Aldrete, Cristóbal

Cristóbal P. Aldrete was born in Del Rio, Texas, on January 16, 1924 to Felipe and Dolores (Pool) Aldrete. After he graduated from Del Rio High School in 1942, he attended the University of Denver where he studied Japanese. During World War II, he served in both the Army and the Air Force as a specialist in radio intelligence. After the war he continued his studies at the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in local government. While at the University of Texas, Aldrete was a founding member of the Alba Club, a club that confronted discrimination and promoted the interests of Spanish-speaking people in Texas. In 1949 on behalf of the Alba Club, he lodged a complaint with the Texas Department of Education against the segregated Del Rio School system that resulted in the accreditation of the schools being withdrawn. Even though this ruling was overturned, by September of 1949, public schools were required by the state to end segregation on the basis of national origin. He received a law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston in 1951, and returned to Del Rio to practice law. Aldrete married Oralia (Yaya) Vera of Brownsville, Texas, in 1954, and they had five children.

Aldrete was an active member and leader in the American GI Forum (AGIF). He served as State Chairman and acted as a National Legal Advisor for the organization. In his capacity as a legal advisor for the AGIF, Aldrete was one of the five attorneys representing Pete Hernandez in the landmark case of Hernandez v. State of Texas.

While living Del Rio, Aldrete entered into local politics. He served as a member of the Del Rio City Council from 1952 to 1958, as City Attorney in 1958, and as Val Verde County Attorney from 1961 to 1965. In 1962 he received his first national appointment when President Kennedy appointed him to the President’s Committee on Youth Employment. Aldrete resigned from the post of county attorney in 1965 to accept the position of the Regional Manager of the Community Action Programs for the Southwest Regional Office of the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). From 1967 to 1968, Aldrete acted as the special assistant to John M. Bailey, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In this role he specialized in Mexican American and Spanish-speaking Political Affairs, and he appealed to Hispanic voters to help re-elect President Johnson through voter registration drives and political workshops in the West and Southwest. After President Johnson decided to not run for re-election, Aldrete served as the executive director of the Viva Humphrey for President Campaign.

Aldrete acted as an assistant to Representative Abraham Kazen, Jr. (D-Texas) from 1969 to 1970. He stepped down from that position after a year and became the deputy campaign manager for Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) in 1970. After Bentsen won the race for Senator, he made Aldrete a legislative and executive assistant. In this capacity he served as a representative in legislation and specialized on matters of interests to the Spanish-speaking constituency. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Aldrete to serve as co-chairman of the Southwest Border Regional Commission.

After he left Washington, D.C. in the early 1980s, Aldrete returned to Texas where he served as the executive director of the Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus from 1987-1989. He passed away on September 17, 1991, at the age of 67.

From the guide to the Cristóbal Aldrete Papers 2010-05. 676822202., 1936-1991 (bulk 1963-1979), (Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin)