In addition to his other achievements, Rivera contributed greatly to the literary world with his short stories, poetry and scholarly works. But he is best known for his novel, "...y no se lo tragó la tierra" (1971); for which he received the first Premio Quinto Sol literary award in 1971. Quinto Sol was a publishing house founded in 1967 by UC Berkeley students and faculty to disseminate Chicano/a literature and culture. They created the Premio Quinto Sol literary prize to recognize and promote Chicano authors.