La Voz de Aztlan, April 2 1979
Item
Title
La Voz de Aztlan, April 2 1979
Creator
Associated Students of Fresno State
Relation
La Voz de Aztlan (Daily Collegian, California State University, Fresno)
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
4/2/1979
Format
PDF
Identifier
SCUA_lvda_00101
extracted text
r
.
.
-
-Special Publication of The Daily Collegian
LA -v oz de AZTLAN
Monday
April 2, 1979
1111,....
Coors Boycott Continues
~Page 2
Boulevqrd ·Nights-. · The movie,The Contioversy
-- Pages 3-6
Boulevard Nights stirs. up local, national trouble(abuve). ·
Mario Obledo honored in FresnQ.
.
·
• George Aguirre Photo
. S-entirriientos Del Valle
-Page 6 ·
Cranston, Hayden ·
and Liberalism
·-Page 7
OQledo, Chavez
· Come -T o Fresno
-Page 8
ConientariOS
Coors cervezaBoulevard Nightsstill sour brew
the trouble with. a picket
2
~Pageiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Boulevard Nights is not a perfect
movie . But, neither is it such a flawed ,
discriminatory and stereotypical film
that we shou ld all go out and set
picket lines at the Tower Theater .
If one sees the film he is convinced that it attempts to portray
just one aspect of Chicano life in
East Los Angeles. Viewed from that
perspective,the film is a sucess.
It has won critical aclaim and
rightly so. The movie has an allChicano cast,employs authentic dialogue
and realistic situations and comes off
as an honest portray! of Chicano life.
Boulevard Nights should not be
boycotted. Chicanos and non-Chicanos
should go to see it to gain an
understanding of one of the m<?st
destructive elements of the barrio-gang violence.
The film reinforces the fact that
gang violence is undesireable and
something must be done about it now.
Violence isn't glorified and contrary
to what many have said, the incidents of violence surrounding the film
have been few and far between.
The most positive thing that
Boulevard Nights has done by coming
to Fresno is that it has helped bring
more attention to the problems of the
barrfo. Perhaps now -we can all rededicate ourselves to improving conditions there.
Chicanos In Law :
Group_Prepares_For
Future As Attorneys
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz.Writer
Despite claims by President Carter
and career counselors and others that ·
there is an oversupply of lawyers,
there is no oversupply of Chicano lawyers .
President Carter has said that the ·
U.S. has one of the heaviest concentration of lawyers on earth . He has
charged that there is more litigation,
but he isn't sure that there is more
justice .
Many Chicanos can identify with
having little justice. With a higher
percentage of persons in prisons than
in graduate schools, Chicanos are pot
whom Carter was speaking of when he
spoke about a heavy concentration of
lawyers. for example there is one
Chicano lawyer for every 9,480 Chicanos, compared to one Anglo lawyer
for every 530 Anglos .
For many Chicano college students it.
has become a challenge to consider
going on to law school.
Here at CSUF there is an organization dedicated to making law school a
more feasible goal. This organization is
HChicanos in Law ." Since the beginning of this school year, the group has
been busy establishing itself as a
serious organization . It has boosted its
membership to twenty-five pre-law
students under the leadership of president, Luis Ambriz.
Among the activities thus far have
been trips to various law schools in
California. Members have met representatives of the Stanford School of
Law in Palo Alto, Hastings Law School
in San Francisco, UCLA School of Law
in Los Angeles, Boalt Hall in Berkeley, ·
McGeorge Law School in Sacramento
and most recently, Santa Clara Law
School . Members have also attended
various minority admissions pre-law
conferences .
'
.
Last semester, Chicanos in Law
along with "Ola Raza," a law group
from San Francisco, hosted an LSAT
prep test (similar to the SAT college
~mrance examJ tor students mterestea
in pursuing a career in law.
At their bi-monthly meetings, Chicanos in Law have also hosted such
speakers as former judge Al Villa,
Ed Valdez, a Fresno attorney, Robert
Perez, CSUF criminology instructor
and practicing attorney, Marcos Lopez
an attorney from the UFW headquarters in Keene, California, and Dr.
Karl Svenson of the political science
department. Topics have ranged from
talks on different law schools to talks on
post-Bakke effects on law school minority admissions.
Their biggest project to date has
been the planning of "Chicanos in Law,
Law Day" at CSUF for the upc<>ming
year. Recruiters from various law
schools will be invited to attend and
disseminate information ) on their
schools.
The news that the American C . I.
Forum voted at a recent national meeting to end its 12-year boycott of Coors
beer was disappointing , predictable and
inaccurately reported by major media .
It is apparently true the G.I. Forum , a
10,000-strong veterans organ ization , is
pulHng out of the boycott they started
when Coors company refused to hire
Chicanos and other minorities. It was
a1so predictable since the Forum has
done little in recent years to promote the
boycott and has had to forfeit grants
from the Coors Company because of the
boycott.
It is not true, however: that the boycott of Coors beer is over. What has hap. pened is the powerful Coors public relations machine has attempted to use the
C. I. Forum's decision to speak for the
millions of Chicanos, AFL-CIO cnembers .
and other boycotts who will never drink
, Coors again.
In the 12 years since the boycott started, too much Rocky Mountain spring
water has passed under the bridge to reverse the flow. In spite of Coors' domination of the media, many people have
been educated to the company's racist
and reactionary politics. Union members
know of Coors practice of breaking
strikes and unions at the brewery. Anti- .
war activists know of the gross profits of
Coors owned porcelain plant made
during the Vietnam war. Chicano
April 2, 1979
students at the state's universities know
of Joseph Coors activities as a member
of the Board of Regents to stop financial
aid prog rams which hel ped hundreds of
Ch icanos attend the University of Colorado .
The recent media blitz behind the G.I
Forum decision to end the ir participation
in the Coors boycott is only one example
of the economic success of the boycott.
As a resu lt of the boycott, Coors slipped
from fou rth to fifth nationwide in beer
sales . This year, profits for the company
have continued the downward slide of
recent years.
The Coors company is using the G.I.
Forum, golfer Lee Trevi no and the ne.ws
media it controls in an attempt to fool
Chicanos into thinking the boycott is
over.
Some people will be deceived by the
tokenism and misleading "news" stories .
Most people will recognize the deception
as the actions of a desperate company
trying to reverse the effects of a damaging boycott. We cannot compromise
our principles as a people. The goals of
the Coors family are in direct conflict to
the goals of the Chicano movement.
Boycott Coors, over a million Chicanos
can't be wrong.
From "La Cucaracha,"
Pueblo, Colorado
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter ,n response to
the March 19 edition of La Voz. I
cannot help but detect the bias in your ,/
article by Feliz Contreras on the price
of lettuce in Continental Market.
Craig Kozy simply state on the sign
that as a result of the UFW strike
the price of lettuce is 98¢ a head. He
did not say, as a result of the UFW
lettuce is 98¢.
Why are you compelled to think
that this leads to misconceptions of the
strike?? Maybe _because they aren't
misconceptions?? Maybe because
you' re afraid the public will see what
the strike truely (sic) represents.
All Contreras talks about is . the
poor little hara-working Mexicans
.
.
(he calls them Chicanos) who slave for
. A pane~ of sp~ak_ers m the field _ the farmers _at what he considers
of l~w will b.e invited to s~akon grossly insufficient wages. However, .
~rtment legal issues, and CIL will pronowhere does he mention that Ceasar
v1de a LSAT prepa.ratory test. Cl L Chavez is asking upwards to 200%
has asked t~e A~soc1ated Students to wage increases which is obviously
help fund this proJ~. . .
