 What is a CD?
20:04 Where to learn financial literacy
21:51 The $550,000 loan that changed a business
25:02 "Get you a banker"
26:37 What it takes to buy a first home
29:27 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
29:42 Payday lenders, pawn shops, and hard-money loans
34:21 A Dallas throwback
34:54 How to write a business plan
37:11 Redlining, then and now
39:52 Closing
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
MARIO QUINTANILLA is an executive vice president at Frost Bank in Dallas and serves on the board of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
 
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HOSTS

DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast that empowers Tejanos with the knowledge, mindset, and voice to build wealth, lead with purpose, and shape their future.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
This episode is for educational and informational purposes — it is not professional financial advice; consult a certified advisor before making investment decisions. Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #FinancialLiteracy #SmallBusiness

She dropped out after 8th grade. Then came a GED, a law degree, and a seat in the Texas House.
 
Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos had her first child at 15. After her GED she kept going: community college, a bachelor's at UT Arlington, an MBA, and law school at SMU. In 2018, after a year of weekly meetings with neighbors in her Richardson living room and, she says, $1,000 in her first campaign report, she flipped a Republican-held seat in the Texas House.
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with State Rep. Ana-María Ramos to talk about that come-up, what it is like to fight from the minority in Austin, why she ran for Speaker of the Texas House as a Democrat when no one else would, and what she wants a young single mom, or a young Latino man who isn't sure what's next, to hear.
 
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your polling place at https://www.votetexas.gov. Can't vote this year? Her ask works for everyone: bring somebody.
 
Rep. Ramos: https://www.ramos4texas.com
 
More Tejano Talks:
Gina Hinojosa on her fight to be Texas's first Latina governor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KzQWSZMkpo
The Texas House pays $600 a month. These four are running anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQe14zQTuRo
 
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IN THIS EPISODE
— Mom at 15, out of school after eighth grade, and the long road back to a law degree
— What growing up on Medicaid and Parkland's county hospital taught her about the families she represents
— The living-room campaign: stay-at-home moms, retired teachers, and neighbors who showed up after 2016
— $1,000 against a well-funded incumbent, for a job that pays $7,200 a year
— Fighting from the minority: school vouchers and party loyalty in Austin
— Why she ran for Texas House Speaker as a Democrat in 2025, and what she says the vote taught her
— Turning struggle into fuel, and why Texas has never had a Latino or Latina House Speaker
 
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome: State Rep. Ana-María Ramos
00:59 Mom at 15, eighth-grade dropout
03:21 What welfare, Medicaid and Parkland taught her
03:37 Practicing law and lifting each other up
04:06 The living-room campaign
06:23 $1,000 vs. a well-funded incumbent
07:02 $7,200 a year: what Texas legislators earn
07:30 Election night: flipping HD 102
09:16 Fighting from the minority in Austin
11:14 What she expects next session
12:03 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
12:32 Breaking ranks: her run for Speaker
15:29 Her message to young Latinos and teen moms
16:29 Struggle as fuel, and HB 1478
17:26 Texas has never had a Latino Speaker
18:06 How to reach her office
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
ANA-MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS represents Texas House District 102, which covers parts of Dallas, Richardson, and Garland, and has served since 2019 after flipping a Republican-held seat in 2018. A Dallas native and daughter of immigrants, she had her first child at 15, left school, and went on to earn her GED, an associate degree from Eastfield College, a bachelor's degree in communications from UT Arlington, an MBA from Texas Woman's University, and a law degree from SMU. She is a family law attorney and owner of Ramos Law PLLC in Dallas, and has taught at El Centro College. In January 2025 she ran for Speaker of the Texas House.
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond. We're here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #TexasHouse #TexasVotes

Letitia Gutierrez was working in banking when her son got sick with upper respiratory problems. They lived near the Port of Houston. Her son's doctor pointed to their zip code. She left banking and  started fighting for the East End, for air-quality advocacy, and now she's the Democratic nominee in Texas's 9th Congressional District.
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with Leticia Gutierrez to talk about ICE and the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, why she says she won't send another penny to ICE until the agency is reformed, the air along the Houston Ship Channel, and the sidewalks and stalled trains she grew up with in Pecan Park.
 
