Border & Immigration

Tijuana-born Author Delves into Cross-border Life

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host

Published March 30, 2009 at 7:45 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Originally aired on February 3, 2009.

Maureen Cavanaugh : The movement of undocumented immigrants from Mexico into the United States has inspired lots of controversy, lots of politics and lots of anxiety on both sides of the border.

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It has also inspired a great book, written by my guest, Luis Alberto Urrea. The nonfiction book "The Devil's Highway" has won several awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005. It is a story that follows a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, and it is written in a way that would make no reader surprised to learn that the author is also a poet.

Guest

Luis Alberto Urrea , author of the highly acclaimed nonfiction book "The Devil's Highway."

Border & Immigration

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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