.
greater than the maximum increase
0her futur~ act1v1t1es 1~cl~de: a
possible under President Carter's
burrito fundra1s~r salei a picnic. and
anti-inflation wage and price guidesoftball game ~1~h Ch1c~no Business
lines . A maximum increase which has
Students Assoc1at1on; a trip to La Paz,
been offered by the farmers by rejected
Cesar Chavez' UFW headquarters in
bu the UFW who wants even more
Keene, California, and a National
(sic)
~awyer's Guild four-day conference
The absurdity of the UFW's de- _
m Santa Clara .
.
.
mands are reflected by the rejection of
For the month of April, CIL 1s planhelp from the Federal Mediation and
ning a Chicano A~torney Openhouse
Conciliation Service.
where students will. have a c~ance
So why the strike?? Mr. Contreras
to meet and s~eak with local _Chicano
also fails to mention that within the
attorneys at an. mforma~ gathering .
past six months, there has been three
_ For more mform.at,on on CIL, a
decertification elections called for by
mess_age may be left in the CIL message the UFW workers themselves because
box in the La Raza ~tuct,e!, umce .
they are unhappy with the union .
I
Also why is it never mentioned that
there has been a marked increase in
the complaints about the medical plan,
by the workers themselves, ever since
the UFW took over, despite the fact
that the UFW has amassed a $6.2
million surplus in their medical fund.
I think my points are very clear. Mr.
Contreras is resorting to the old UFW
tactic of trying to get public sympathy.
A tactic which even failed them on the
famous Proposition 14. The California
public is smarter than you think.
My word to the public is, if you
blame the UFW for high lettuce prices,
it is not' because of store signs, but
because of what the UFW represents.
Don't be misled by biased articles in
La Voz .
--Signed Anonymous
(Because of fear of violent r~taliation
for being outspoken)
i . Voz .de Azt1an is published by the ·
Associated Students at California State
University, Fresno and the newspaper
staff. Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the i . Voz staff, and not necessarily the views of the Associated Students, CSUF or the State of California.
Editor ... Richard Aguirre
Photography ... George Aguirre,Ricardo
Pimentel,Lupe Mora
Art ... Albino Franco, Arturo Ocampo
Reporters ... Dora Lara,Margarita Martinez , Octavio Yescas.
Contributors ... Felix Contreras , Elvia
Ruiz , Dianne Solis , Ricardo Pimentel,
Pedro Ramirez.
April 2, 1979
A Special Supplement to· LA VOZ de AZTLAN
By TOMAS URIBES
"College (Chicano) students are elite
in the Chicano community because there
aren 't that many of us. We have the
responsibility to communicate the movie's negativeness to our community."
La Voz Contributor
Boulevard Nights is a movie about
lowriders and gang members in the East
Los Angeles community. But some members of the Chicano community, both
statewide and locally, feel Chicanos are
being taken for a ride and that something must be done about it.
Fresno State University ' s Chicano
student organization, MEChA, decided
Thursday to join the MEChA at Fresno
City College and the community-based
Chicano Youth Center in a protest of
the film now playing at t he Tower The- atre.
·
New Chicano g~ng film
draws Fresno boyc~tt
He said the movie stereotypes and
is racist and that MEChA has a responsibility to demonstrate that to the·younger kids.
"Glorification will take place on that
level (younger kids). They' II take what
they want from the movie and not analyze it for what it's worth."
"We' re not telling people 'don't see
it,' said CSUF La Raza Studies professor
Alex Sara·goza at MEChA; s weekly
meeting Thursday . "We just want to
point out to the community the movie's
flaws."
"We' re criticizing those elements of
the movie that are negative, that exploit and manipulate. It could have
been a movie about the farmworker
plight ."
Boulevard Nights hit Fresno last
March 23 and Saragoza called it a "C_ultural event" for Chicanos . The movie
depicts a fatherless Chicano family
whose eldest son, once a gang member
himself but who "knew when to get
out," sees his younger brother becoming
entangled' with the gang and its conflicts.
The elder brother is a lowrider, his
car decked out with hydraulic equipment that gives him· the edge in a "hopping" contests. His dream is to own his
own car shop and leave behind the gang
life.
His younger brother, however, is a
"cholo" who becomes the target of a
. rival gang after one of the rival members is stabbed in a fight between the
two gangs.
The tragedy and depiction of life in
the movie has been described as "real- .
istic" portray.al of East Los Angeles life. ·
Some movie goers have even said the
movie's depiction is mild to what actually happens in East Los Angeles.
But Chicano activists are upset
that "negative" aspects ot the Chicano
life are overly ~tressed because different
people have different interpretations of
the film's message.
"The little kids and cholos that watch
the movie will have very different interpretation than students who would
intellectualize the movie and view it
with a critical sophisticated perception,"
said Saragoza. Saragoza was raised in
Madera and is a sociologist with degrees
. from CSUF and UC Berkeley.
Boulevard
-Nights
Review ·
Boulevard Nights is a grim look at
oPe aspect of Chicano society in East
L.A. - gang violence .
It is a painfully honest view of the
fighting of the gangs, what motivates
them to fight and the tragedy they
can bring.
The acting, dialogue, attire, backgrounds and cars are authentic and convincing.
Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez)
plays the part of the big brother we all
knew and loved. He- makes the audience
feel the anguish of trying to escape life
in the barrio.
He slaps around his younger unpredictable brother Chuco (Danny de la Paz),
but does so only to_try to get his brother
to abandon the life of a vato loco.
Raymond has escaped that cholo
existence and is now a hard-working
car customizer and dedicated lowrider.
He loves to cruise the main and ~et
Pagel I
Manuel Nunez, CSUF EOP counselor
said:
"The stereotypes affect our kids educational life. They get into high school
and are put into lower classes because
they' re perceived as low acheivers,
based on these stereotypes. As a result,
they don't get the classes they need to
qualify for college or to succeed.
A leaflet prepared by the Chicano
Youth Center staff was prepared and
picketing of the movies set for Sunday.
The ~eaflet accuses the film as motivating gang warfare and stereotyping
Chicanos "as being inferior and not
knowing how to control or work with
their Raza."
The leaflet suggests that films like
Boulevard Nights will only further antagonize rival racial groups like the Stoner,
Crips, and F-14s.
"Are we going to wait until we J:iave
stabbings and shooting in our community before we do anything? How many
more homeboys/hbmegirls will be killed before we stop these film producers
and theatre owners from exploiting and
prostituting the Chicano community?"
The statewide organization of MEChA
has already called for a boycott of the
movie, said FSU MEChA President
Priscilla Contreras. Also boycotting the
movie is the Chicano Actors Group in
, Los Angeles.
into "hopping" contests but still wants
to get ahead and eventually marry his
girlfriend Shady (Marta Dubolis).
But, Chuco, Raymond's brother
still enjoys life in the gang. But, he is
uneasily backing into the gang. On the
way to full standing, he sniffs paint
can fumes, gets loaded on angel dust
and fights along with his homeboys.
The movie ultimately turns out to be
a struggle between the brothers.
Raymond, to help his brother out of the
cholo lifestyle, and Chuco to gain
status among his carnales.
The movie is a good story about
the love between two· brothers and
their struggles in the barrio.
Taken as a specific look at just one
segment of life in Los Angeles, Boulevard Nights is an excellent film.
It
does not glorify violence or make gang
life attractive.
If anything it shows
how tragic life in the barrio can be.
Page4
April 2, 1979
La Voz de Aztlan
Commentary
Lowrider,ch.olo
lifestyles
_
depicted in movie
\
By PEDRO RAMIREZ
La Voz Contributor
Chicanos are finally escaping their
unseen existence in the U.S . society.
