Tierra del Sol is directed by Ward and Tot Albro, who actively lead all programs. Ward has led programs in Mexico and Guatemala for over 30 years. He is professor emeritus in history from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he taught Mexican, Mexican-American, and Latin American history for 35 years. He has also taught as a visiting professor at the Benemérita Universidad de Puebla; Universidad
de las Américas in Cholula, Mexico; Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico); and St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. He currently is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is past president of both the Southwest Council of Latin American Studies and the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies. He has directed three five-week summer seminars for the U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Program—one in Mexico and two in Guatemala. He co-created and for many years directed a faculty development program that included a language immersion program in Cuernavaca. Dr. Albro has led programs in the Mexican States of Morelos, Oaxaca, Michoacán, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Nuevo León, as well as the Federal District and the neighboring country of Guatemala. He has written two books on Mexican revolutionary anarchism and one with photographer Denis Defibaugh on the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca. He has presented scores of lectures in both the United States and Mexico and written numerous articles on Mexican history and culture. For the last 11 years he has been joined in all the Mexican and Guatemalan programs by his wife, Tot. A secondary school history teacher in San Antonio, Texas and a shop owner in San Antonio. Tot has traveled extensively throughout Mexico and Guatemala, living for a time in both countries. Her educational background includes graduate degrees and work in Mexican and Latin American history and culture. Besides a boundless enthusiasm for all things Mexican and Guatemalan, she brings deep knowledge and understanding of the culture and special expertise in fabrics, clothing, and jewelry
