Chicano Youth Action at La Raza Park in the Early 1970s: Following the Examples of Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales In 1972, the Denver Post contained very few articles about the Chicano struggle for equality, especially from the Chicano perspective. Early that year, one article did address a small issue in Denver: the refusal of the public school board to allow nominated Chicano teachers, students and administrators to attend a leadership conference at an urban education institute in New Mexico. According to the article, the school board used several excuses: it would be redundant for them to attend, since there were already leaders present in schools, and they did not know ine its worth, enough about the leadership conference to deter The Denver Post article questioned the validity of these arguments, since the institute hosting the conference had the approval of both the National Education Association and, locally, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. The newspaper did not include its opinion on the matter, but did raise the issue to the general public. Although mainstream news media published this particular article, it stood out as an exception to the accepted practice of omitting Chicano issues from the news, Most issues Mexicans and Mexican-Americans faced were ignored by the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News. The term Mexican-American refers to all people of Mexican descent raised from childhood in the United States, while the word Mexican refers to Mexican citizens residing anywhere. Chicano refers to politically-active or culturally-aware Mexican-Americans and their causes. Some Chicano news was hidden within the police beat, only as arrest records for theprevious day. The Denver Post occasionally featured a few local issues in its back pages. As summer approached in 1972, an alarming article about Chicano activism grabbed the second page. On June 29", 1972 the top of the second page of the Denver Post proctaimed “Policeman Shot; 31 Arrested.” To a regular reader of £1 Gallo, a popular alternative news source for the Chicano community, this news did not come as any surprise. Tensions had been growing in Denver between the Chicano community and Denver Police. United States citizens of Italian descent had long been dominant in the Columbus Park neighborhood both in population and in political representation The generations-long Italian influence in the Northside neighborhood surrounding the park waned as the ethnic shift toward Mexicans and Mexican-Americans altered the neighborhood communal landscape. Without news outlets such as E! Gallo, many Mexican-American residents of Denver would have no understanding of the political causes and ramifications of the June 28" riot. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales was the founder of EI Gallo, often its benefactor and just as often a contributor. The newspaper itself was an expression of his message of Chicano activism for Chicano people, Mainstream news media did not cover the issues that were important to this community, so he took an interest and covered them himself. The events at La Raza Park, also known as Columbus Park, were a constant feature in El Gallo. ‘The Columbus Park neighborhood can be loosely defined as existing in the immediate surrounding blocks of Columbus Park and northwards on Navajo Street for several blocks. The focus of the activity at the park occurred within one to twoblocks of the park itself. Although Lincoln Park still retains the name La Alma for its recreation center, the Denver governing leaders have ended the use of the names for the parks which had been “nationalized” by Chicanos. Lincoln Park at 11® Avenue and Osage Street had been called La Alma Park. Chicanos reclaimed Columbus Park at 37% Avenue and Navajo Street as La Raza Park and Curtis Park at 30 Street and Champa Street as Mestizo Park. The struggle for control at La Raza Park gives a particularly clear picture of the Chicano struggle at the time. Neighborhood residents at La Raza Park had gathered to protest the firing of Aturo “Bones” Rodriguez, a local youth who had taken over as manager of the park and its programs. Rodriguez and other youth had followed the example of Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, who was a local leader and activist for the Chicano cause who championed an attitude of self-sufficiency for the Mexican-American communities of the Denver area; El Gallo encompassed only part of his mission for Chicano equality in Denver. The events at La Raza Park prove that his mission was adopted and propelled forward by other Chicano residents of Denver, such as Rodriguez and the youth of La Raza Park, The firing of Arturo Rodriguez reflected the tensions between La Raza Park's community and the city council as well as between the struggle for power between Mexican-American residents of the neighborhood and Italian-American residents, Leadership over the Northside community had been a source of tension in the Columbus Park neighborhood. Eugene DiManna, an Italian-American