We · have been a neglected people
in the U.S . society from the day we
res~ttled on this stole,n l~nd . .
There has not been equal representation for Chicanos in education, the pro- ,
fessional field .. .and in modern day
civi Iization .
Chicanos have been neglected in the
movie industry. Most Chicano characters in American-made movies exploited all the damaging stereotypes
about Mexicanos, all the way up to
taking the Mexican siesta.
Now· ·with the Chicano-casted movie, 1
Boule~ard Nights, Chicanos can say
that we have a film that represents
a segment of our populatior).
Although the movie was directed
by Michael Passman and produced
by Bill Benson (both Jew~sh) the fil~
has won high praise. Charles Champlin
art critic for the Los Angeles Times
called Boulevard Nights · a "modest,
earnest, honest, authentic-, dra~atic,
and effective drama photographed in an
East LA. barrio."
Those who have seen the movie can
tell you that this movie is not about _
cruising the main at night. If anything,
the movie's title is a gimmick designed
to attrack an audience ... that is the
mass of people who make up the
"working class." There are few scenes
of the actual boulevard.
The movie is a social documentary
about one aspect of Chicano life in
East L.A . The film starts out early on
by giving the viewer· a look at the _central characters and the main cruis~ng
strip.
One first sees the boulevard when
Raymond(Richard Yniguez), the central
character in the movie--a Chicano who ·
has abandoned being a
"cholo"
cruises the main with his girl, Shady
(Mact:a Dubois) .
•
Shady dislikes cruising down the
boulevard because she sees it as
d,iidis~ . But,_ ~ay~o-~d'~ li~~le b~9ther
a
Chuco(Danny de la Paz) is
Chicano adolescent rebelling against society's demands and as a result of this
is a cholo who enjoys life on the
street with his friends.
THE MEANING OF
LA VOZ De AZTLAN
La Voz de Aztlan means "The voice ·
of Aztlan. " Aztlan has been translated
by most historians to be the mythical
name of the Aztec (or Mexica or Chichimeca) people who held the area
around present-day Mexico City when
the Spaniards under Hernan Cortes
entered Mexico in 1519.
Two things happen in this early
scene: Raymond meets some friends
and takes part in a lowrider
hopping contest and Chuco gets into a
gang fight .
In the car hopping contest the
front end of two competing cars hop
up and down to see whose car can
jump the highest, To the partic;ipants, the event is a form of
recreation.
. It is said that this practice is -.a
variation of a CUSTOM HANDED
· DOWN BY Mexican romeos, who when
courting a lovely maiden would make
their horses rear up on its hind legs
to attract attention.
Raymond wins the hopping contest
but his girlfriend is not very pleased
by his actions. But, Raymond still
loves his car. To him, having a
lowrider provides him a source of pride
and status.
.
'
Through his car, Raymond gains his '
own sense of identity.
I
If an individual works as a computer data processor, buys a Porchel .
and gains a new group of friends, his
-actions are accepted . Raymond works in
a car shop and owns a lowrider,
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a
but his actions are not much differcomentario by Gilbert Sanchez Lujan
ent than the upper class Chicano.
· of
El Concilio de Fresno on
BOULEVARD NIGHTS. This explanaMeanwhile Chuco is out "de vagos",
tion h.as been distributed to those
having fun with his friends. Like many
attending this movie by Lujan· and
young men at this stage he is goofing
others. It explains why Lujan . has
around, drinking and getting sprayed
chosen to picket the film.
New Chicano film~
accurate but misleading
.
atioos as his salvation yet this is what
the vato loco attempts to avoid so
desperately. The stereotypical viewpoint
of the Gabacho and/or middle class
value systems are being imposed on
the Chicanos who seek Iifestyle ·alter-- n~tives in lieu of the mainstream .
The vato loco cpntinues his fallin the face with beer.~~=====:==~~==~==~~====~~~=~~~~~=~~~~~~
Everything happens on the boulevardand the boulevard happens at night.
At the bellinnine of the movie •
Chuco's gang, VGV, works over a_ga~g
The movie, Boulevard Nights:, is a
member belonging to the 11th gang.
production · that
is
unfortunately
Later while cruising, one of the gang
~ authentic in content, however, _in its
rTJembers spots Chuco and his partner_.
accuracy it fails to tell the whole story.
Soon there is a big fist-ta-c'Jffs on the
It portrays only the easily exploited
boulevard and Chuco ends up stabbing
aspects of the vato loco experience.
·the 11th street gang members.
It does not explain or suggest the
on , , ,us starts a fued amongst the
socio-politic~!
circumstances and history
- gangs . This episode lasts around five·
of the · disenfranchised youths that
minutes. Because of the violence, a
largeiy live in poor and underheated controversy amongst Chicanos
developed urban centers throughout
has risen.
the nation.
Many beieve that scenes of violence
It only displays the end-result and
SeePage5 . .
by-products of the social ills that are
well documented by many authorities.
It focuses on the multi-destructiveness
In their native Nahuatl language,
of the cholo lifestyle. The film obviously
Aztlan . meant "the place of herons, "
rides on the sublima). and conscious
and also "the place they had been
racist attitudes towards the pachuco
before." Dr. Jose Canales of the CSUF
person.
History Department said he has traced
This film is an indictment of the
the origins of the Aztecs, a migratoryChicano vato without a proper trial
tribe as far north as present-day St.
and defense. It suggests incorrectly
Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota.
,
that Mexicans are inherently criminal
To Chicanos, Aztlan is the name for
and it's their choice to practice lawthe entire Southwest -- our symbolic
breaking and self-destruction . •
homeland.
It presents a suggestive escape f?r
'Chuco' to accept middle class aspir-
""e of
guy position similarly like the farmworker accused of all the difficulties
in cont~mporary urban life as if he had
control . On the contrary , the Chucos
are social victims without political
representation and voiceless in the fac~
of social judgements. He only ~rtIculates his anguish in self-destructiveness. How can you be so · merciless
as to continue to thrash this youth?
What are your justifications for
stabbing and exposing the vato bef~re
his community aJ1d nation in · his painful dilemna. Your profits are the perpetuation of this tragedy.
My main concern is for the thousands
of youths who will, by virtue of a. nonanalytical acceptance of the Chicano
content in the film, as well as the
glamour and influence of the largerthan-life screen, emulate negative
behavior models.
Out hopes lie in the discontinuence
of this type of film and any other that
depicts Chicanos solely in an _unfavorable manor. It is not a crime
to be a vato loco--it is a social crime
to make money on others' misfortunes.
April 2, 1979
Page5
La Voz de Aztlan
Boulevard NightsOne of many gang fil_
ms
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Although Boulevard Nights is the latest
in these gang films. They have said
that getting into the system is the only
way to produce more favorable films
Chicano gang movie it is not the only
about Chicanos .
film to come under close scrutiny. The
Chicanos also claim that, just like
Warriors, a film about New York gangs
other actors, they must work to survive,
and the forthcoming Walking Proud
regardless of the part.
(formerly Gang) have also drawn fire .
But many charge that these · films
· Three deaths (two in Calif .) have been
-are rittered with damaging stereolinked to Warriors since it opened in
types that distort the Chicano lifeFebruary. In most ot those incide~ts
style and portray the gang as violent ..
the violence was sparked by racial
They say that the positive aspects
differences.
