Compare Constellations

Múzquiz, Virginia, 1925-2002. Oral history interview with Virginia Múzquiz, 1996 [videorecording].

Title: Oral history interview with Virginia Múzquiz, 1996 [videorecording].

Virginia Múzquiz begins with her personal and family background and that of her husband, Jesús Múzquiz. She tells about her limited basic education because she was a poor migrant farm worker, and reveals that during her long convalescence with tuberculosis beginning at age 17, she began studying English and other subjects. She discusses politics in Crystal City, Texas and her part in Juan Cornejo's election to city council (and selection as mayor) and Josés to Cornejo's affiliation with the Teamsters union and their role in organizing the United Farm Workers. She points to the work she and other Mexican American women did to register voters, pay poll taxes, and help with absentee voting, and refers to the 'Sentinela' newspaper [actually the 'Zavala County Sentinel'] in furthering their cause. She details her run for the Texas House of Representatives in 1964, notes the encouragement she received from the Political Association of Spanish-speaking Organizations (PASSO) to run for city council in Crystal City in 1965, and emphasizes her husband, a business entrepreneur, bore the cost of her campaign. She talks about the women's march in Del Rio with Enriqueta Palacios and Elvirita de la Fuente and tells about the student walk out from Crystal City High School (under the Crystal City Independent School District) to protest the race discrimination in the schools in 1969. She expounds on her thorough efforts at studying election code and serving as a poll-watcher in order to eliminate oppressive practices and voter intimidation. She explains her bid for County Clerk in Zavala County as a means to further political opportunities for the Mexican American population. She describes the efforts of Mexican American women within the Raza Unida Party and the women's trip to Fidel Castro's Cuba. She notes the power of the Barrio Club, considers her greatest triumph as County Clerk, and notes other mexican American women who have pressed for city council election in Crystal City. She Josés to Ross Perot and the effects of a third political party in American politics and debates the difficulties of unifying the Hispanic people due to the pull of the Democratic Party. She comments on a number of Hispanic baseball players and such prominent Mexican American politicians as Henry Cisneros, Albert Bustamante, failed Texas gubanatorial candidate Ramsey Muñiz, and Chicano movement activist Severita Lara. She speaks highly of Chicano movement activist Martha Cotera and explores Kay Bailey Hutchison's attitudes toward Mexican Americans.

ArchivalResource: 2 videocassettes (VHS) (3 hr., 12 min.) : col. ; 1/2 in.Transcript : 73 p. ; 28 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/434459574 View

Crystal City Independent School District. Ethnic Heritage Studies Program.

Title: Ethnic Heritage Studies Program. 1975-1976.

Contains a 51 leave semi-annual report to which are appended three curriculum units developed by the project and a 118 leave final report.

ArchivalResource: 2 items.

https://discover.hsp.org/Record/marc-27852 View

Gutiérrez, José Angel. José Angel Gutiérrez papers, 1959-1990.

Title: José Angel Gutiérrez papers, 1959-1990.

The papers consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, publications, articles, photographic materials, audio tapes, and ephemera. These materials document the breadth of José Angel Gutierrez's interests, research and social activism early in his career. The bulk of the materials document Gutierrez's activities in Oregon during the 1980s. A wide array of organizations are represented including La Raza Unida, the National Catholic Conference Campaign for Human Development, the Northwest Communities Project, and the Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement. Also present are materials Gutierrez obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigations documenting surveillance of Mexican American political groups.

ArchivalResource: ca. 13,100 items (17.5 linear feet)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39963441 View

Jackson, H. Joaquin, 1935-. Oral history interview with Joaquin Jackson and José Angel Gutiérrez, 1996 [videorecording].

Title: Oral history interview with Joaquin Jackson and José Angel Gutiérrez, 1996 [videorecording].

José Angel Gutiérrez begins with his high school experience in race discrimination that fueled his political activism. He talks about registering Mexican American voters under the poll tax system and the intimidation of Mexican-American voters and registrants by the presence of Texas Rangers, and particularly notes abuse he personally received from notorious Texas Ranger Captain Alfred Y. Allee. Joaquin Jackson provides his personal background and reveals the reasons for the loss of his basketball scholarship while attending West Texas State College in Canyon, Texas. Jackson mentions his work with the Texas Highway Patrol and describes the selection process and how he was chosen by Captain Allee to become a Texas Ranger. Gutiérrez comments on Captain Allee's behavior in the Uvalde courtroom with Josue 'George' Garza, and Jackson details his own actions toward diffusing the situation. Jackson recalls his involvement in Crystal City to uphold the law in order to facilitate election monitoring by Rebecca Perez and Luz Gutiérrez against Sheriff Louis Sweeten's request to have monitors removed. Dr. Gutiérrez and Jackson discuss the La Casita Farms strike and they debate whether police brutality entered into the death of convicted murderer Magdaleno Dimas. Jackson expresses his dislike for unions and Gutiérrez describes a boycott of J. L. Speer's business in Zavala County which resulted in the arrest of sisters Linda (Ezalinda Lara Yedro) and Severita Lara. Gutiérrez reveals the details of his own arrest in Del Rio, Texas, his incarceration in and release from a Mexican jail, and comments on his confrontation with Captain Allee's son Alfred Allee, Jr., also a Texas Ranger. Gutiérrez points out Crystal City's move to block Texas Rangers jurisdiction within Crystal City limits, and Jackson talks about Carrizo Springs police chief Ramon Garza (later a Zavala County sheriff), commenting also on Allee and his son. Gutiérrez speaks of the first time the Raza Unida Party ran as write-in votes on election ballots in the La Salle County Commissioner's race and discusses his encounter with Bob Bullock at getting the Raza Unida Party recognized. Gutiérrez expresses his own racial bias and Jackson emphasizes the importance of education to the Mexican-American community and the detriments of the language barrier. Jackson points to the dispute over the Nueces Strip as the historical source of disparity between Mexican Americans and the Texas Rangers and speaks about early social conditions in Alpine, Texas. The two briefly mention Arturo Rodriguez, the first Mexican American Texas Ranger, and discuss Ramsey Muñiz's downfall after his arrest and incarceration on drug-related charges. Jackson concludes with his work in character roles with motion pictures actors Edward James Olmos and Tommy Lee Jones.

ArchivalResource: 1 videocassette(s) (VHS) : col. ; 1/2 in.Transcript : 96 p. ; 28 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/430356371 View

Oral history interview with José O. Mata, 1998 [videorecording].

Title: Oral history interview with José O. Mata, 1998 [videorecording].

José O. Mata talks about his family's hardships as migrant farm workers in Crystal City, Texas and how the workers were housed in the former Crystal City Internment Camp. He discusses the political turmoil in Crystal City when he returned from Vietnam and provides the background for the formation of Ciudadanos Unidos (United Citizens). He gives details of his political campaigns and his accomplishments while serving in public office. He explains the underlying reasons for losing his city council seat to an opponent who received financial backing from the Del Monte Corporation. He shares how he started the family business and comments on Mexican American politicos Cesar Chavez, Ventura Gonzales, José Angel Gutiérrez, and Ernesto Olguin.

OralHistoryResource: 1 videocassette (VHS) (1 hr., 21 min.) : col. ; 1/2 in.Transcript : 40 p. ; 28 cm.

https://library.uta.edu/tejanovoices/interview.php?cmasno=075 View