EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A local author is being celebrated for her children’s book inspired by a historical event here in the borderland.

Meagan O’Toole Pitts wrote “Carmelita,” which is inspired by the 1917 Bath Riots and Carmelita Torres, a civil rights leader.

Since the book’s release, O’Toole Pitts has been chosen as a finalist in the 2025 International Latino Book Awards in Oceanside, Calif.

Speaking to KFOX14/CBS4 on Wednesday, O’Toole Pitts expressed her surprise and gratitude, saying, “I’m overwhelmed and humbled because this is my first children’s book.”

“It was the first time I ever applied, and I didn’t know what to expect, and it’s been a whirlwind. I honestly didn’t expect to be a finalist or to win.”

The book highlights the story of Carmelita Torres, who at 17, protested a discriminatory policy enforced by El Paso’s mayor at the time, who subjected immigrants to dehumanizing chemical showers.

O’Toole Pitts emphasized the importance of this history, stating, “It was a huge violation of their civil rights. But I felt it was very important, especially to people here in our region.”

She hopes the story will educate and inspire those in El Paso and Juarez about a local hero.

“When I found out this history already as a grown woman in her 30s, I felt kind of robbed of my own hero that I could have grown up looking up to. I look up to her now, and she is my personal hero. But I feel like anyone, especially growing up in El Paso, Juarez, should know about her from the get-go, from the beginning of education,” O’Toole Pitts said.

With a background in journalism and playwriting, O’Toole Pitts added, “She is a civil rights leader who doesn’t really get talked about or celebrated, so I feel like if we go another few generations or another hundred years without talking about her, she’s going to be lost to history.”

While the winner of the 2025 International Latino Book Awards will be announced during a ceremony on Oct. 25 in California, O’Toole Pitts is set to hold a book signing in Las Cruces at COAS Books on Oct. 18.

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