.
of the Chicano majority are ignored as
But, despite the controversy it is
the film exploits olnly the most sensacertain that the films are bringing in
tional aspects of Mexican lifestyle.
healthy prof its from mostly-young
Boulevard Nights has won critical
audiences. The Warriors cost less than
acclaim and has been defended by many
$6 million to make, but up to March 19
as a realistic look at gang life in the
had brought in more than $14.6 million .
barrio. In the movie there is no interWalking Proud is a love story between
racial or sexual violence and the lirie
a cholo and anglo girl set against a
between the good and bad guy is
background of East L.A . gang violence.
blurred.
.
·
That movie first attracted controversy
The film was shot with an all-Chicaa,o
when it was announced that 22-year-old
cast and with the help of East L.A.
anglo Robby Benson (formerly of
cholos.
"The End and One on One would play
Nevertheless, many groups have prothe lead.
tested Boulevard Nights.
The stateUniversal Studios signed Benson,
wide convention of MEChA, voted to. ,
they said to help pull in audiences
boycott and picket the film even before
then fitted him with special brownit had been released.
Executive Producer Tonyh Bill called
tinted contact lenses to help him better
The Mechistas have also gained
the mayor's action "absolute censorplay the role. In the film, · ~enson plays•
the _support of enforcement ag~ncies
a Chicano who abandons his life in
who would apparently like to diffuse ship"., and said the film is ~one~t
and realistic. He said that the film 1s
the barrio to assimilate into his anglo
any meetings between gan~ members.
only a family drama about two br~thers
girlfriend's society.
.
A theater in San Francisco cancelled
To many, the casting of Benson was
the planned run for Boulevard Nights in the barrio. ·
Locally, groups have also begun
typical of the Chicano's years of struggle
after five Chicanos were stabbed
to gain a place in the Hollywood system.
outside the theater after the premiere. to picket the film. ' Gilbert Lujan of. El
Few Latino actors are well established Mayor Dianne Feinstein (San Fran- Concilio de Fresno said that the film
in films and fewer yet involved in
cisco) asked that city distributors does not tell the whole story and can
actual film production, writing or directcancel showings of the film. She called harm -Chicano youth who see it.
Lujan pledged · that he an? others
ing.
._
the film a threat to the safety and
would
picket as ·long as the film is in
Because of that fact many have dewell being of the citizens of San FranFresno.
fended the presence of Chic~no actors
cisco.
eorge
guirre
From Page4
in ·th; film -harm manyChicano youngsters. 1 hey s·ay that many times the
young are going through the same
stage, and will bel~ive that is is ok to
partake in fights -and knifings. Some
Chicanos are also concerned with the
white audience's reaction tow~rds the
movie-.
The movie does not glorify gang
fighting, it just gives us a subt~e
reality on what frequentty happens m
East L.A. To say that the movie adds to
and condones gang welfare is a false
judgement.
See Page6
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
"BOULEVARD NIGHTS?" WILL YOU
SEEIT?
--Jesse Rushing, 28, Sociology !'lajor •
--Rafael Villegas, 22, Business
Management major
"I have heard that it presents
Chicanos
in
a
fairly_ stereotypical fashion." "I think in this ~se it's
bas because it helps people go l;ack to
stereotypes that never were true." "I
don't go to movies, I've got better things
todo."
"I feel it's deceiving because it
doesn't give a real picture. It's. putting
into the minds of these kids the
violence." "I'm probably going to see it
to get my own opinion, but right now
I feel it's an injustice."
--Vincent Mendez, 28, Art major
"I don't think I'll see it. I · think it
touches all the aspects of what a Chicano
really isn't, and I think it's just making .
a quick buck for Hollywood.", "It exploits
the minds of children."
--Sam Santillanez, 28, Natural Science
major
"I thought it was biased. There were
parts of it that I thought were . very
real, but I guess it just didn't give a
fair picture of Chicano culture."
---Photos by George Aguirre
La Voz de Aztlan
Page 6
Chicano Magazine Staff
Prepares ·For · May Issue
Los Nirios Mueren
By DORA LARA
La Voz Writer
r---------------------------,
.
,
What is this sadness I feel
As I see our children,
Fighting and killing one another?
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
My Children,
I ask you, Why?
Has society influenced you so much?
Has it taught you how to hate instead
of Love?
·
Has it taught you that death is sweete,
Than life itself?
Our poor-confused children,
The scars that . have markeci you are
so great.
The roads you have taken, so mean
and rough.
The pain you feel so intense.
. ---------------------------~
I
Does society realize the damage it has
caused you?
I weep for you, my children,
I pray for you,
My heart feels the pain you feel,
And,
Though I cry for you ,
I a stranger in your world,
Still do not realize the intensity Df
these scars.
Boulevard Nights
From Page5
The truth is , is that th is condoning of
violence has been already been taught
to many young '"Chicanos by other
movies, news articles and television.
The Warriors, The Wild Wild West
praised by U.S . culture and news stor~
ies about murder, killings, muggings
and warfare in the world have also
done this.
The majority of Chicanos in this
society live at poverty levels. Chicanos
in East L.A . live in poverty where poverty, theft, beggars and gangs are a
way of life.
This movie could have come out in
the year 2000, and the reaction of some
Chicano youth would be the same
towards the movie.
Much of why the movie was screened
was because this represented the ultimate in drama of a cholos life. We
should not throw this experience into
the closet and never expose it. No, and
we must not place the blame on a movie
that sincerely depicts this experience .
It is not the mov.ie 's fault that young
Chicanos may misinterpret the movie
in a narrow way. And those who would
boycott the film are wrong.
Boycotting this movie would only
emphasize tl'}e shame we have of our
own people, which may lead educated
Chicanos, the elitist class, to seperate
themselves among Chicanos and thus
even ~li~~e _the harmful stereotypes .
I thmk 1t 1s important for Chicanos to
sit dow~ and give written explanations
of the film to young Chicanos who do
not_ k~ow how to interpret this movie .
It 1s important that young Chicanos
have an understanding on the many dive~sities in his/her group to exploit the
Ch1~ano people. It simply portrays the
reality of a certain type of Chicano
~e should not blame one ·paltry.
movie _for som~thing that -has roots in
our educational system, our econom ic
environments and television and news
articles. If we are to boycott anything it
should not be our own movies, it should
be the facilities. that influence Chicano
youth each day.
Again, this movie
shows a smail segment of Chicano
youth.
Two Chicana journalists were recently
named
managing
editors
of
SENTIMIENTOS Del Valle, a magazine
for the San Joaquin Valley's Chiqmo
community.
Dianne Solis, who last semester
served as the first minority editor of
the CSUF Journalism department's
lab newspaper, insight, will coordinate
assignments · and general design . Elvia
Ruiz will coordinate the magazine's
bilingual aspects and svpervise general
production.
General editor Tomas Uribes, who will
handle fundraising and overall operation, said the next issue will be published by May 14 and will feature
the 1979 CSUF Chicano graduates.
SENTIMJENTOS is a non-profit,
volunteer publication produced by
Chicano student and
professional
journalists from Fresno. It is now f unded
with advertising and ind ividual donat ions ($10 and $25 ).
T he magazine began in 1976 as a
brochure for the CSUF Chicano Youth
Conference . After producing another
CYC brochure in 1977, the staff decided to develop a magazine for t he
local Chicano commun ity.
The
fi rst
issue
under
the
SENTIMIENTOS name appeared in
January 1978 as a part of t hat year' s
CYC.
Last May, t he staff produced its
second issue ·and spotlighted that year' s·
Chicano Commencement Ceremonies .
This year's SENTIMIENTOS. will
include photos of all the Chicano
graduates participating in this year's
Chicano . Commencement Ceremonies,
set for May 20.
