In his rise to prominence, Castaeda had to overcome financial burdens and ethnic discrimination. Rising from humble origins in South Texas, he fought to improve school conditions in the barrios of San Antonio and Del Rio and served on Franklin D. Roosevelt's Committee on Fair Employment Practice during World War II. In 1939 he became a professor and historian at the University of Texas, where he taught Latin American and Catholic history. His seven-volume study, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, 15191950, has been called the best work ever written on the Spanish colonial era in Texas.
Until his death in 1958, Castaeda educated others on the history and culture of Hispanic Americans and courageously sought equality for his people. Author Flix Almarz has drawn on writings, interviews, and photographs from private collections as well as extensive data from state and national archives in this worthy tribute to an important historian.
