Mensa's World Gathering 2021

Sessions Speakers Floor Plan Buzz

Tequileros: Prohibition Era Smuggling Along the Rio Grande (Room Lanier Grand Ballroom H)

27 Aug 21
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Speaker (Non-Member)

Between 1920 and 1933, tequileros, mounted ethnic Mexican liquor smugglers, supplied Mexican liquor to thirsty American markets. While Anglos and ethnic Mexicans both violated U.S. laws, American law enforcement took a much higher toll on tequileros than their Anglo counterparts. Indeed, American law enforcement’s war on tequileros was so successful that by the end of the 1920s it had effectively ended tequilero forays into South Texas. George’s talk will cover corridos (Mexican folk ballads) about smuggling and compare them to law enforcement and English-language newspapers from the era to uncover a history of smuggling along the Rio Grande.