Ken Salazar, who served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico and secretary of the Interior, will discuss his memoir at Books & Books in Coral Gables on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
The free event starts at 7 p.m. at 265 Aragon Ave., according to the Gables Gazette. Salazar will appear in conversation with Maria Elena Salinas, the longtime Univision co-anchor who spent more than 30 years on the network's national evening newscast. Salinas was the first Latina to receive an Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement, in 2012.
Salazar's "Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclusive America," published July 28 by BenBella Books, traces the history of Mexican Americans and the U.S.-Mexico border through the lens of his own family's four centuries in the American Southwest. The 368-page book argues that the country's ethnic and cultural diversity is a national strength, not a weakness.
In an Aug. 15 NPR interview, Salazar described his family's roots in Colorado's San Luis Valley, where the Salazars have farmed and ranched land they held before Colorado became a state. He called the conquest of Mexican Americans and their land one of three American "original sins," alongside slavery and the genocide of Native Americans.
"It's about roots," Salazar said in the Aug. 15 NPR interview. "I think everybody is entitled to know who they are and where they're from. Well, I have a very proud history. It's also been a painful history where … our people, my ancestors, were basically part of the conquered people by the United States in the war between the United States and Mexico."
Salazar served as Colorado's U.S. senator from 2005 to 2009, then as secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was ambassador to Mexico from 2021 to 2025.
Publisher materials frame the book against what Salazar characterizes as attacks on American diversity, while also criticizing what he calls the "political malpractice" of both major parties on migration and border policy.
An RSVP provides general admission but does not guarantee seating. Books & Books recommends arriving early. Copies of "Borderlands" will be available for purchase. RSVP at booksandbooks.com.
Coming up in Coral Gables:
- Tuesday, Sept. 1: Ken Salazar discusses "Borderlands" at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., 7 p.m. Free; RSVP at booksandbooks.com.
- Sunday, Oct. 4: Paws in the Pool at the Venetian Pool.
- Saturday, Oct. 10: Afro-Cuban duo Okan performs in Coral Gables.