Still deciding? Texas redrew this district in 2025, and fewer than 3% of its voters come from the old TX-9, so nobody has voted for this seat before. In an early-October University of Houston poll, nearly 1 in 4 likely TX-9 voters under 35 hadn't picked a candidate.
 
What a House seat can and can't do: Congress funds and oversees the EPA, including federal community air-quality grants. The state regulator, TCEQ, answers to the governor and the Texas Legislature, further down your ballot.
 
If you can vote: early voting in Texas runs through Friday, Oct. 30, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. If you can't, bring someone who can.
 
Leticia Gutierrez for Congress: https://www.leticiaforcongress.com
 
More Tejano Talks:
Domingo on the ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2eudeoaghQ
What the bottom of your ballot decides:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyMV_vhnOg
 
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IN THIS EPISODE
— A pediatrician, a zip code, and the career change that followed
— Why she says she isn't against industry, only against breaking the rules already on the books
— Self-reporting, permit hearings and a stretched state regulator: her case for enforcement
— Growing up in Pecan Park: sidewalks, stalled trains and Milby High
— The ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and her position on ICE funding
— A daughter of immigrants and a military mom on citizen voters who are afraid to show up
— Hiram's closing case for voting
 
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome: Leticia Gutierrez on Tejano Talks
00:39 Running in the redrawn TX-9
01:37 45 years in the district and Milby High
02:34 A pediatrician pointed to her zip code
04:05 Sidewalks, stalled trains and the East End
04:38 Pollution, health and "we do environmental studies"
05:27 Air monitoring and an underfunded TCEQ
07:06 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
07:36 Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and reforming ICE
08:43 Immigrant families and fear at the polls
09:31 For-profit detention and the Fourth Amendment
10:13 Leticia's message to voters
11:06 Early voting and Election Day
11:18 Hiram's closing
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
LETICIA GUTIERREZ is the Democratic nominee for Texas's 9th Congressional District. She is Government Relations and Community Outreach Director at Air Alliance Houston, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, where she has worked since 2015, and previously served as a chief of staff at Houston City Council. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
 
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YOUR HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond... We're here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
Disclosure: Domingo Garcia has contributed to Leticia Gutierrez's campaign.
 
#TejanoTalks #TX09 #Houston

Domestic violence survivor Cindy Burbano on the signs she missed — and why leaving is so hard.
 
Cindy stayed quiet about her own abuse for years. She was on the radio and on TV, and she says she felt she was supposed to know better. Now she runs a foundation that helps women get out, and goes into schools to stop the cycle before it starts.
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with Cindy Burbano, co-host of Mega en Tus Mañanas on Mega 101 FM in Houston and president of the You Have a Purpose Foundation, to talk about the warning signs of abuse, why "just leave" is the wrong question, abuse that leaves no bruises, machismo, and what men owe each other when they see it happening.
 
This one is personal for Domingo: he says he was 10 when he had to stop his father from hitting his mother, and that he never wanted to be that man. He supports Cindy’s foundation because, he says, men have to step up. Hiram’s ask is simple: if your friends are doing it, speak up.
 
You Have a Purpose Foundation:
https://youhaveapurposefoundation.org
 
IF YOU NEED HELP
National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7): 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788
Houston Area Women’s Center (24/7, English and Spanish): 713-528-2121 or 1-800-256-0551
In an emergency, call 911.
 
🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• Adrian Garcia on his father’s rules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY690h7Eo3w
• Dolores Huerta on why the work isn’t done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_gdY2jWMI
 
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IN THIS EPISODE
— Why Cindy, a radio host and a survivor, stayed silent for years, and what changed
— Domingo on stopping his father at 10, and deciding never to become that man
— Why prevention starts in middle and high school, before control starts to look normal
— "What happens at home stays at home": the silence that keeps abuse going
— Abuse without bruises: financial, emotional, and psychological abuse
— Why "just leave" is the wrong question, and why leaving takes a plan
— What men can do: walk away, get help, and tell your friends to stop
— Where to find help in Houston
 