tavern owner had narrowly won a contentious battle for City Councilman in his district duetoa split Hispanic vote down party lines." Italian-Americans maintained their political superiority in representation within city politics despite the population shift. This split vote among the Spanish-surnamed residents was a powerful example of the Chicano struggle and failure to mobilize their population for change. Since the election, tensions in the neighborhood had only risen? Conflicts with the city’s Parks and Recreations Manager, Joe Ciancio, had only intensified the struggle between city officials and neighborhood activists. Activists claimed their needs were not being met, and city officials claimed that neighborhood residents disobeyed laws and behaved both irresponsibly and criminally. Firing Rodriguez was one aspect of these accusations. Ciancio and DiManna claimed that Rodriguez had problems with absences from work and taking direction, but the Chicano residents of the neighborhood claimed otherwise." Chicano youth, such as Arturo Rodriguez, Antonio Archuleta, and Donny Marquez began performing maintenance operations and supervision of La Raza Park because the city employees were often not attending to their duties or altogether absent from the park. At the time of the La Raza Park struggle in the summer of 1972, Arturo Rodriguez was only 23 years old.5 Still his efforts and the efforts of his young compatriots were swift and vigorous. These young activists quickly established programs in La Raza Park, as it had been renamed in 1969, which were modeled after Gonzales’ programs in Crusade for Justice. These " Vigil, Emesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. p. 172. * £1 Gallo, February, April, June, 1972. * BI Gallo, April 1972. Also Denver Post, March 24%, 1972. + £1Gallo, April, June, and August 1972, Also Denver Post, March 24", 1972 5 Denver Post, March 24", 1972.included free lunch programs, cultural events, enhanced security to guard against the selling of drugs in the neighborhood, and cleaning and maintaining the park. Through his organization, the Crusade for Justice, Gonzales had started providing free lunch programs for the poor, sponsoring cultural awareness classes and events, and hosting activist leaders for conferences and discussions. Many of the youth of the northside neighborhood of La Raza Park attended the school he established, La Escuela Tlatelolco, as an alternative to public schools which did not create pride in Chicanismo.? The youths of La Raza Park neighborhood followed his examples of providing services within the Chicano community by maintaining and improving services at the park. Meanwhile, the tensions between Spanish- surnamed residents of Denver's Northside and the local police force had become exceedingly hostile and even violent* Although the Denver Post had previously acknowledged the name La Raza for the park in an earlier article in the back of the newspaper, the tone in that, newspaper now shifted and only the previously-established Columbus Park name was used. The story was spread over two pages; George Lane was the attributed author. He led the second half of the story with the admonition "Several promises designed to ‘keep down the trouble’ were made [by Chicano activists] in Columbus Park Wednesday afternoon, but problems continued and appeared to worsen £1 Gallo, April 1972 * Gonzales, Nita, Mission Statement and History of La Escuela Tlatelolco, www.esuelatlatelolco.org. Accessed May 5*, 2010. Vigil, Emesto. The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. p. 172,through the night.” Lane admonished the Chicano community and lauded police efforts to keep the peace. ‘The Denver Post article did, however, corroborate assertions in El Gallo that the park’s curfew rule had been obeyed in stating, “[T]he community efforts to clear the park were somewhat successful....most of the trouble happened in the streets and alleys surrounding the park after the area had been cleared,” EI Gallo reported that the police had searched side streets and alleys to find Chicano youth to fight and arrest after the park’s eleven p.m. curfew. This was because the youth were not violating city code; they did not remain in the park after curfew. Despite the harsh retaliation on the part of police, the residents of La Raza had for the most part left the park by that time. The tension-filled police reaction reflects the complex relationship between police and Chicanos at the time. The takeover of the La Raza Park was generated by the need for sanitary and safe recreation for the neighborhood's youth in an underserved area.’ Local Chicano residents cleaned, repainted and maintained the pool and bathhouse areas as well as cleaned trash and maintained landscaping in the open areas of the park." In addition, the free lunch program they instituted for the needy helpful and inspirational to local residents". These activist youth also ran swimming lessons, sports programs and dance classes.'