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Born in 1963 in Brownsville, Texas, Cisneros was raised on the Mexican side of the border by a father who tended the family farm and a mother who ran the once-famous Rancho Grande restaurant. Growing up in Matamoros, young Carlos dreamed of one day running his father’s farm and owning a chain of restaurants. But after Mexico’s peso devaluation wiped out the fortunes of thousands of Mexican citizens, including his family’s, Cisneros left home and started waiting tables to help pay for college, eventually earning a degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin. After finishing law school in Houston, he returned to South Texas where he continues to practice law.
Cisneros, having married into a family involved in South Texas politics, has also had an opportunity to become well-acquainted with the inner-workings of the legislative process. Every other year when the Texas legislature convenes, Cisneros works alongside his father-in-law, State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., and his brother-in-law, State Representative Eddie Lucio III, on border issues affecting South Texas.
Carlos Cisneros lives with his wife and their three children in Brownsville. When he’s not working on cases, Cisneros spends time writing his weekly column, Clinica Legal, for a local Spanish newspaper. He writes articles of general interest explaining the latest legal developments in order to educate the Hispanic community.
Cisneros’s first book, The Case Runner (Arte Público Press, 2008), features Alejandro “Alex” del Fuerte, fresh out of law school, who is returning home to South Texas to open his solo practice. He has dreams of making his mark in the world and in the courtroom. But when he meets Porfirio “Pilo” Medina, who just crossed the border in search of his wife and son, Alex is suddenly dragged into a world of wrongdoings and political pay-offs rarely covered in law school.
Arte Público Press is the nation’s largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic authors. For more information, please visit our website at www.artepublicopress.com/.
In the next installment of a series of monthly features, Classical 91.7’s Eric Ladau spoke with Mr. Cisneros about his works.