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome: Cindy Burbano of Mega 101
01:04 Why Cindy started the You Have a Purpose Foundation
01:54 Domingo’s family story
02:25 Breaking a generational cycle starts in school
03:11 How men hold other men accountable
03:41 You don’t need a bruise to be abused
04:14 When families say "just take it"
04:56 Machismo and what women carry
06:08 Domingo’s advice to young men: walk away
07:08 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
07:38 Don’t ask "why don’t you just leave?"
08:26 Warning signs: isolation and control
09:23 Where to get help in Houston
10:47 Why men have to step up
11:26 If you’re hurting someone, get help
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
CINDY BURBANO co-hosts Mega en Tus Mañanas, the morning show on Mega 101 FM in Houston, and is president of the You Have a Purpose Foundation, a Houston nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic violence. She speaks openly about surviving abuse herself.
https://youhaveapurposefoundation.org
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks brings you unfiltered conversations with the leaders, activists, and storytellers shaping Texas politics and culture. We are committed to a simple idea: men with real strength don’t abuse their power.
 
Disclosure: Domingo Garcia is a donor to the You Have a Purpose Foundation, and the Law Office of Domingo Garcia is a partner in its fundraising.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We’re on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #DomesticViolenceAwareness #BreakTheCycle

Does James Talarico see Tejanos? He taught sixth grade on San Antonio's West Side. Here's his case.
 
Before he ran for anything, James Talarico taught sixth-grade language arts on San Antonio's West Side, in what he calls one of the poorest zip codes in Texas, where he says most of his students were Latino. He says watching what an underfunded school, a broken healthcare system, and a rigged economy did to those families is why he ran for office.
 
Now he's the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, facing Republican Ken Paxton on November 3. Recorded on the first day of early voting, Hiram and Domingo sit down with Talarico to ask the questions Tejano voters are asking: what he would do about ICE after the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, how he'd bring down the price of gas and groceries, why his faith is central to his politics, and whether he'll fight for Tejanos the way he says he will.
 
James Talarico's campaign: https://jamestalarico.com
Check your registration and find your polling place: https://www.votetexas.gov/
Early voting: October 19–30. Election Day: November 3.
 
🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• "No Te Dejes": Gina Hinojosa's fight to be Texas's first Latina governor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KzQWSZMkpo
• Justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo: Domingo Garcia on the ICE shooting in Houston:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2eudeoaghQ
 
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IN THIS EPISODE
— Why he says the real fight is top versus bottom, not left versus right
— Reining in ICE, and the Houston father whose sons called him "el mundo entero"
— His affordability plan: tariffs, the federal gas and diesel tax, and health insurance premiums
— From a West Side San Antonio classroom to a push for universal early childhood education
— A Baptist preacher's grandson on faith, loving every neighbor, and what he calls attacks on his pastor and church
— An "FAA for AI": jobs, kids, and AI ads in elections
— War powers, and honoring Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton
— Domingo and Hiram's ask: vote early, and bring people with you
 
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:18 Welcome: James Talarico, two weeks out
00:52 Top versus bottom, not left versus right
01:48 What he would do about ICE
02:50 Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
03:44 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
04:07 Gas, groceries, and affordability
06:17 Early childhood education and his West Side classroom
08:10 Faith, and the attacks on it
10:25 AI, jobs, and an "FAA for AI"
12:32 War powers and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales
14:04 Why he's running against Ken Paxton
15:55 Closing: vote early, bring 10 people
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
JAMES TALARICO is a Texas state representative for House District 50 and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas. Before entering politics, he taught sixth-grade English language arts at a middle school on San Antonio's West Side through Teach For America. He holds a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and his grandfather was a Baptist preacher in South Texas.
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond. We're here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #JamesTalarico #TexasSenate

What happened to Joe Campos Torres? His sister Janie Torres has told it for nearly 50 years.
 
In May 1977, Houston police officers took her brother, 23-year-old Army veteran Joe Campos Torres, into custody. His body was found in Buffalo Bayou three days later on Mother's Day. Two officers were convicted of negligent homicide and given probation and a $1 fine. A federal civil rights conviction followed, and three officers each served about nine months. Janie still wants the men responsible to answer one question: did her brother die in vain?
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with Janie Torres to talk about the brother who raised her, the night the family started calling hospitals and jails, how the loss broke their mother, and why Janie refuses to stop. Domingo looks back on how Houston's Chicano community answered in the streets. And Janie draws the line from her brother's case to the families facing the same system today, including the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Houston in July 2026.
 
🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• Justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2eudeoaghQ
• "No Te Dejes": Gina Hinojosa's Fight to Be Texas's First Latina Governor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KzQWSZMkpo&t=88s
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IN THIS EPISODE
— Who Joe Campos Torres was to his family: oldest brother, teacher, protector
— Setting the record straight on his Army service
— Probation and a $1 fine, and a community that refused to accept it
— The question Janie would put to the officers today
— Turning nearly 50 years of grief into a fight for other families
— A Gold Star mother on what it means to be treated as less than American
— Janie's message to families going through it now: stay strong, take every bit of help, and never stop speaking
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:38 Cinco de Mayo, 1977
02:25 Meet Janie Torres: Joe as brother and protector
03:29 Army service, not Vietnam
04:47 The family's search when Joe didn't come home
06:43 What the family says happened that night
09:19 How the loss hit their mother
11:20 Probation and a $1 fine
12:43 Turning pain into a fight
14:15 Houston's Chicano community responds
15:23 What Janie would ask the officers
16:06 Found on Mother's Day
17:18 From 1977 to today
19:07 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
19:37 The memorial, and Janie's "backup"
20:48 Toward the 50th anniversary
21:14 Janie's message to other families
22:48 The shirt and the solidarity walk
25:20 Closing
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
JANIE TORRES is the younger sister of José "Joe" Campos Torres, the 23-year-old Army veteran killed by Houston police officers in 1977. She is a Gold Star mother: her son, Army Sgt. Jacob Molina, was killed in Afghanistan in 2011. She has spent years organizing to keep her brother's story alive and to stand with other families affected by police violence.
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks brings you unfiltered conversations with the leaders, activists, and storytellers shaping Texas politics and culture. We are committed to a simple idea: men with real strength don't abuse their power.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #JoeCamposTorres #HoustonHistory

"Don't be ashamed you're Mexican." That was the first rule Adrian Garcia's father gave him.
 
Adrian was working in his father's North Side auto shop when he applied to the Houston Police Department. Before he joined, his father gave him four more rules: don't be ashamed of the name Garcia, don't bring shame to it, be honest, and never forget where you come from. He went on to serve 23 years with HPD and became Harris County's first Latino sheriff.
 
And if you think your vote doesn't count: in 2018, running for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 2, Garcia trailed for hours after the polls closed. The late boxes came in after midnight, and the lead flipped.
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with Adrian Garcia to talk about what a county commissioner actually decides, the fights over voting in Harris County, his view of ICE tactics after the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and his advice to young Latinos thinking about law enforcement or running for office. Garcia is on the November 3 ballot, running for re-election against Republican Richard Vega.
 
Adrian Garcia's campaign: https://www.adriangarcia.com
Check your registration and find your polling place: https://www.votetexas.gov/
Early voting: October 19–30. Election Day: November 3.
 
🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• What your county commissioner, DA, county judge, and JP actually decide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyMV_vhnOg
• "I Was Declared Dead": check your Texas voter registration now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTcaFnYlOdM
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IN THIS EPISODE
— The five rules his father gave him before he joined the Houston Police Department
— Working alongside HPD's Chicano Squad, the country's first all-Latino homicide unit
— A sheriff's race he says he expected to lose, and becoming Harris County's first Latino sheriff
— What a county commissioner actually controls, from roads and drainage to clinics and county contracts
— Trailing on election night and winning after midnight: why the last boxes matter
— Harris County's voting-access fights, and his criticism of ICE tactics as a former sheriff
— "We need you": his advice to young Latinos considering law enforcement or public office
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:12 Son of immigrants, raised in his father's shop
02:03 The question his mother asked
02:59 His father's five rules
04:01 Undercover work and the Chicano Squad
05:20 From the anti-gang office to City Council
06:30 A sheriff's race he expected to lose
08:27 Election night: Harris County's first Latino sheriff
09:39 Two losses, then Precinct 2 after midnight
10:16 "Literally the mayor of my precinct"
12:13 What a county commissioner actually does
14:05 Health, jobs, and contracts on the east side
16:35 The fight over voting in Harris County
18:43 ICE tactics and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
22:04 November, the economy, and young Latino voters
25:52 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
26:21 "We need you": advice for young Latinos
28:28 Never break the public's trust
29:27 Texans, Longhorns, and ride-or-die fandom
31:55 Closing
 