He said in addition to the CSUF
graduates, SENTIMIENTOS will
Chicano graduates from educa
institutions throughout the
by listing their names in the magaz·
Promoting the graduation is ond
in fulfilling the magazine's obj
said Ruiz, who has worked
magazine since it became
MIENTOS .
"We want to retlect the
things happening in our comm
especially since so little is ever
sented in other media," she said.
But while the magazine seeks to
the good things going on withi
Chicano commu nity , it does not int
be a "PR" organ.
"We want to d iscuss the issu
face and t he problems that plague
said Ruiz .
·
.. vve nope commu nity members
help us in this respect by bringing
our attention whatever information th~
feel should be presented ."
Solis said the deadline for the ne
issue is nearing and anyone wit
suggestions or editorial material shoul
contact the editors by April 15. She sai
that is the "absolute last day" the sta:
will accept anything for publication
She advised anyone who is interes
to inform the staff sooner than that da
if they plan to submi t something
space in the magazine can be allocated
The magazine staff will conslde
creative writing (poetry , short stories
narratives , etc.), essays and analytica
writings , feature and news writing
artwork and photography .
More information may be obtained bl
contacting Uribes at · 225-3859
266-2622
or
by
writing
t
SENTIMIENTOS, P .0. Box 12303
Fresno, CA, 93777.
- ---uFW NOT1c1As~~~.i
UFWUPDATE
"Female Farmworkers"
The income difference was blamed on
Female farmworkers in California the fact that women were assigned to
typically earn less than male farmwork- lower paying jobs. Men also worked
ers and are excluded from training pro- more weeks than women and at higher
grams for better jobs, according• to the paying jobs, such as operating farm
Commission on the Status of Women.
machinery or irrigating. ·
The commission recently said that a . - Farm employers interviewed in the
1977 survey of 400 women and 200 men study said they believed women were
who work in Fresno and Imperial county physically incapable of handling higher
fields showed that women earn an aver- paying jobs.
age yearly income of less than $3,000.
However, the commission said that
Women experienced at farm work earn- the Fair Employment Practices Act,
ed one-third as much as men with the bars · an employer from refusing to hire
same level of experience.
female job-seekers on the grounds that
One third of the women surveyed women have physical limitations bewere heads of households .
cause of their sex.
About a dozen California sheriffs
recently with state lawmakers, and p
dieted escalating violence arising oi:
of farm labor confrontations in the Sa
inas Valley.
The sheriffs, mostly from rural areas
discussed their farm strike-relate
problems with over a dozen lawmak
in Sacramento.
·
The law enforcement officials told
legislators that farm labor disputes i
volving
the
UFW
and
p
ducers may produce a Nlong hot su
mer" as picketing moves to the Sali
Valley, where the harvest season blos
soms in two weeks .
Imperial County Sheriff Oren Fox sa~
that 91 county offic;:ers had to be aideC
by 160 officers from neighboring area:
to contain strike-related violence in h~
county. Law enforcement costs totalle:
about $667,000, he said.
In other developments, a Superi
Court judge issued a temporary restraill'
ing order recently against the UF\1
prohibiting union members from picket
ing Growers Exchange property in Ventura County. The order, issued by Judge
Steve Stone, also specifies that unior
members must not threaten compan
employees with violence .
Page7
La Voz de Aztlan
Chavez supports
idwest agri-union
But the FLOC ''S commitment to
farm~_orkers isn't their only area of
concentration. They are also participating in the boycott of Nestles' products
which is the parent company of Libby'.
Nestles' has been promoting infant
formula for feeding babies in Third
World and deveioping nations, but
reports have tied infant formulas to
malnutrition and even death to children
of unsuspecting mothers.
· From the other side of the camp,
Libby's and Campbell's companies
have refused to negotiate with Ohio
farmworkers over wages and working
conditions. It is for this reason that
FLOC is calling a nation-wide consumer boycott of the following companies and their products:LIBBY-MCNEIL-UBBY
--All Nesties' products
--All vegetables, fruits meats and
juices with the Libby label
--Campbell Soup
, --Swanson frozen prepared dinners and
meats
--V-8 vegetable juice
--Recipe pet food
--Franco-American products
--Pepperidge Farm products
--Granny's soups
--Bounty canned chili and entrees
·--Vlasic.
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz Writer
Sen. Cranston,left, arid
Fresno recently.
Tom . Haden were in
Cranston,Had_
en
speak out on Liberalism
.
'
By RJCARDO PIMENTEL
La Voz Contributor
Traditional liberal thought and what
may be the new liberal wave· took turns
presenting their cases at the CaUfornia
Democratic Council (CDC) convention at
the Fresno Hilton recently.
Senator Alan Cranston, founder and
first president of CDC, told the liberal
Democrats, March 23, pretty much what
they wanted to hear. But, the next day,
former anti-war activist and unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in
1976, Tom Hayden, decried CDC and
what he viewed as the ineffectiveness of
the liberal movement.
l'CDC is in danger of becoming a
relic," said Hayden. He characterized
the organization as one without "clout ...
being used by liberal lawyers then abandoned."
Cranston, however, retained a familiar
liberal theme throughout his sp.e ech, attacking big government yet calling for
a commitment to subsidize "small bus·iness and farmers no less than food
stamps."
Contrary to traditional liberal thought,
both speakers cal led for a balanced budget but were against a consitutional convention to achieve it. Cranston said
he "strongly opposes" a constitutional
convention and has "deep doubts" about amending the constitution in any
way to fight inflation.
It may come to a choice between a
convention or a states' sponsored
amendment to curb the budget, Cranston said. "Both ideas will fail," he.added, "then we can get on with the real job
of making government work better."
While the senator came out for a balanced budget as soon as possible, he
didn't say how it would be accomplished. In an apparent attempt to allay
the fears of the liberals, Cranston said,
"I will do all in my power from letting
budget balancing deteriorate to an attack on the help1ess ."
Hayden, chairman of the "Campaign
for Economic Democracy", put the
blame for inflation directly on liberals.
Cranston also attacked defense spending, earning cheers from the partisan
crowd. He said, "Everyone else is
biting the bullet. Why shouldn't the
Pentagon."
He said, liberals have been content to
·"ride· the tiger" of inflation rather than
fight it.
Hayden said "inflation and government spending are not Republicc)n issues. They are people issues."
He warned, "Don't' put yourself in
the position of defending deficit spending." He said an unbalanced budget
has never solved any problems "and
liberalism is lame if it fights a balanced
budget."
Hayden said the real inflation fighters
are not those in government, but "the
people in Santa Monica fighting for
rent control." He said, Hthe best way to
fight inflation is to boycott Chiquita
bananas" (an apparent reference to
UFW leader Cesar Chavez' call for a
boycott of United Brands-owned Chiquita bananas).
Hayden later told reporters that although criticism of Governor Brown from
his organization have not been abundant, there are some problems between
the two. Of Brown's budget balancing
proposal, Hayden said, "I don't agree
with the consitutional approach. It does
not approach the issue of full employment."
He added, "We think he (Brown)
should be as tough on corporate profits
as government spending. Our approach
is to say the problem is big business and
big government."
Asked about Brown's political ideology, the former anti-war activist said
"No, he's not a liberal. He's a liberal i~
transition, which is better than a liberal
stuck in the mud ."
Cesar Chavez and the United Farm
Workers are not the only ones who are
striking for higher wages. In Ohio this
past January 28, the Farm Labor
Organizing Committee (FLOC) officially kicked-off its international boycott of Libby-McNeil, Libby and Campbell Soup products.
