Múzquiz, Virginia, 1925-2002

Virginia Múzquiz was born Virginia Aguirre in 1925 in the small South Texas community of Nordheim. Her mother was a migrant agricultural laborer who finally settled the family in La Pryor. Ms. Múzquiz sought work in nearby Crystal City where she met and married her husband, Jesus Múzquiz. In 1964, she was the first Mexican American woman candidate to run for the Texas House of Representative, and in 1965, she was the first Mexican American woman to run for the city council of Crystal City, Texas. She was also the first Mexican American woman to run for Zavala County Clerk, an election race she won in 1974. She served as the national chair for the Raza Unida Party from 1972-1974, and was the first to be honored as 'Chicana of the Year." She was diagnosed with tuberculosis when she was 17 and, because of it, suffered from chronic illness. She died in 2002.

From the description of Oral history interview with Virginia Múzquiz, 1996 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 434459574