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El Cinco de Mayo is a time to honor the community’s heroes, both past and present. In the last year, several of the community’s heroes have passed. They were people whose contributions will have made a difference in the lives of many. They left us with one message, “never give up the struggle for social justice.”
Let’s hope that the upcoming generation of educational intellectuals and activists realize that we have a responsibility to assist in placing our heroes into a historical context that gives them the respect that they deserve. My hope is that the new leadership realizes that their successes come from those who stood up before them and challenged the powerbrokers to live up to the democratic covenant with the people.
It’s going to be a challenge, especially at a time when our communities remain under attack by right wing ideologues whose retroactive agenda lies somewhere between complete assimilation and complete expulsion. Let’s hope that the modern day heroes’ messages have penetrated the minds and hearts of la gente in a society that is caught up in titles, materialism and success a la gringada.
I wanted to take time out to pay respect and homage to them.
Sal Salazar was a life time friend of mine. I met him in 1972 at the Weld County Opportunity Agency, a war on poverty program that came into existence during the building of President Johnson’s Great Society. He and Benny “Butter” García tossed me into the Chicano Movement like baptism through fire. I can only be grateful for this.
Sal’s compassion for the human condition left imprints on the collective consciousness of northern Colorado communities that should be taught in history classes. He was a Korean War Veteran hero who knew the perils of war and the destruction that it causes to humankind. As one of the few Chicanos who are in the Colorado Hall of Fame, Sal never boasted about his accomplishments. His humility was awesome. The many years he spent coaching and building character for three generations of baseball players laid the foundation for future generations of Chicanos to enter into the splendor of professional baseball.
Sal spent 50 years of his life struggling for the civil rights of people in Northern Colorado. He always walked his talk. He ran for La Raza Unida at a time when a third party within the two party system was unheard of. I remember in the 1970’s listening to Sal’s passionate, articulate and incisive pleas for public policy makers to open their eyes and ears. I can still hear his voice shouting invectives at those who chose not to listen. Sal always included the perspective of the underdog; those whose voices were squelched by the racism of the time.
Lalo Delgado was my friend and mentor. As fellow poets, I had the privilege of walking with Lalo into many poetic circles for over 30 years. The humorous and tragic iconoclastic images of La Raza that Lalo created in his poetry transformed how La Raza’s viewed themselves. His epic poem, “Stupid América” bellowed for America to listen to the cries for justice from the Brown people of the earth.
Lalo was also a very humble man. On many occasions as I listened to his poetic phrases, I could see his tears roll down his face. They were tears of happiness and sadness, mezclada con amor para la gente.
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, the latest tragedy that our community has suffered was a man whose charisma can be compared to our ancestral heroes like Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. These were courageous men who stood up in public unafraid to criticize those who needed to be criticized. Corky‘s courage to stand up and be heard in spite of tremendous odds is a message that needs to be shared with future generations.
Corky was a catalyst. He knew the plight of the urban vatos caught up in the quagmire of “social neurosis.” His classic poem “I am Joaquin,” crafted at a time when la gente had been shamed into extreme forms of psychological denial, shaped an identity that brought forth feelings of pride and dignity to La Raza. Corky took the skills that he learned in the boxing ring and imported them into his political life. He abandoned the two party system that purchased loyalty to those willing to those willing to abandon their values. He understood the history and psychology of oppressed people and also knew el remedio for liberation. His poem is a stroll down historic streets filled with culture, pain and challenge
¡Que viva los tres de Mayo!
Ramón Del Castillo, Ph.D. is an Independent Journalist.
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