First up: Julián Castro

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, ’96, is scheduled to give the keynote address tonight at the Democratic National Convention. Photo: jamesgatz

Tonight, San Antonio Mayor JULIÁN CASTRO, who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and communication from Stanford in 1996, is scheduled to make history as the first Latino to give the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention.

“The keynote honor is typically bestowed upon a rising star within the party. In 2004, BARACK OBAMA, then a little known state senator from Illinois, took the stage and vaulted to national attention. Such selections, however, aren’t just about grooming up-and-comers; they’re carefully calculated decisions to help win the coming election,” writes Sam Scott in a Stanford magazine online exclusive.

Scott interviews political science Professor GARY SEGURA, chair of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at Stanford’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Segura researches political representation and the politics of America’s growing Latino population.

[Update: Castro was introduced by his twin brother JOAQUÍN, also a Stanford alum.]

Read the interview with Segura on the magazine’s website.