? The activities provided healthy alternatives to drug use for neighborhood youth, but the new custodians of the park also increased * £1 Gallo, April 1972. Also Vigil, Emesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999 61 Gallo, April June, and August 1972. "£1 Gallo, April 1972. Also Vigik Ersesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. "1 Gallo, August 1972. Also, “La Raza Park (Columbus) Incident Deposition (‘Corky’). Corky Gonzales Papers, Box 6, FF1, WHI971, Denver Public Library 6security measures. They worked actively to eradicate the growing drug problem in the park, a special cause for Gonzales who wanted pure Chicanos with liberated minds to fight for equality.!3 The Chicano activists who controlled the parks repeated by the successful programs Gonzales instituted with the Crusade for Justice and la Escuela, The free lunch program at La Escuela had become quite successful. As it was repeated in the Northside neighborhood of La Raza Park, it fed ‘over 200 needy people.'* Gonzales’ example in La Escuela proved that it could be done and modeled the proper framework. The Northside Chicano residents had been calling for a vote of no confidence in Councilman Eugene DiManna since he had dismissed Rodriguez from his duties as park manager." Community actions and letters, recorded also in El Gallo, were not as aggressive as the leading text of the Denver Post article stated. One example written by two mothers and published in EI Gallo respectfully asked, “Whatever the rationale on which you have based your decision, it must surely be outweighed by the positive effects Arturo Rodriguez’ work has shown in the past" Her nonjudgmental tone encouraged DiManna to reconsider his decision himself, it was not worded as a demand or threat, Gonzales’ news outlet, El Gallo, was not a nonjudgmental or objective news source. The purpose of E/ Gallo was to defend the causes of Chicanos, Mexicans, and " Bsquibel, Antonio, ed. Message o Actlan: Selected Writings by Rodolfo "Cork Arte Piblico Press, 2001. p. 71. '*£1Gallo, April 1972. ' Denver Post, Match 24°, 1972, Also £1 Gallo, April 1972. "© BI Gallo, April 1972. Gonzales. Houston:Mexican-Americans in Denver and beyond.!” Gonzales himself s: inanarticle by the Rocky Mountain News that, “I’m an agitator and a trouble maker. That's my reputation and that’s what I am going to be.” He said that no one could buy his silence and he went on in life to prove it. His Crusade for Justice Organization, his news outlet E! Gallo, his Escuela de Tlatelolco all carried his purpose of unrelenting advocacy for the Chicano cause. However, the ability of the Chicano community to publish their levelheaded requests to Councilman DiManna allowed these letters to be read not only by DiManna, but also by the public so that they could see these neighborhood residents ‘were not acting viciously or illogically. In this way, Gonzales had not only provided some inspiration for activism, but also its mechanism. His newspaper, E/ Gallo, was the vehicle for public discourse at a time when the mainstream news was not responding to the needs of Chicano residents in Denver. In March a few months prior, the discourse in the media from both EI Gallo and the Denver Post was still civil. George Lane’s article in the Post, while it could not be described as sympathetic to the Chicano cause, at least described the needs of the Mexican and Mexican-American community in objective terms. For instance he stated, “The verbal support given Rodriguez by those attending the meeting was backed up with a list of demands which called for Ciancio's removal and DiManna’s recall.”® His word choice was neutral and fell fairly in the center of the conflict. Unlike later articles, Lane did not use negative terminology to describe the Chicano "” Vigil, Emesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. p. 71-73. "* Denver Post, March 24", 1972. p. 24population or individual activists. He used their given names and their nicknames as opposed to referencing them solely by their nicknames as in his later article. The differences in Lane's writing style, becoming more hostile and less understanding of the political machinations of the events, indicate some kind of change. This could be an individual change of heart for the author, an opinion shift of the part of the newspaper, or a broader shift of mood in the general public who empathized with the police force or the Italian-American population around the park. Chicano activists took control of the maintenance of three Denver parks beginning in 1969 in an effort to provide recreation services for their own community which was often excluded from community outreach efforts? The process continued through 1970 and was completed in 1971 when the city hired the youths who had been maintaining the parks? Corky Gonzales, a local leader in the activities for civil rights for Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, Chicanos and indeed all “Spanish-Surnamed Residents of Denver” was involved in this action as he was in many others during the Chicano Movement in Colorado." He published the reports on the events and news of the parks’ takeover in addition to appeat gand giving speeches at park celebrations. Certainly, both motivation and organization are needed in large amounts to defy injustice. