A packed house gathered in downtown El Paso on Monday, March 9, for El Paso native Jazmine Ulloa’s discussion of her newly released book, “El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory,” which was released March 3.

Hosted by El Paso Matters and the El Paso Community Foundation at the Philanthropy Theater, the event drew a full crowd to the 200-seat venue, where Ulloa spoke about the book’s origins, its deep ties to the borderland and why El Paso belongs at the center of the national conversation. The discussion was moderated by El Paso Matters CEO Robert Moore.

“It’s really, really nice to be celebrated by such a close-knit community,” Ulloa said.

The audience listened as the national political reporter read a passage from the book’s opening chapter, describing El Paso as “a palace of rugged beauty, where from up above as you fly in, the sun reflects off glistening pools and rivulets, where after the blistering heat breaks, before the city lights glimmer, the brownness of the desert is cloaked in gold.”

During the conversation, Ulloa said one of her goals was to show how El Paso is essential to understanding immigration in the present day and how those histories have shaped not only Latino identity, but American identity as a whole. She also reflected on where she was when the El Paso massacre happened and how that moment informed her desire to place the city firmly within the broader American narrative.

“I’m covering all that rich history of liberal activists and intellectuals and workers that were coming through,” said Ulloa. “It was very new to me in really digging through what was behind those ideas and the fact that they were carrying ideas that are still relevant today: fair work wages, fair work hours, they were speaking out against discrimination of Mexican Americans in the United States. All of these things are still so relevant and I also found out that some of those people lived so near to me. In places where I had grown up. Also, the Chinese migration history was something I vaguely knew about. I didn’t know this place [El Paso] was once called ‘a beacon of hope’ by the Chinese that once crossed through here. Those were the kind of revelations that I treasured as I was reporting this out.”

Ulloa began her journalism career in Texas, working at newspapers in Brownsville, San Antonio and Austin. She later reported for The Boston Globe from Washington, where she covered Congress and the 2020 presidential campaign. While at the Globe, she was part of a team that won the 2020 Robin Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.

Published by Penguin Random House under its Dutton imprint, Ulloa’s book examines identity, migration and cultural heritage through the stories of five families whose histories are deeply rooted in the region. Spanning a century, the book traces the realities, hardships and resilience that have shaped El Paso over generations.

Following the discussion, Ulloa answered questions from audience members and stayed to sign books. One attendee told Ulloa she cried after reading the first chapter, adding, “I know that you said that you wish more people would see El Paso, and I really think that this book is one of the biggest steps.”

Moore said Ulloa’s work reflects the importance of local voices telling stories rooted in the border.

“Jazmine’s book and her reporting are testaments to the importance of having fronterizas and fronterizos telling the most important stories, especially when those stories impact our home,” Moore said. “I was honored to play a role in helping El Paso celebrate Jazmine.”

Ulloa is scheduled to begin a book tour in the coming weeks.

“El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory” is available now through Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711804/el-paso-by-jazmine-ulloa/