Doña Julia’s Children

About the Book

This is a biography of Baptist minister-turned educational reformer Vahac Mardirosian, a remarkable man who has accomplished a great deal over a long, fascinating career. Now in his late eighties and long since retired, he looks back on a long and eventful life. The arc of his personal narrative is a window into captivating chapters of history in the twentieth century. He is the child of survivors of the Turkish genocide perpetrated on Armenians. He grew up in post-revolutionary Mexico and came to the United States during World War II. He served as a Baptist minister until he became a political activist and educational reformer during the turbulent days of the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s. He capped his career by creating a nonprofit organization that helps immigrant parents become partners with the public schools in order to improve educational opportunities for their children. This is the remarkable story of an Armenian-Mexican-American.

About the Author

A product of East Los Angeles, Luís Torres is a veteran journalist, writer and filmmaker. He recently retired after nearly thirty years as a reporter for KNX Radio, the CBS station in Los Angeles. He has received a number of awards for excellence in broadcast journalism, including the prestigious Peabody Award, the duPont-Columbia Award and the Edward R. Murrow Award. He holds a master of science degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City and a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He lives in Pasadena, California. This is his first book.