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales was a political activist, a community outreach leader and a fiery personality who was able to use "? Vigil, Emesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. p. 170. > Vigil, Emesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999, p. 170. °" The term “Spanish-surnamed residents” was commonly used in the time for Mexican, Mexican- American, and other Latino residents, as can be seen in the Denver Public Library's Biographical Newspaper Clipping Files, Denver Public Library. Gonzales, Rodolfo “Corky”. Accessed February 9", 2010.his fame as a boxer and his talent for words in both English and Spanish to unite a wide variety of people, if only for a short time. “Police Terrorism in Denver,” This was the response by contributers to EI Gallo, to the violent crackdown in the surrounding areas of La Raza Park on June 28%, 1972, EI Gallo had been publishing stories for several months regarding the difficulties at the park and the rising tensions there. The police action, with this more complete context, portrayed the attitudes of the city council for the Chicano community in La Raza Park, The Denver Post, without this context, chronicled a different story. Although the Denver Post had promised to include the Chicano activists’ perspective on the violence in Denver's Northside neighborhood that summer, no article chronicling the activists’ experience was included after that June evening. Gonzales was a speaker at La Raza Park the night of June 28". A hearing was held in order to officially establish the course of events that night. In examining the witness, the prosecuting attorney attempted to identify Gonzales as a key organizer22 Gonzales was humble and reticent; he claimed, “I would say that my role was that I was one of influencing community unity.”®* Undoubtedly, Gonzales was an organizer at any event of Chicano activism in Denver. He may have only been speaking at this particular gathering at La Raza Park, but he was accepted by many in the Chicano community as a leader of Chicano activism in Denver as the founder and leader of its primary organizing body, Crusade for Justice. ‘La Raza Park (Columbus) Incident Deposition (‘Corky’). Corky Gonzales Papers, Box 6, FFI, WH1971, Denver Public Library “La Raza Patk (Columbus) Incident Deposition (‘Corky’). Corky Gonzales Papers, Box 6, FFI, WHI971. Denver Public Library. 10Ina speech given in April 1972 and repeated in EI Gallo in both English and Spanish called on all Chicanos to take action in their communities?" He wanted them to unite regardless of socio-economic status to better their lives and their communities because city services would not be provided for them.25 He told his audience and readers to look to successful examples. He was undoubtedly referring to the recent takeover of the local Denver parks, including La Raza, by Chicano youth so that they could be cleaned up and become an asset to local neighborhoods. Gonzales’ called specifically for the eradication of drugs from Chicano communities. Drugs had been a constant problem in La Raza when it was called Columbus Park26 This was a constant theme in his speeches and many times El Gallo featured efforts at removing drugs and drug dealers from Denver Chicano neighborhoods.” Rodriguez and the youth of La Raza Park combined their actions to rid their community of drugs by chasing away drug dealers from the parks and by providing classes, sports and other activities for local children.2® ‘The organizers and neighborhood youth at La Raza Park had not just one, but, several violent encounters with police. On March 24", 1972 the Denver Post reported that police had scuffled with neighborhood residents and that conflict had arisen from the dismissal of Arturo “Bones” Rodriguez.”® This Denver Post article, unlike the June 25" article, presented a basic description of the Rodriguez.conflict * Bsquibel, Antonio, ed. Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, Houston: Arte Pablco Press, 2001 pp. $666. ® 1 Gallo, April 1972. * 1 Gallo, Apsil and August 1972. * Esquibel, Antonio, ed. Message to Aztlan Selected Writings by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales. Houston: Arte Pablico Press, 2001 pp. 56-66. Als, see £1 Gallo, April, June, July, August, October 1972 * B1 Gallo, April 1972. Denver Post, March 24, 1972 uland a brief history of the park takeover. Although it carried the inflammatory title: “Ciancio, DiManna Targets ~ Chicanos Protest Pools, Parks,” it effectively lists the requests of the neighborhood residents. They wanted Rodriguez to be reinstated in his role as park manager for La Raza Park, they wanted the name to be officially changed to La Raza from Columbus Park, and they wanted to be allowed to maintain the park as they had since 1969.29 Tempers only flared more when Councilman DiManna assaulted Father José Lara, a Chicano leader within the La Raza Park neighborhood after a discussion of the park staffing issue.