SABF's Get Lit event with Enrique Acevedo

The San Antonio Book Festival, in partnership with Alamo Colleges District and Texas Public Radio proudly presents author ENRIQUE ACEVEDO with his new book, Essential: Being Latino and Indispensable in America.

Author signing to follow with book sales provided by Nowhere Bookshop. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is recommended so that we may gauge attendance. Walk-ins are welcome.

Please register for this free event here.

Event Details

• 6:00PM - Doors Open
• 6:30PM - Presentation
• 7:30PM - Book sales and signing

Parking Information

• Free parking at City Tower garage (60 N. Flores) for the first 150 guests.
• Select “TAKE TICKET” upon entry. Do not insert credit card.
• Bring ticket to event for validation.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A deeply reported and personal exploration of identity, resilience, and belonging from one of the most influential Spanish-language journalists in the world, Essential offers a nuanced, urgent portrait of what it means to be Latino in today’s America and the contradictions of being vital to a country that still struggles to recognize you fully.

In a country still grappling with its sense of identity and the question of who belongs, Essential explores: What does it mean to be Latino in America today?

Blending years of on-the-ground reporting with personal reflection, Enrique Acevedo offers a layered, urgent portrait of a community both shaping and being shaped by the nation’s future. Latinos comprise nearly one in five Americans, including more than eleven million in California alone. Yet their place in the national conversation is too often reduced, politicized, or misunderstood, especially when filtered through the narrow lens of immigration.

With President Trump back in office and immigration again a defining fault line in American politics, this book arrives at a pivotal moment. From frontline workers during the pandemic to families navigating the opaque machinery of deportation, Essential explores labor, identity, resilience, and the quiet contradictions Latinos carry every day. It challenges the false choice between assimilation and exclusion. It calls on the country to expand its definition of belonging to reflect its people's full complexity and history.

Part memoir, part chronicle, Essential is a powerful testament to the stories we tell about who we are and who we still have the chance to become.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Enrique Acevedo is one of the most influential Spanish-language journalists in the world, reaching one of the largest and most engaged audiences across the Americas. An Emmy Award–winning anchor, he currently leads En punto, Televisa’s flagship newscast. He was previously a correspondent for CBS News, where he reported across platforms on major global events for iconic shows including 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Evening News, and CBS Mornings. Acevedo, a leading voice in the fight against disinformation, has championed efforts to promote media literacy, elevate trustworthy journalism, and confront the spread of false narratives across digital platforms. His work consistently bridges cultures, languages, and borders to tell the stories that matter most. His new book is Essential: Being Latino and Indispensable in America.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Yvette Benavides is the managing editor at Texas Public Radio where she hosts the Book Public podcast and co-hosts The Lonely Voice with Peter Orner. She is professor emerita in English and creative writing at Our Lady of the Lake University. She is the 2024 Dobie Paisano Fellow and has also been the recipient of numerous awards in journalism and teaching. Her stories and essays have been published widely. She co-authored the book San Antonio 365: On This Day in History.