The important role that Tejanos played in the success of Stephen F. Austin and his colony will be the topic of a talk at the Bastrop Museum and Visitor's Center by Dr. Jesus “Frank” de la Teja, recently named chief executive officer of the Texas State Historical Association.

“Stephen F. Austin and the Tejano Leadership from Exploration to Revolution” is the title of de la Teja’s presentation at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 26 at the Calvary Heritage Hall, 1020 Main in Bastrop.

 “As they worked together to launch Anglo-American settlement in Texas, Austin and leading men in San Antonio formed bonds of friendship as well as ties of business and political interest,” Dr. de la Teja said. “My talk discusses this much neglected aspect of development of Texas during Mexican rule.”

After retiring from Texas State University, de la Teja was named the interim Chief Executive Officer of the TSHA by the board of directors effective Feb.1. He served as TSHA president 2007-08 as he concurrently served as the inaugural Texas State Historian (2007-09).

For 17 years, , de la Teja was the book review editor of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, responsible for hundreds of reviews of scholarly books on Texas and the Southwest. He has published extensively on Spanish, Mexican, and Republic-era Texas and participated on the content development team for the Bullock Texas State History Museum, among other achievements.