%! DiManna invited Lara to a special meeting at St. Patrick's Church by Councilman DiManna and Larry Perry, another Italian-American Northside City Councilman. The meeting is also attended by members of the police force. The councilmen accused Father Lara of inciting the protests surrounding Rodriguez’ dismissal. After the meeting ended, Father Lara left the church and was assaulted by DiManna.® In the interests of his religion and his position of religious leadership in the community, he maintained the beliefs of his station and turned the other cheek. He did not file charges and initially offered no comment to the press. Curiosity and hurt feelings lingered, however, and Father Lara made a statement to ElGallo in the August issue. The City Council identified Father Lara as a leader of, the Chicano Movement in Denver's Northside, and although many of the neighborhood's residents visited his services every week he was not the solitary voice of the Movement that the City Government had hoped for. ® Denver Post, March 24", 1972, * £1 Gallo, August 1972 * £1 Gallo, August 1972. 12Denver was a center of radical activity during the time of La Raza Park uprising, a fact which may surprise some current Denver residents. In the 1960s and 1970s, the historically marginalized Hispanic populations of Denver and other parts of Colorado began to resist the restrictions and limitations imposed on them. The Chicano movement sought to unite a wide variety of people with different linguistic, economicand educational backgrounds. This made their ultimate goals of equality more difficult to realize. ‘The concept of La Raza had become a rallying cry for many Chicano activists. While directly translated as “The Race”, it does not necessarily carry that exact meaning; it can be more genuinely translated as “our culture” or “our community’ with a gesture towards ethnic pride according to multiple sources, not the least of Which is Chicano scholar and journalist Gustavo Arellano. The term “La Raza” originated from a booklet written in 1925 by José Vasconselos entitled, "La Raza Césmica” or “The Cosmic Race” which referred to the blending of races and the ending of racial strife in the time of Social Darwinism. This uniting call by Chicano activists is often quoted as meaning racial superiority, but this is incorrect and it can cause confusion, Academic study of the Chicano Rights Movement is seldom covered by general United States History texts, but there are several monographs and scholarly journal articles on the subject. Many of these are written by the actors and participants in the events themselves and they can serve many purposes. Among ® wavw.oeweekly.com/2008-07-3 I/columns/iexcl-ask-a-mexican-reg-special-le-raza-edici-nl. Accessed April 2", 2010. This booklet achieved at east four printings and can be found as Vasconselos, José. La raza césmica: misién de la raza tberoamericana, Madrid: Aguilar, 1961them are to educate new activists with cautionary tales of the trials and failures of the Movement or with inspirational stories of Chicano Civil Rights victories. In the case of Ernesto Vigil's The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent, both the purposes of education and inspiration are represented in well-written, descriptive text. Ernesto Vigil insists upon the importance of the Crusade for Justice as an organization. He wrote: “Its achievements have been poorly chronicled, and the Crusade is often recalled for the controversies in which it was embroiled rather than for its accomplishments in the face of adversity.”3* This theme, a renewed study of the driving forces of the Chicano Movement focused not only on its failures or its bitter internal politics but also on its successes and continued importance, allows Vigil to recount the Crusade’s history as a lesson for future activists He analyzes both the Crusade and the opposing forces of local politics, Anglo culture, and the police force with a critical eye. This is not just a summary of events inhistory. Vigil has written to the next generation of the Chicano Movement. He included court testimony and ample evidence of news bias against the Movement to inspire this next generation to read critically and to question sources. He gives a quick history of local racial politics to educate them and bring their understanding of the current political landscape to greater complexity. His audience is clear and he speaks to them directly. As he said himself, “It is hoped that this book can adequately convey the conditions of the Chicano people in Denver and Colorado, the nature of their struggle, and the role played by the Vigil, Emesto. The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War of Dissent. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. p. 18. 