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ABOUT THE GUEST
ADRIAN GARCIA is the Harris County Commissioner for Precinct 2, first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He is running for a third term on November 3, 2026, against Republican Richard Vega. The youngest of six children of Mexican immigrant parents, he grew up on Houston's North Side and served 23 years with the Houston Police Department, including as director of the Mayor's Anti-Gang Office. He represented District H on the Houston City Council from 2004 to 2009, serving as Mayor Pro Tem under Mayor Bill White, and was Harris County Sheriff from 2009 to 2015, the county's first Latino sheriff.
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond. We're here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.
 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #HarrisCounty #TexasVotes

A Republican governor signed the Texas DREAM Act, written by Rick Noriega. Texas was first in the country to do it.

Roughly twenty states followed. On June 4, 2025, the Justice Department sued Texas in a Wichita Falls federal court, and the state agreed the same day. Rick Noriega says Texas can lead again.

Hiram and Domingo sit down with Rick Noriega — the author of HB 1403 — to talk about how the Texas DREAM Act passed with Republican votes and a Republican governor’s signature, how it ended twenty-four years later without a trial, and what he says is the route left to bring it back.

🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• Why Dolores Huerta's isn't done yet at 96 years old:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_gdY2jWMI&t=1s
• Can Ericka Ledferd Fix Our Schools?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0_hNj6KcSk

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IN THIS EPISODE

— Why a Republican governor signed the first in-state tuition law in the country
— The two students behind the bill — one in Houston’s East End, one a Dallas valedictorian who learned she was undocumented when West Point asked for her birth certificate
— How it moved: co-authors from both parties, and a second bill Domingo set aside so this one could go first
— June 2025 — the Legislature adjourns, the Justice Department sues, and Texas agrees to the end of its own law
— The second tuition bill students received mid-degree, for three or four times the amount
— What Noriega says is left, and Hiram’s version of the ask — take someone with you on November 3
— Hiram on being the first in his family to finish at UT, and what changed at home after

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CHAPTERS

00:00 Cold open
00:21 Welcome — Hiram, Domingo, and Rick Noriega
00:47 "The Aztec Warrior": Afghanistan, and why this moment matters
01:35 The Texas DREAM Act: House Bill 1403
02:02 The young man from El Salvador who started it
03:15 Domingo’s story: the valedictorian who got into West Point
04:22 What else was moving: California, and a Republican senator
04:54 Irma Rangel chairs the committee — and Domingo steps aside
05:41 Fred Hill, Elvira Reyna, and a bill both parties signed
06:08 How HB 1403 passed, and who signed it
07:02 What happened to the law in 2025
07:39 Sine die, then a federal lawsuit in Wichita Falls
08:07 The state agrees — and the law is gone
08:40 The tuition bills that arrived mid-degree
09:46 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
10:01 What changed since 2001
11:15 Getting it back — and the November 3 ballot
11:44 What an attorney general could actually do
12:25 The return on the investment
13:22 The next twenty-five years
14:11 Hiram: first in his family to finish at UT
15:27 What his parents left behind in Mexico
16:03 Starting the family business
16:43 The fight is not over
17:08 Where that young man from the East End is now
17:48 Noriega’s advice: don’t complain, vote
18:50 Values, community, and showing up for each other
19:54 A moment of personal privilege — his mother’s 95th birthday
20:25 Sign-off

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ABOUT THE GUEST

RICK NORIEGA served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives, from 1999 to 2009, representing House District 145 in eastern Houston. He authored HB 1403, the 2001 law that made Texas the first state in the country to offer in-state tuition to undocumented students who graduated from a Texas high school. He is a retired brigadier general of the Texas Army National Guard, with an honorific promotion to major general on the state retired list. He served in Afghanistan and commanded the Houston shelter that housed evacuees after Hurricane Katrina. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 2008.

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HOSTS

DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.

