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

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OralHistoryResource

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

1998

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

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.

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

spa, Latn

eng, Latn

University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7328286

University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library

Related Entities

There are 13 Entities related to this resource.

University of Texas at Arlington. Center for Mexican American Studies

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63c6s61 (corporateBody)

Chavez, Cesar, 1927-1993

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65v4b6b (person)

Cesar Chavez (b. March 31, 1927, Yuma, AZ – d. April 23, 1993, San Luis, AZ) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers union, UFW) in 1962. Originally a Mexican American farm worker, Chavez became the best known Latino American civil rights activist, and was strongly promoted by the American labor movement, which was eager to enroll Hispanic members. His public-relations approac...

Mata family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63g440r (family)

Mata, José O., 1947-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64j323w (person)

José O. Mata was born in 1947 in Crystal City, Texas. He dropped out of school to work at the Del Monte Corporation cannery to support his family, later earning his GED. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he served in the U.S. Army from 1967-1969. He served as a member and president of the board of directors of the Ciudadanos Unidos, the foundation of the Raza Unida Party. He was elected to the board of directors of the Crystal City Independent School District in 1972, and to the Crystal City city c...

Community Action Agency (U.S.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bd0r22 (corporateBody)

Del Monte Corporation

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m66wjp (corporateBody)

Del Monte Corp., a packer of fruits and vegetables and a marketer of fresh fruits, merged into a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds, a diversified tobacco concern on Feb. 2, 1979. From the description of Del Monte Corporation letters : San Francisco, Calif., to shareholders : TLS, 1978-1979. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 55026574 ...

Ciudadanos Unidos (Crystal City, Tex.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vr1bs0 (corporateBody)

Crystal City Independent School District (Tex.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65n151t (corporateBody)

Gutiérrez, José Angel,

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62r404b (person)

José Angel Gutierrez was born Oct. 25, 1944, in Crystal City, Texas. An activist, educator, organizer, and lawyer, Gutierrez co-founded the La Raza Unida Party and played many leadership roles in the early Chicano civil rights movement. He served as President of the Crystal City Independent School District Board in the early 1970s and as a County Judge for Zavala County, Tex. (1975-1980). In the 1980s, Gutierrez pursued a teaching career and moved to Oregon where he taught at Colegio Cesar Chav...

Crystal City Internment Camp (Crystal City, Tex.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65n1wnk (corporateBody)

Raza Unida Party (Tex.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d262nv (corporateBody)

The Raza Unida Party (RUP) was first established as a third political party in Crystal City, Texas, in January, 1970. As an alternative to the two-party system in Texas, Raza Unida sought social, economic, and political self-determination for Chicanos, other minorities, and the disenfranchised through local and, later, state politics. At its start, the party organized around county, local, and school district elections in south Texas; winning city council elections in Cotulla, Carri...

Gonzales, Ventura.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ms6cvc (person)

Olguin, Ernesto.

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