14Crusade for Justice. In the end, this work is written in the belief that no organization will rise to match the Crusade, much less surpass it, until it first learns the lessons from the legacy of the Crusade's rich and largely unrecognized history.”35 He clearly gives this message to a new generation of Chicanos so that they may start to affect change in Denver. Conflicts between Chicano activists and police arose and fell all over the city in the 1960s and 1970s. La Raza Park and the conflict surrounding it became a perfect example of Chicanos’ struggle to provide services for their own communities when the city failed to do so. The conflict over the parks had been escalating since 1969, when the disappointment brewing over the mismanagement of the parks in Chicano neighborhoods boiled over into public action, The neighborhood communities surrounding the Denver Northside parks took over maintenance and staffing of those parks because they had not been properly maintained and were often closed. As reported in El Gallo, drugs were being sold in the park, the pool at Columbus Park was unsanitary, the showers in the bathhouse were dirty and the toilets nonfunctional.36 Directly after the events at La Raza Park, Gonzales delivered a speech at the La Raza Unida National Convention.*” He discussed the problems of searching for equality in a society which turns a blind eye to injustice. He focused particularly on the problem of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans who saw the strife and struggle of % Vigil, Emesto. The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War of Dissent. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. p. 382-3. °° El Gallo, April 1972. Esquibel, Antonio, ed. Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales. Houston: Arte Piiblico Press, 2001 15their people but did nothing, He attested, "We have people who are tapados y ciegos [blindfolded and blind}. They have cataracts in their eyes... y no quieren ver [they do not want to see]."" He contrasted these blindfolded neighbors to the “teachers” or activists who will not settle for injustice. Certainly some members of the Northside neighborhood preferred inaction to the risk and inherent danger of protesting the established norms of Denver city politics. Others, however, were more like the youth who recognized the lack of city services in their own neighborhood and took up the slack Before parks’ takeovers and angry marches and protests, Gonzales had already become a leader of the Chicano Movement in Colorado. He began by working within the two-party system. He was the youngest Democratic District Captain in Colorado in 1955.%° A flyer for his campaign to become the Eighth District's councilman declared, "No [sic] Corky isn’t the smartest guy in the world, or the shrewdest or the most ambitious. But he isn’t out to clip you either....All he can pledge is that he'll just keep being Corky.”* This casual, intimate tone is common of his published documents. He established himself early on as a “straight shooter” or an honest man-of-the-people. He had always commanded considerable control over language regardless of the tone.! Asa poet, he wrote the famous epic poem “Yo Soy Joaquin” which was % Esquibel, Antonio, ed. Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings by Rodolfo “Corky Gonzales. Houston: ‘Arte Pablico Press, 2001. p71 » Denver Post, Biographical Newspaper Clipping Files, Denver Public Library. Gonzales, Rodolfo “Corky”. Accessed February 9", 2010. * Biographical Newspaper Clipping Files, Denver Public Library. Gonzales, Rodolfo “Corky”. Accessed February 9", 2010. *T seiner, Stan. “The Poet in the Boxing Ring.” La Causa Politica: A Chicano Politics Reader, edited by F. Chris Garcia. London: The University of Notre Dame Press, 1974, p. 322-31 16published in English and Spanish, excerpted into EI Gallo, produced into movie form, and quoted movies such as Walkout.* His speeches are moving in either language and have been published in their own right as literature."* Gonzales recognized the power of language use in the fight for cultural equality. He used this power to its greatest effect in his speeches and publications, Gonzales also established translation services as an important part of the Crusade for Justice to assist those who were still acquiring English so that other Mexicans and Mexican-Americans would have the same benefit from language choice. Gonzales was of course, most famous for his poem, “Yo Soy Joaquin.” It spoke directly to the multi-faceted experience of the Chicano who lives in more than one culture, who has more than one heritage and speaks more than one language. It speaks to these dualities, but also to the frustration of having to choose between a comfortable life in which the Chicano must deny their heritage or the proud but hungry, maybe even destitute life of the activist. Gonzales raises the conflict when he asserts: Imust choose between, the paradox of Victory of the spirit, despite physical hunger or to existin the grasp of American social neurosis, sterilization of the soul and a full stomach. ® Gonzales, Rudolfo. Yo Soy Joaquin: an epic poem /with a chronology of events in Mexican and Mexican-American History. Toronto, New York: Bantam Books, 1972. It had been published privately in several printings since 1967 by the Crusade for Justice which had distributed more than 100,000 copies according to £! Gallo, April 1973. Walkout, directed by Edward James Olmos for television release in 2006 references the poem as @ source of inspiration to Chicano leaders and activists, © Esquibel, Antonio, ed. Messiage to Aztlan: Selected Writings by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales. Houston: Arte Pailico Press, 2001 * Gonzales, Rodolfo. ! am Joaquin: an epic poem. Denver: Crusade for Justice, 1967, 7‘These lines of the free-verse epic poem Gonzales penned imply that many Chicanos may find it difficult to truly satisfy both emotional and physical needs at once. In order to become economically successful, many Chicanos found it necessary to deny their pride in their heritage and assimilate more fully into Anglo culture." Gonzales eloquent words, in both the English and the Spanish versions, spoke to the experience of many Mexicans in the United States and many Mexican-Americans. Gonzales had been a party-line man, working for the Democratic Party. He quickly realized that although the Democratic and Republican parties would fight for the Chicano vote, they were much less likely to fight for the rights of the Chicano.‘ After being elected to Chairman of Mayor Currigan's War on Poverty Incorporated in 1965, he was released from his role with a great deal of animosity for party machinations. Mayor Currigan recommended Gonzales as an energetic member of city government but dismissed him anyway. Gonzales was less politically careful or ambiguous about the split. “The wants and needs of our people aren't important for him,” Gonzales said of Mayor Currigan, “They were important when he was running for election but not now ~ not even a month after he was elected.”” Gonzales had recognized that the party machine would do nothing for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans beyond clamoring for their vote. This fueled his dedication to create services provided both by and for the Chicano community, a “do it yourself” attitude for cultural motivation. ‘The services he created would have a © Rendon, Atmando B, Chicano Manifesto, 4th ed, New York, London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1976. © Gonzales, Rodolfo, “The Past-Present-Future of the Chicano Movement” Speech. Delivered at Crusade for Justice, 1978. ©" Rocky Mountain News, April 30, 1966. 18profound effect on Denver's Northside community, both as inspiration and also as a vehicle for communication and promulgation of their message within the Chicano community. Gonzales left the Democratic Party after his dismissal from the position with the War of Poverty. He founded the Crusade for Justice, an organizing body for the Chicano Movement in Denver. Within it he established La Escuela Tlatelolco, a school for Hispanic youth which would not only offer them opportunity but also an education in Mexican-American history and civic pride and action. Many of the youth and organizers at La Raza had been educated at least part time by La Escuela Tlatelolco. La Escuela's free lunch programs were desperately needed by a public which was underserved and its provision of community services helped those who did not receive other assistance or community support without the actions of the Crusade for Justice.*® His attention to the Chicano community addressed a racial gap in public support from the city of Denver. ‘Through the Crusade, Gonzales published EI Gallo in order to cover more completely and accurately the news relevant to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living in Denver. EI Gallo became a forum for political discussion anda place to print speeches for those unable to hear them in person and spread word of future protests and actions. Speeches were often printed both in Spanish and in English to reach the widest variety of Chicanos, a difficult task given the broad span of iil, Emesto. Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government's War on Dissent. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. 19linguistic foundations within the community." Many of the letters to city councilmen and neighborhood concerns were published in FI Gallo, as well. Gonzales had provided media for the Chicano activists and Mexican and Mexican- ‘American residents of Denver to communicate their needs and ideas. He provided the inspiration and the means necessary to begin a public discussion of equality for Chicano culture in Denver. A smalll but potent example of the importance many in the Chicano community have given Gonzales in the Chicano Movement comes from a twelve year old student at La Escuela Tlatelolco, Gina Vicenta Picaldo. Her poem was published in El Gallo in April of 1972; itis a proud, motivational statement thoughtfully worded. In it, she writes, “And as CORKY has said: / EL MOVIMIENTO CHICANO will never stop, / it will always continue.” In her poem, a singing bird brings the message of the Chicano Movement, “A bird is singing / singing of the rebirth of / BL. MOVIMIENTO CHICANO.” In the last ten lines of the thirty-four line poem the message comes from Corky. This symbolic switch from mythical messenger to Gonzales is consistent with much of the existing literature which gives Gonzales a higher duty or calling to fight the ideology of injustice. This points to the importance of Gonzales’ role in bringing forward the concept of civil rights toa Mexican-American public. Many of Gonzales’ contemporaries frequently weigh his writing and speeches with the same gravity. This can also be seen in the Chicano Manifesto, written by Armando B. Rendon in 1971, republished many times. When he speaks of the * Sce articles within £1 Gallo. Particularly, April, August, and October of 1972 for examples of these dual- language repeated articles, speeches, poetry and letters. 