A historical novelist of the Hispanic people of New Mexico, Nash Candelaria has brought a special perspective to Chicano literature. His trilogy Memories of the Alhambra (1977), Not by the Sword (1982), and Inheritance of Strangers (1985) explores the relationship between historical incident and individual destiny.

Although born in Los Angeles, California, Candelaria told Juan Bruce-Novoa in a 1980 interview that he considers himself a New Mexican. His family was among the founders of Albuquerque in 1706, and one ancestor, Juan Candelaria, dictated a history of the New Mexico territory in 1776. His parents, Ignacio N. and Flora Rivera Candelaria, were born and raised in that state, and he and his sister spent their summers with family in Los Candelarias, a rural area of Albuquerque. These summer vacations were crucial to Candelaria's strong identification with New Mexico because he was able to observe and develop a feeling for the special way of life of...