Some saw this problem coming.

One of those people who foresaw the imminent building of a fence between Mexico and the United States was Rolando Díaz, director of student services for The University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

He even put his thoughts into writing — leading to book, “Tales from the Tortilla Curtain.”

“This started back in 1992,” he said. “After the fall of the Berlin Wall, I started thinking about the possibility that someday a similar thing will happen between the border of Mexico and the United States.

“Also, I realized that there weren’t many Hispanic characters in science fiction works for the English speaking audience,” he said. “This is when the idea of writing a book with these elements came to me. Actually, this book has been a work in process since the ’90s up until 2006.”

“Tales from the Tortilla Curtain” is a book that tackles the issue of immigration, of the controversial wall and the experience of growing up between two cultures. All these elements are addressed from a fictitious stand.

The book is divided into three sections. The first one is “Tales from the Tortilla Curtain;” the second section is “A través del tiempo” or “Across time;” and the final section is “Haste el Behave o te Espanqueo!” Díaz describes his book in a more exquisite way, literally.

“I see (the book) as a three-course meal,” he said. “The first section is the heavy plate — it presents the human drama of immigration. Then comes a lighter plate, this puts two Hispanic men in control of a time machine. Finally the third part, the dessert, which tells the Hispanic experience with a more humorous perspective.”

Díaz said that more than a book on political and social criticism, this is a book of “social commentary of what could happen and what is happening.” He said he added a few elements “that exaggerate the situation,” which makes the book entertaining while it sends a message, with which, Díaz hopes, “Mexicans and Mexican-Americans can identify.”

According to Díaz, who was born in Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, and raised in Eagle Pass, Texas, “the United States is a country of immigrants” and he suggests that politicians remember and act upon the challenge that former president Ronald Reagan once sent to president Gorbachev:

“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Efrén Castro, director of the programs assisting student study at UTPB, read “Tales from the Tortilla Curtain.” He said the book is “an entertaining read” because the issues addressed in it are current news.

“Things are changing,” he said. “American society is not being as tolerant of other people’s cultural identity as it used to be.”

Additionally, Castro said it was interesting to see the Hispanic experience from the eyes of a person who was born in Mexico and the struggle to maintain cultural identity.

He added that “today, immigrants are shocked to learn that the so called ‘melting pot’ isn’t exactly what they had in mind anymore.”