20growing sense of nationalism in the country, a near synonym for pride in Mexica heritage, he defends the importance of this belief by reminding the reader, “Gonzales has said that anyone who would wish to become a part of Anglo society is ‘sick, because Anglo society is sick.” This tone of absolute authority, given by Rendon to Gonzales in this quotation and many others within the book, provides an example of the credence he had within the scope of Chicano philosophy. His mythical attributes are described also by Tom Gavin for the Post in 1988 when he observes, “He stands tall, Corky Gonzales does, and taller still Rodolfo “I am Joaquin” = Gonzales. The one was a pretty good boxer, the other is a leader of men. Gonzales invested himself fully in his causes. According to the multiple obituaries and memorial articles upon his death in 2005, he used his own resources to open the Crusade for Justice and the credit union, as well as provided funding for defense funds. He consistently used his own funds for supplies and his own time for protesting and lecturing, advocating, or lobbying? When he had been arrested on illegal weapons possession charges in 1970 in California with Al Garule, they and their lawyer Oscar Acosta continued to fight until the charges were dismissed.®* ‘Though the case was thrown out, the punishment for Gonzales was still upheld, and rather than fight that ruling Gonzales went to the California prison farm assignment as scheduled to prove his honor and clear his name. His level of personal investment in his cause was so high that he would serve time in prison to further his © Rendon, Armando B. Chicano Manifesto, 4th ed, New York, London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1976. * Denver Post, January 6, 1988. ® Biographical Newspaper Clipping Files, Denver Public Library. Gonzales, Rodolfo “Corky”. Accessed February 9", 2010, * Denver Post, February 24%, 1972cause. He was dismissed from the prison farm in February for good behavior, and returned to Colorado just in time for the escalating tensions in and near the “nationalized” parks of La Alma, Mestizo, and La Raza. ‘There were many career politicians in the City; Gonzales was not one of them. He lost faith in the two-party system of government which often colluded in their neglect of Mexican and Mexican-American causes. He referred to the two- party system as a “monster with two heads that eats from the same trough."55 He had lost faith in standard politics to solve the inequalities Chicanos sought to address, He began his career by working within the system of city government but by the time of La Raza’s takeover, he had decided to create his own change in his society. He worked hard to promote the eradication of drug use and elevate public services in Chicano communities like La Raza Park. The youth of La Raza Park's neighborhood took his example and teachings and built on them when they provided the parks and recreation services for Denver's Northside. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales provided not only the inspiration for social action within the Chicano community of La Raza Park in the northside of Denver, he also provided the framework through examples and the mechanisms through his news outlet, £! Gallo, and through education in cultural awareness classes and La Escuela Tlatelolco. Although he was only a speaker at the protest event on June 28%, 1972, the youth of that neighborhood had taken his ideas, values, and organization and * £1 Gallo, November 1971 5 Esquibel, Antonio, ed. Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings by Rodolfo * Arte Pablico Press, 2001, p. 71 ‘orky"” Gonzales. Houston:built on them. The protests at La Raza Park were ultimately unsuccessful, and the park is now known again as Columbus Park. The pool has been destroyed and there are no longer any public services such as lunch programs or classes held there. Because of this, there is no staff at the park and no need to represent the local population in hiring practices. However, as Ernesto Vigil made clear in his history of the Crusade for Justice, the attempt in and of itself facilitates further social action, regardless of its immediate success or failure. Gonzales was able to inspire the generation of youth in that neighborhood at the start of the 1970s and empower their actions with the news media and educational opportunities he created. 23