Chicano author Benjamin Alire Sáenz dies at 71

Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the Chicano author and poet best known for the young adult novel "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," has died at 71. The El Paso Times reported the news on July 29, 2026. Sáenz, who wrote from El Paso, Texas, throughout his career, was named the Texas Institute of Letters' Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement shortly before his death.