HIRAM GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.

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ABOUT TEJANO TALKS

Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond. We’re here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.

Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We’re on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.

Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.

#TejanoTalks #TexasDreamAct #Texas2026

Skipping the bottom of your ballot? Those races pick who decides criminal charges, eviction cases, and flood projects in your county.
 
The district attorney decides how the law gets charged. The county judge and commissioners decide what gets built, funded, and fixed. The justice of the peace hears evictions, truancy, and traffic cases.This episode help you prepare for Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
 
Hiram and Domingo sit down with four Democratic candidates at the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi to talk about what these local offices actually do, and how each candidate says they would run theirs.
 
The candidates:
Alfonso Salazar, Hays County Criminal District Attorney: https://www.alfonso4haysda.com
Lesley Briones, Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 4: https://lesleybriones.com
Dr. Letitia Plummer, Harris County Judge: https://www.drletitiaplummer.com
Rodney Lee, Tarrant County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4: https://www.rodneyleeforjop.com
 
🎙️ More from Tejano Talks:
• Texas is sitting on $28 Billion in won't spend, Sarah Eckhardt for Texas Comptroller:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNk55x1O3l8
• Gina Hinojosa on her run for governor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KzQWSZMkpo
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IN THIS EPISODE
— What a DA, a county commissioner, a county judge, and a justice of the peace actually decide
— Charging discretion, second chances, and reviewing past convictions
— Flood control, public health, and mental-health diversion at the county level
— Bond money, hospital access, and how fast local government delivers
— Court access for hourly workers who can't miss a shift
— Trust between communities and the institutions that serve them
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:21 Alfonso Salazar — Hays County Criminal District Attorney
10:22 Lesley Briones — Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 4
24:08 Ad: Domingo Garcia Law Firm
24:23 Dr. Letitia Plummer — Harris County Judge
35:01 Rodney Lee — Tarrant County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4
 
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ABOUT THE GUESTS
 
ALFONSO SALAZAR is the Democratic nominee for Hays County Criminal District Attorney. He served as a military police officer with the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, and State of Texas from 2008 to 2020, and holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from Baylor Law School. On the show, he focuses on second chances, lowering recidivism, and a civil rights division in the DA's office.
 
LESLEY BRIONES is the Harris County Commissioner for Precinct 4 and is running for reelection. She grew up in Laredo, the daughter of teachers, taught 8th and 10th grade, and earned degrees from Harvard and Yale Law School. She previously served as judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4. On the show, she focuses on flood mitigation, county wages, and mental-health diversion.
 
DR. LETITIA PLUMMER is the Democratic nominee for Harris County Judge. A practicing dentist who began her career with the Harris Health System, she served on the Houston City Council in At-Large Position 4 from 2020 to 2025. On the show, she focuses on getting voter-approved bond projects built, regional collaboration, and health care access.
 
RODNEY LEE is the Democratic nominee for Tarrant County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4. He is a 22-year Navy veteran, a former juvenile probation officer, and a public school educator. On the show, he focuses on night court for hourly workers, evictions, and truancy.
 
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ABOUT THE HOSTS
 
DOMINGO GARCIA is a trial lawyer and one of the most important Latino political figures in Texas. He served on the Dallas City Council and, in 1993, became the first Latino ever elected Mayor Pro Tem of the city. In the Texas Legislature, he co-authored HB 1403 — the Texas DREAM Act. In 2006, he organized the largest march in Texas history, when more than 500,000 people filled downtown Dallas to demand immigration reform. He is a former national president of LULAC and has practiced law for more than 40 years.
 
HIRAM GILBERTO GARCIA is a journalist, producer, and public affairs strategist based in Austin. His frontline coverage of the 2020 protests drew wide local and national attention.
 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
ABOUT TEJANO TALKS
Tejano Talks is a podcast hosted by Domingo Garcia and Hiram Garcia that blends cultural conversation, political analysis, and interviews with notable voices in Texas and beyond. We're here for Tejanos like us — to help you build wealth, honor your family, and make well-informed choices for your future.
 
Subscribe, and tell us in the comments who you want to see on the show next. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.

 
Views expressed by hosts and guests are their own.
 
#TejanoTalks #TexasPolitics #Election2026