The FLOC initiated the boycott
because of the canners' and growers'
unwillingness to respond to peaceful
invitations · by union leaders to negotiate, according to the "Nuestra Luca"
newspaper from Ohio. The FLOC is
hoping that the boycott can pressure
canners into requiring better wages
and working conditions for farm workers from the grower.
The FLOC is committed to helping
farm laborers achieve better wages and
working conditions. They have received
support from many institutions, includ-·
ing California's United Farmworkers
Union under Cesar Chavez.
But organizing in the Midwest is
difficult. Most Ohio farm workers
migrate each summer from Florida and
Texas, allowing only a few months for
workers to mobilize into effective
acti_o n, according to the FLOC.
"He neither drinks nor smokes; his
work is his life and passion."
"Home is a four-room cottage at union
headquarters in La Paz, Calif., and on
the road he lives with his work~rs.
"At 52 (and 5' 6", 149 pounds), he
still lives by the exemplary asceticism of
the UFW's youth. He works a slave
driver's schedule of 20-hours days,
sleeping where he drops, accepting only
$10 a week in pay, plus expenses.
On the road he lives simply: "I eat
whatever they have and sleep on floors
when there's no bed,' he says. 'It's
, •a way to stay in touch. Sure it's inconvenient when you have to run to pay
phones, but I ge~ insights I wouldn't
get if I stayed in motels.'"
"Chavez prays and meditates two or
three h6urs a day and often fasts."
"Chavez counts his family among his
disciplines. Most of the eight children
are grown and work for the UFW, and
wife of 30-years, Helen, 51, is on the organization's credit union until she retired last month."
"Some of the family have converted
to his vegetarian diet, but few of his
children have adopted the 30-year habit
of yoga and contempl~tion t~at he be1ieves is the source of his stamina.
I wouldri 't last if I didn't do that,'
he says. 'As it is I'm made for this kjnd
of work--no heart attacks, or ulcers, or
high blood pressure or anything (thou_gh
he admits to some back problems, which
he attributes to his days at stoop labor) ...
prayer and meditation have a lot to do
with that. '"
'" I don't plan to retire,' he says.
'This is a good place for me to be here.
It is a burden to be a leader, but I won't
burn out. We have to discipline ourselves more than most people because
we must win. We have to win."
Quienes
Cesar Chavez?
Editor's note: Just who is this man
Cesar Chavez? He is the head of the
3$, 000 member United Farm Workers
of America, but to many, still a mysterious person. "People" magazine in their
edition of March 12, 1979 provided this
description of Chavez.
"Born in Yuma, Arizona, he dropped
out of school in the eighth grade and
went to work in his teens as a field hand.
Once an unlettered street corner tough,
he discovered Gandhi and turned to
steel-willed self-discipline.
11
'
La Voz de Aztlan
Page8
r
...__ _ _ _Noticias de la Raza-_,.._..:..--_ ___,
MECHA MEETINGS
EOP
Mecha continues to recruit students
to become involved with issues that
affect all Chicanos. Officers have re- •
issued the invitation that students join
the group and attend Mecha meetings.
The next Mecha meeting will be held
April 5 (Thursday) in the College
Union, room 309.
Applications for EOP Student AdvisQ
positions for the 1979-80 academic year
are· now available. The positions an
aesigned to provide employment and a
unique learning experience for individu,
als interested in education and counseling related careers.
Applications-are available in the EOP
office, .Joyal Administration Buildin~,
room 238. The deadline to apply 11
April 6, 1979.
For additional information, please
contact Wanda Fulbright,
Student
Advisor Coordinator at 487-1021.
CHICANO COMMENCEMENT
Applications will be accepted
through April 18 for the third annual
Chicano Commencement at CSUF. The
event, being organized by the Chicano
Commencement Committee of the Chicano Alumni Association, is set for
Sunday, May 20 at the Fresno Dist_rict
Fairgrounds.
Applications can be picked up at
Tutorial Services, the La Raza Studies
office, and the EOP office. For more information call 487-1053.
UFWPLEA
Food and money are still being requested by striking members of the
United Farm Workers in Huron. · Donations may be left at the · La Raza
Studies office in San Ramon 4, room
118. For more · information call
487-2848.
"Social Services sought for
Border _!>rocessing Sites"
TEA TRO DEL ESPIRITU
STATEWIDE CHICANO TOURNEY
The Teatro del Espiritu will perform
Saturday April 21 in Visalia. The troupe
will be seen from 8-10 p.m. in the L.J.
Williams Theater, 1001 Main St.
Admission for adults is $2 in advance
or $2.50 at the door. For more information cal I 625-5300. The performance
is being sponsored .by RAYO, Real
AlternativP~ for-Youth Organization.
A statewide Chicano basketball tour- .
nament, sponsored by the Chicano
Youth Center, will be held April 21-22
here in Fresno.
Teams from Fresno, Hayward, Los
Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San
Jose, and Woodland, and others will
vie for awards in the single-elimination
competition.
"Tortilla Curtain"
Cesar Chavez
Chicanos honor .O bledo
"Quien dice que no' podemos trabaja~
ju ntos !" (Who says we can 't work together). With that bold declaration
members of the Association of MexicanAmerican Elected Officials(AMEO)
greeted a fe~ hundred supporters at
a testimonial dance for Mario Obledo
(Calif. Sec. of Health & Welfare) Friday
night at the Rainbow Ballroom.
Members of AMEO from Fresno
Cou~ty as well as United Farm Workers
president Cesar Chavez gathered ·to
~onor ~bledo, the state's highest rankmg Chicano official.
The m~yors of Mendota, Orang~ Cove
and ~arl,er presented Obledo with a re:.
solutmn co~mending him for his service
to the Chicano community. Top local
and state political learlers also spoke out
on the future power of Chicanos in California.
Later, live band music and dancing
took center stage.
Gov. Jerry Brown was originally
scheduled to attend the testimonial, but
cancelled at the·last moment. However, .
his absence was hardly felt as Obledo, ·
Chavez and other speakers picked up the
slack.
·
Obledo told the crowd that Chicanos
are on the verge of becoming the most
powerful political force in the state.
Chavez, who celebrated his birthday
Friday (53rd), praised Obledo and the ·
growing power of the movement. He
gained a standing ovation as he began
his lengthy speech in Spanish and drew
shouts of "Viva La Huelga! ", and "Viva
La Causal"
President Carter has approved a
plan to replace deteriorating fences orf
the U.S./Mexican border with a more
icnoregnable barrier. th·e ·washington
Post reported March 23.
An.earlier White House effort to erect
new fences met with stiff resistance from
Chicano groups and from the Mexican
government.
The . President may be holding off on
an official announcement to avoid any
conflict with Mexican President J o~e
Lopez Portillo, when the Mexican leader visits in June. Portillo was ..said to
have been insulted when the U.S. first
unveiled the plan last year and publically
chided Carter about American insensitivity when the two met in Mexico
City in late February.
The original plan called for a 10-foot
high fence in the El Paso· and San Diego areas. Opposition mounted when it
was learned that the new fence might
amputate fingers and toes caught in
its sharp wire mesh. The fence came to
be known as the "Tortilla Curtain."
High government sources said the
plan for a new fence had never been
scrapped. The decision has always been,
they said, not whether to build the
fence, but how much to construct and
how to build it.
In a related event, the Mexican Congress announced March 27 that it was
sending a special committee fo the U.S.
to investigate alleged human rights violations against illegal Mexican aliens.
The committee will report back to a
joint congressional session in the
next few weeks, a Mexican congress
spokesman said. The committee report
will also be brought up at an April 2628 meeting in Mexico City of U.S. and
Mexican representatives on the illegal
alien oroblem.
