SÁENZ, Andrés 1927-

PERSONAL:

Born August 9, 1927, in Santa Cruz, Duval County, TX; son of Praxedis (a farmer and rancher) and Ydolina (a homemaker; maiden name, Lopez) Sáenz; married Jovita Treviño (a homemaker), February 3, 1952; children: Abel Ricardo, Arnoldo Rene, Alfonso Roel, Angelina Raquel. Ethnicity: "Hispanic." Education: Attended high school in San Diego, TX. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Genealogy, history.

ADDRESSES:

Home—P.O. Box 495, Falfurrias, TX 78355.

CAREER:

Writer. Military service: U.S. Navy, served during Korean conflict.

WRITINGS:

Early Tejano Ranching: Daily Life at Ranchos San José and El Fresnillo, Institute of Texan Cultures, University of Texas, 1999, published as Early Tejano Ranching in Duval County, Texas A & M University Press (College Station, TX), 2001.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

An in-depth family history, covering the period from the 1930s through the 1950s; research on local history.

SIDELIGHTS:

Andrés Sáenz told CA: "My motivation for writing came from listening to conversations with my mother, who shared everyday life-events of common people who lived in this area in the past—information that had not been researched or recorded. The time is now to interview as many elderly contributors as possible; otherwise this history will be lost, and we would be the losers.

"The reading of a book called With All Arms, by Carl Duaine, was a major influence on my work. He researched everything he wrote about—history, family genealogy, and local and area history. My writing process includes in-depth interviews on every aspect of life and verification of information received from different documented sources.

"What inspired me to write is that there is still a lot of history; there are many beautiful and heroic stories that have not been told, appreciated, and recorded."