Feminists before their times…
“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” — Marge Piercy American poet, novelist
Cecilia Rasmussen Baldenegro.
As I traverse the twilight period of my life, I often find myself strolling down memory lane and thinking about how things have changed. That happened recently when three women – of Mexican heritage – came knocking on my door. Candidates for public office, they were mining my neighborhood for votes.
I grew up in the 1950s-1960s, when, for all intents and purposes, running for office was an all-male sport. Women were involved in politics, to be sure, but not as candidates. They did the grunt work – typing (e.g., press releases), stuffing envelopes, making copies on the mimeograph machine, etc. – in support of male candidates. Such was the political culture of the times.
That doesn’t mean that there were no strong, assertive women in those days. There were plenty of them. I should know – I was raised by one.
I was raised by a strong, assertive woman…
My mother, Cecilia Rasmussen Baldenegro (she of blessed memory) was orphaned when she was a child. She grew up in an orphanage where she was disdained because of her Mexican heritage. And then she was thrust into the state foster care system, where she was perceived and treated as a “lesser than.”
Cecilia said this treatment toughened her, taught her how to fight, to be a rule breaker when the rules were oppressive or discriminatory, or, in her words, “downright stupid.” She vowed to vigorously fight any attempt to mistreat her and to help others who were being mistreated.
In the 1950s-early 1960s my Mom was among the minority of Mexican American women who worked outside the home. She was an electronic assembler at Hughes Aircraft and was elected Union Steward, representing union members regarding grievances, etc. She often wore pants instead of dresses and even wore pants to church, causing a lot of murmuring. While not actively involved in political campaigns, she voted.
My Mom confronted – and threatened to sue if necessary – the teachers and principal of the elementary school I and my siblings attended. She told them that they were forbidden from spanking us for speaking Spanish. She also threatened to sue the school district if I was not allowed to re-enroll in Tucson High School after my release from reform school. And she threatened to sue the University of Arizona if they refused admission to my older brother because he did not have a high-school diploma – he had a GED certificate, which he earned in the military.
But my Mom was not unique. There were other organic feminists amongst us, some of whom I was privileged to have interacted with – and learned from. Some examples include:
When she spoke, people listened…
Julia Corral Soto.
Julia Corral Soto (she of blessed memory) from Barrio Anita is best known for her work in the medical field (more on that below), but like my Mom, in the 1950s-1960s, Julia confronted teachers, school principals, education administrators, and school board members in behalf of her own children as well as in behalf of other children from Barrio Anita who were being mistreated in school (being spanked for speaking Spanish, etc.).
Julia made it her life’s mission to help poor people receive fair and inexpensive medical services. In the 1960s, Julia put together a group – Los Servidores (The Servers) – that advocated for patients at the county hospital. And in 1970, Julia and a coterie of health-care advocates and political/barrio activists founded the El Rio-Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center, where Julia served as director of patient services for more than 30 years. The center received federal grants and operated on a sliding-fee basis, whereby people paid what they could afford, which more often than not was zero.
Julia’s activism was rooted in empathy. She grew up poor and witnessed injustice and inequality in Barrio Anita, where she lived, and elsewhere. Family members who contracted tuberculosis experienced great difficulty getting medical attention. Thus, she had great empathy for poor and uninsured patients who had little or no health-care options before El Rio opened its doors.
In short, when Julia spoke, people – school teachers/principals, school district superintendents, medical doctors, bureaucrats, elected officials – listened.
She took Tucson history to the UK…
Anna (“Annie”) Baffert Laos.
Anna (“Annie”) Baffert Laos (she of blessed memory), was heavily involved in Tucson political dynamics, particularly those involving barrio preservation and education. Annie was a fixture in City Hall, the Arizona State Building, and school district headquarters, lobbying elected officials and/or bureaucrats about this or that policy that impacted neighborhoods and their residents.
Annie’s University of Arizona experience contributed to her becoming a fierce educational activist. Annie was admitted to the University of Arizona in 1947, intending to major in Geology. But she was told by the Dean that all the available slots were saved for returning WW II vets and that in any event, the College of Mines was no place for a woman. Rather than being discouraged, this energized her to encourage girls to not only graduate high school but to also enroll at the U of A.
She strongly promoted programs and initiatives that she believed would make Tucson better and opposed those she felt would hurt the city and its people. For example:
Annie lived in Armory Park, an historical neighborhood. Fearing that gentrification would ruin the neighborhood’s historical aspects, in 1957 she led a movement that established the first historic neighborhood in Tucson and the second in the country, the Armory Park Historic Residential District, which is listed on the National Register of Historical Sites. This designation prohibits changes that would impact negatively on the historical aspects of the neighborhood and its structures.
In the early 1970s, Annie was heavily involved in the movement to defeat the proposed Butterfield Freeway, a project that would have destroyed large swaths of barrio homes, schools, and businesses in historic parts of Tucson.
Annie’s influence went beyond Tucson. Recognized as a historical preservationist, Annie was invited to speak on “Historical Preservation in Tucson” at St. John College at Cambridge University, England in 1992.
Our kids will swim when they want to…
Juanita Loroña (she of blessed memory) was a true patriot and relentless campaigner against discriminatory laws and policies. She was an active member of the Tucson-based WW II- era Asociación Hispano-Americana de Madres y Esposas (Hispanic-American Association of Mothers and Wives).
Asociación members engaged in several activities to support the war effort. Their major activity was selling war bonds and stamps – in 1944-45, the Asociación sold over $1 million worth of war bonds and stamps. The group also developed a network of “Victory Gardens” whereby people could grow their own vegetables so the country’s harvest could go to feed the troops. And Asociación members collected scrap metal and foil (from candy, gum, and cigarette wrappers) as well as tin cans to turn over to war-effort collection centers.
Juanita Loroña also was part of a group that led the fight to desegregate public facilities in Arizona. Ten years after a 1944 federal court case that established that not allowing Mexican Americans to use public facilities was illegal, some Arizona cities (including Tucson and many of the small, mining communities) either did not allow Mexican children to swim in public pools or allowed them to swim only one day a week, after the white kids had used the pool for six days. Loroña’s group, with the help of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers in Arizona’s mining towns, petitioned, picketed, and took the case to court—and won!
Simultaneous to the Tucson effort, Phoenix-based LULAC Council 110, under the leadership of María A. García and Plácida García-Smith successfully challenged Tempe’s “No Mexicans Allowed” policy regarding public swimming pools.
Organic feminists such as the above existed in every community. They may not have been candidates for public office but they occasioned meaningful political changes that benefited our community. Find out about the organic feminists in your community. If they are still living, talk with them. They are usually willing to share their stories. If they are deceased, their families often are willing to share their stories and memorabilia (pictures, etc.).
I guarantee: knowing their stories will make you proud and will inspire you. c/s
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Copyright 2026 by Salomon Baldenegro. You can contact Sal at: Salomonrb@msn.com
All images in this blog are used under the “fair use” proviso of the copyright law. Special Thanks to Arizona nonpareil historian Dr. Christine Marín for her assistance regarding the work of the Asociación Hispano-Americana de Madres y Esposas and of the LULAC Council 110 campaign.