The brief pictorial portrait of my life relates over 70 years of struggle in the world of civil rights as they relate to our people whose roots are in Mexico but now live in the USA. Like most of my colleagues, I have been captivated with the valiant story of our people's unrelenting struggle to become part of the American Dream. This interest has kept me tied to my roots and helped me comprehend how we came to part of this country, yet remain linked to the world our parents left behind. At the age of 12, I became an advocate for our people. That was the beginning of my full time career as a fighter for our cause, therefore this is not only the story of my life — it is also the history of the motivation, the founding, the realization and building of one of the largest Mexican American human services organizations in the United States, the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.

People sometimes ask me what was the “spark” that got me motivated. I look back and reflect that it was not one incident, but a series of events — a lifetime of humiliations that ignited me to action. The tail-end of the “Sleepy Lagoon” case in the 1940's and its resolution brought a shocking revelation about how certain Anglos in powerful positions felt about Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, and those racist attitudes convinced me that my career would have to be in the constantly challenging world of civil rights. I was fortunate at the incipient stages of my mission to receive the support of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson who shared the vision of inclusion of minorities in the “American Dream.”

I now see the realization of the so-called “American Dream” — I see a new spirit flowing across America — I see a new ball game in which all players have an equal opportunity to win. And as optimistic as I have been, my heart fills with unparalleled inspiration when I visit the universities and see our young people; displaying so much passion, armed with the desire to fight and well equipped with super scholastic ammunition.

So we have proven that in this Mexican-American world, still full of problems, dreams can still glow, and hope can still burn; and it is for this reason that my daughter and I have put this website together. It is not for those who wish to remember the past, but rather, it is for those who wish to follow my footsteps into the future — a future where a promise can become a fact and opportunity turned into action.