Because Ramón Del Castillo grew up in western Kansas, the Chicano Movement of 1965 did not influence him as strongly as it did Chicanos living in the great urban centers of the Southwest. The Vietnam War and the tragedies it brought to his family and community were the first influences on his creative work. After moving to Colorado in 1972, Del Castillo became involved in the Chicano Movement, exploring issues of Chicano identity, the Chicano family, the education of Chicano children, the life of the vato (barrio dude) in the cities in the Southwest, and the activities of Chicano leaders on behalf of their community.

Ramón Rosalio Del Castillo was born on 25 May 1949 in Newton, Kansas, a railroad town some twenty miles from Wichita. The Santa Fe Railroad had brought his grandfather Rosalio Lopez Del Castillo from Mexico City to work in Newton. Ramón...