Although the methods of deporti
illegal aliens have improved, conditio
are still not humane according to tr·
Chicano Caucas Steering- Committee
the National Association of Social Wort
ers.
That group recently spent two days a'
a workshop· in El Paso, Texas, arrangec
by the U.S. Immigration and Naturah·
zation Service (INS).
According to the groups' newspaper
of Feb. 19, the group learned that 15,00:
Latinos are detained and deported ead
month in El Paso alone.
"Most are held three to four days, but
some up to six months if their nationality cannot be verified, said grou·
members.
They are held in "sterile barracks sur·
rounded by incredibly intimidatin~
barbed:-wire fences. At no time are thoSc
in detention spoken to by a social work·
er," said the group.
They asked INS commissioner Leone'.
Castillo to "take neccessary steps to hu·
manize this detention/deportation process."
The group learned that an estimateo
vne-million undocumented immigrants
come into the United States durin_g an
12-month period.
To those who urge more personnel
and constrt:1ction of physical barriers to
"seal the Border," the group was criti·
cal.
Dr. Manuel Spector, INS special con·
sultant to Castillo said that the concept
of sealing the border was born out o
naivete and is often advanced by .. reactionaries" who may or may not be
racists.
,
To improve the situation, the group
learned that the INS hoped to raise U.S
Immigration quotas and allow more to
legally come in from Mexico. Mexico 's
quotia is now 20,000 a year, and would
be raised to 40-50,000.
The group also found out that in El
Pa·so there are no facilities for undocu·
mented females· and little is done to
apprehend them. The few that are
caught are brought to churches or social
agencies for processing.
.
Soaring illegal immigration has been
caused by rampant unemployment in
Mexico, spiraling intlation and 3.5 per·
cent population growth - one of . the
highest in the world.
. Until these problems can be dealt with
the group said "a humane method of
processing the hundreds of thousands o
immigrants who come to the U.S. seek·
ing a better way of life must be found."
Condensed from
"National Association of S.W. News"
.
.
-
-Special Publication of The Daily Collegian
LA -v oz de AZTLAN
Monday
April 2, 1979
1111,....
Coors Boycott Continues
~Page 2
Boulevqrd ·Nights-. · The movie,The Contioversy
-- Pages 3-6
Boulevard Nights stirs. up local, national trouble(abuve). ·
Mario Obledo honored in FresnQ.
.
·
• George Aguirre Photo
. S-entirriientos Del Valle
-Page 6 ·
Cranston, Hayden ·
and Liberalism
·-Page 7
OQledo, Chavez
· Come -T o Fresno
-Page 8
ConientariOS
Coors cervezaBoulevard Nightsstill sour brew
the trouble with. a picket
2
~Pageiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Boulevard Nights is not a perfect
movie . But, neither is it such a flawed ,
discriminatory and stereotypical film
that we shou ld all go out and set
picket lines at the Tower Theater .
If one sees the film he is convinced that it attempts to portray
just one aspect of Chicano life in
East Los Angeles. Viewed from that
perspective,the film is a sucess.
It has won critical aclaim and
rightly so. The movie has an allChicano cast,employs authentic dialogue
and realistic situations and comes off
as an honest portray! of Chicano life.
Boulevard Nights should not be
boycotted. Chicanos and non-Chicanos
should go to see it to gain an
understanding of one of the m<?st
destructive elements of the barrio-gang violence.
The film reinforces the fact that
gang violence is undesireable and
something must be done about it now.
Violence isn't glorified and contrary
to what many have said, the incidents of violence surrounding the film
have been few and far between.
The most positive thing that
Boulevard Nights has done by coming
to Fresno is that it has helped bring
more attention to the problems of the
barrfo. Perhaps now -we can all rededicate ourselves to improving conditions there.
Chicanos In Law :
Group_Prepares_For
Future As Attorneys
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz.Writer
Despite claims by President Carter
and career counselors and others that ·
there is an oversupply of lawyers,
there is no oversupply of Chicano lawyers .
President Carter has said that the ·
U.S. has one of the heaviest concentration of lawyers on earth . He has
charged that there is more litigation,
but he isn't sure that there is more
justice .
Many Chicanos can identify with
having little justice. With a higher
percentage of persons in prisons than
in graduate schools, Chicanos are pot
whom Carter was speaking of when he
spoke about a heavy concentration of
lawyers. for example there is one
Chicano lawyer for every 9,480 Chicanos, compared to one Anglo lawyer
for every 530 Anglos .
For many Chicano college students it.
has become a challenge to consider
going on to law school.
Here at CSUF there is an organization dedicated to making law school a
more feasible goal. This organization is
HChicanos in Law ." Since the beginning of this school year, the group has
been busy establishing itself as a
serious organization . It has boosted its
membership to twenty-five pre-law
students under the leadership of president, Luis Ambriz.
Among the activities thus far have
been trips to various law schools in
California. Members have met representatives of the Stanford School of
Law in Palo Alto, Hastings Law School
in San Francisco, UCLA School of Law
in Los Angeles, Boalt Hall in Berkeley, ·
McGeorge Law School in Sacramento
and most recently, Santa Clara Law
School . Members have also attended
various minority admissions pre-law
conferences .
'
.
Last semester, Chicanos in Law
along with "Ola Raza," a law group
from San Francisco, hosted an LSAT
prep test (similar to the SAT college
~mrance examJ tor students mterestea
in pursuing a career in law.
At their bi-monthly meetings, Chicanos in Law have also hosted such
speakers as former judge Al Villa,
Ed Valdez, a Fresno attorney, Robert
Perez, CSUF criminology instructor
and practicing attorney, Marcos Lopez
an attorney from the UFW headquarters in Keene, California, and Dr.
Karl Svenson of the political science
department. Topics have ranged from
talks on different law schools to talks on
post-Bakke effects on law school minority admissions.
Their biggest project to date has
been the planning of "Chicanos in Law,
Law Day" at CSUF for the upc<>ming
year. Recruiters from various law
schools will be invited to attend and
disseminate information ) on their
schools.
The news that the American C . I.
Forum voted at a recent national meeting to end its 12-year boycott of Coors
beer was disappointing , predictable and
inaccurately reported by major media .
It is apparently true the G.I. Forum , a
10,000-strong veterans organ ization , is
pulHng out of the boycott they started
when Coors company refused to hire
Chicanos and other minorities. It was
a1so predictable since the Forum has
done little in recent years to promote the
boycott and has had to forfeit grants
from the Coors Company because of the
boycott.
It is not true, however: that the boycott of Coors beer is over. What has hap. pened is the powerful Coors public relations machine has attempted to use the
C. I. Forum's decision to speak for the
millions of Chicanos, AFL-CIO cnembers .
and other boycotts who will never drink
, Coors again.
In the 12 years since the boycott started, too much Rocky Mountain spring
water has passed under the bridge to reverse the flow. In spite of Coors' domination of the media, many people have
been educated to the company's racist
and reactionary politics. Union members
know of Coors practice of breaking
strikes and unions at the brewery. Anti- .
war activists know of the gross profits of
Coors owned porcelain plant made
during the Vietnam war. Chicano
April 2, 1979
students at the state's universities know
of Joseph Coors activities as a member
of the Board of Regents to stop financial
aid prog rams which hel ped hundreds of
Ch icanos attend the University of Colorado .
The recent media blitz behind the G.I
Forum decision to end the ir participation
in the Coors boycott is only one example
of the economic success of the boycott.
As a resu lt of the boycott, Coors slipped
from fou rth to fifth nationwide in beer
sales . This year, profits for the company
have continued the downward slide of
recent years.
