[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 155 (Monday, October 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING DR. LUIS LEAL ON HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 15, 2007

  Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Professor Luis Leal 
on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Professor Leal is a 
distinguished member of the Santa Barbara community. He is a man who 
has devoted his life to scholarship and education, a man dedicated to 
expressing and revealing the richness of Mexican, Latin American, and 
Chicano literature and culture.
  Luis Leal was born in 1907 and grew up in Mexico City during the 
Mexican Revolution. He came to the United States seeking a college 
education and earned a bachelor's degree at Northwestern University. 
After a hiatus to serve in World War II, Leal earned his doctorate from 
the University of Chicago.
  After a career teaching at the University of Mississippi, Emory 
University, and the University of Illinois, Leal ``retired'' to the 
Santa Barbara area at the age of 69, only to be invited to join the 
faculty at UC Santa Barbara as a scholar and teacher, first in the 
Spanish and Portuguese Department and then in the newly established 
Center for Chicano Studies.
  Leal has enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the most highly 
regarded scholars of Mexican and Latin American literature, and was one 
of the first to draw attention to this relatively new field of study. 
He is the author of over 30 books and 300 articles. In 1988, he 
received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Association 
for Chicana and Chicano Studies in recognition of his lifetime 
achievement. In 1995, UCSB created the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in 
Chicano Studies in recognition of his accomplishments.
  Leal has also received renowned cultural honors from the Mexican and 
American governments. In 1992, Mexican President Salinas awarded Leal 
the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award granted to 
foreign citizens. It was President Bill Clinton who presented Leal with 
the National Humanities Medal in 1997.
  As a man who has devoted his life to education and to advancing the 
study of Mexican, Latin American, and Chicano literature, I today 
recognize Luis Leal as a distinguished scholar and professor, and as a 
man dedicated to making our community and this Nation a richer, more 
vibrant place.

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