Chicana historian Lorena Orepeza’s biography on Reies Lopez Tijerina titled King of Adobe fills the gaps in Chicano Movement historiography particular to the New Mexico land grant movement and women’s experiences. Oropeza argues cogently that as much as we consider Tijerina a “man of actions, he was foremost a man of ideas.” For those unfamiliar with Tijerina, he is recognized as the leader of the land reclamation arm of the Chicano Movement, having developed the Alianza Federal de Mercedes, or federal land grant alliance in New Mexico in the early 1960s. Tijerina led his followers down a path of Chicano militancy with two major actions—the occupation of part of the Carson National Park, which comprised part of the original San Joaquin del Rio de Chama land grant in October 1966 and the fatal raiding of the Rio Arriba Courthouse In Tierra Amarilla, NM on June 5, 1967.

The beauty of Oropeza’s biography is that it recounts a more complete narrative of Tijerina—a storied life as a Pentecostal preacher, as the prophet-like leader of an underground encampment, and later as the leader of la Alianza. Oropeza has relied on a wide range of archival material and conducted key oral histories in arguing that Tijerina “constantly reinvented himself in a relentless pursuit of righteousness as he defined and redefined it.” But in this main premise, Oropeza is at times more successful in her argument, especially in discussions of Tijerina as prophet, evangelist, and Chicano. At other times, such as when presenting Tijerina as an American and a Mexican an overlapping chronology makes the premise less effective. Finally, the strength of the work lies in the inclusion of women’s experiences such as Mary Escobar (Tijerina’s first wife), Rose Tijerina, his oldest daughter, and Maria Varela, a SNCC activist turned Alianza activist. There definitely lies more ground to research women of La Alianza. Recommended for students in Chicanx history and those interested in New Mexico history.