THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: LATINOPIA HERO JORGE BUSTAMANTE, CYNTHIA OROZCO ON ADELA SLOSS-VENTO, RICARDO ROMO ON MY FAMILY CROSSED THE RIO GRANDE IN 1752 AND REMEMBERING CESAR CHAVEZ’S HUNGER STRIKE.
We begin this week with another loss to our community. Scholar and activist Dr. Jorge Bustamante passed away on march 25, 2021. You may not have heard of Dr. Bustamante but for decades he was a key figure in championing the rights of Mexican immigrants to the United States. Early on, he chronicled the experience of Mexican nationals crossing illegally into the United States by undergoing the arduous trip himself, swimming across the Rio Grade and eventually into the United States. This is how he earned his doctorate at Notre Dame University. He went on to spend a lifetime of doing research, writing articles and advocacy for the rights of the undocumented immigrants. This remembrance is authored by long time friend and colleague, the attorney, civil rights activist and founder of the La Raza Unida political party of the 1970s, José Angel Gutiérrez.
Also this week, we visit on Zoom with Dr. Cynthia Orozco from Eastern New Mexico University. She as written several books on the emergent role of women in Texas. In her book, Agent of Change Adela Sloss-Vento, she chronicles the life and work of a little known but profoundly important civil rights activist Chicana whose activism began in the 1930s and continued to her death in 1998.
This week was Cesar Chavez’s birthday and we celebrate it with a posting of Dolores Huerta speaking about his famous fast in 1968. Check out this moving tribute to Chavez by Dolores as she chronicles how the hunger strike came about.
And Ricardo Romo brings us another Tejano Report. This week he looks at his own family roots in early Texas history or as he puts it, “We cross the Rio Grande in 1752.”
Enjoy your week on Latinopia and have you gotten your vaccine shot? Hazlo!
Tia Tenopia