The Coors company is using the G.I.
Forum, golfer Lee Trevi no and the ne.ws
media it controls in an attempt to fool
Chicanos into thinking the boycott is
over.
Some people will be deceived by the
tokenism and misleading "news" stories .
Most people will recognize the deception
as the actions of a desperate company
trying to reverse the effects of a damaging boycott. We cannot compromise
our principles as a people. The goals of
the Coors family are in direct conflict to
the goals of the Chicano movement.
Boycott Coors, over a million Chicanos
can't be wrong.
From "La Cucaracha,"
Pueblo, Colorado
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter ,n response to
the March 19 edition of La Voz. I
cannot help but detect the bias in your ,/
article by Feliz Contreras on the price
of lettuce in Continental Market.
Craig Kozy simply state on the sign
that as a result of the UFW strike
the price of lettuce is 98¢ a head. He
did not say, as a result of the UFW
lettuce is 98¢.
Why are you compelled to think
that this leads to misconceptions of the
strike?? Maybe _because they aren't
misconceptions?? Maybe because
you' re afraid the public will see what
the strike truely (sic) represents.
All Contreras talks about is . the
poor little hara-working Mexicans
.
.
(he calls them Chicanos) who slave for
. A pane~ of sp~ak_ers m the field _ the farmers _at what he considers
of l~w will b.e invited to s~akon grossly insufficient wages. However, .
~rtment legal issues, and CIL will pronowhere does he mention that Ceasar
v1de a LSAT prepa.ratory test. Cl L Chavez is asking upwards to 200%
has asked t~e A~soc1ated Students to wage increases which is obviously
help fund this proJ~. . .
.
greater than the maximum increase
0her futur~ act1v1t1es 1~cl~de: a
possible under President Carter's
burrito fundra1s~r salei a picnic. and
anti-inflation wage and price guidesoftball game ~1~h Ch1c~no Business
lines . A maximum increase which has
Students Assoc1at1on; a trip to La Paz,
been offered by the farmers by rejected
Cesar Chavez' UFW headquarters in
bu the UFW who wants even more
Keene, California, and a National
(sic)
~awyer's Guild four-day conference
The absurdity of the UFW's de- _
m Santa Clara .
.
.
mands are reflected by the rejection of
For the month of April, CIL 1s planhelp from the Federal Mediation and
ning a Chicano A~torney Openhouse
Conciliation Service.
where students will. have a c~ance
So why the strike?? Mr. Contreras
to meet and s~eak with local _Chicano
also fails to mention that within the
attorneys at an. mforma~ gathering .
past six months, there has been three
_ For more mform.at,on on CIL, a
decertification elections called for by
mess_age may be left in the CIL message the UFW workers themselves because
box in the La Raza ~tuct,e!, umce .
they are unhappy with the union .
I
Also why is it never mentioned that
there has been a marked increase in
the complaints about the medical plan,
by the workers themselves, ever since
the UFW took over, despite the fact
that the UFW has amassed a $6.2
million surplus in their medical fund.
I think my points are very clear. Mr.
Contreras is resorting to the old UFW
tactic of trying to get public sympathy.
A tactic which even failed them on the
famous Proposition 14. The California
public is smarter than you think.
My word to the public is, if you
blame the UFW for high lettuce prices,
it is not' because of store signs, but
because of what the UFW represents.
Don't be misled by biased articles in
La Voz .
--Signed Anonymous
(Because of fear of violent r~taliation
for being outspoken)
i . Voz .de Azt1an is published by the ·
Associated Students at California State
University, Fresno and the newspaper
staff. Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the i . Voz staff, and not necessarily the views of the Associated Students, CSUF or the State of California.
Editor ... Richard Aguirre
Photography ... George Aguirre,Ricardo
Pimentel,Lupe Mora
Art ... Albino Franco, Arturo Ocampo
Reporters ... Dora Lara,Margarita Martinez , Octavio Yescas.
Contributors ... Felix Contreras , Elvia
Ruiz , Dianne Solis , Ricardo Pimentel,
Pedro Ramirez.
April 2, 1979
A Special Supplement to· LA VOZ de AZTLAN
By TOMAS URIBES
"College (Chicano) students are elite
in the Chicano community because there
aren 't that many of us. We have the
responsibility to communicate the movie's negativeness to our community."
La Voz Contributor
Boulevard Nights is a movie about
lowriders and gang members in the East
Los Angeles community. But some members of the Chicano community, both
statewide and locally, feel Chicanos are
being taken for a ride and that something must be done about it.
Fresno State University ' s Chicano
student organization, MEChA, decided
Thursday to join the MEChA at Fresno
City College and the community-based
Chicano Youth Center in a protest of
the film now playing at t he Tower The- atre.
·
New Chicano g~ng film
draws Fresno boyc~tt
He said the movie stereotypes and
is racist and that MEChA has a responsibility to demonstrate that to the·younger kids.
"Glorification will take place on that
level (younger kids). They' II take what
they want from the movie and not analyze it for what it's worth."
"We' re not telling people 'don't see
it,' said CSUF La Raza Studies professor
Alex Sara·goza at MEChA; s weekly
meeting Thursday . "We just want to
point out to the community the movie's
flaws."
"We' re criticizing those elements of
the movie that are negative, that exploit and manipulate. It could have
been a movie about the farmworker
plight ."
Boulevard Nights hit Fresno last
March 23 and Saragoza called it a "C_ultural event" for Chicanos . The movie
depicts a fatherless Chicano family
whose eldest son, once a gang member
himself but who "knew when to get
out," sees his younger brother becoming
entangled' with the gang and its conflicts.
The elder brother is a lowrider, his
car decked out with hydraulic equipment that gives him· the edge in a "hopping" contests. His dream is to own his
own car shop and leave behind the gang
life.
His younger brother, however, is a
"cholo" who becomes the target of a
. rival gang after one of the rival members is stabbed in a fight between the
two gangs.
The tragedy and depiction of life in
the movie has been described as "real- .
istic" portray.al of East Los Angeles life. ·
Some movie goers have even said the
movie's depiction is mild to what actually happens in East Los Angeles.
But Chicano activists are upset
that "negative" aspects ot the Chicano
life are overly ~tressed because different
people have different interpretations of
the film's message.
"The little kids and cholos that watch
the movie will have very different interpretation than students who would
intellectualize the movie and view it
with a critical sophisticated perception,"
said Saragoza. Saragoza was raised in
Madera and is a sociologist with degrees
. from CSUF and UC Berkeley.
Boulevard
-Nights
Review ·
Boulevard Nights is a grim look at
oPe aspect of Chicano society in East
L.A. - gang violence .
It is a painfully honest view of the
fighting of the gangs, what motivates
them to fight and the tragedy they
can bring.
The acting, dialogue, attire, backgrounds and cars are authentic and convincing.
Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez)
plays the part of the big brother we all
knew and loved. He- makes the audience
feel the anguish of trying to escape life
in the barrio.
He slaps around his younger unpredictable brother Chuco (Danny de la Paz),
but does so only to_try to get his brother
to abandon the life of a vato loco.
Raymond has escaped that cholo
existence and is now a hard-working
car customizer and dedicated lowrider.
He loves to cruise the main and ~et
Pagel I
Manuel Nunez, CSUF EOP counselor
said:
"The stereotypes affect our kids educational life. They get into high school
and are put into lower classes because
they' re perceived as low acheivers,
based on these stereotypes. As a result,
they don't get the classes they need to
qualify for college or to succeed.
A leaflet prepared by the Chicano
Youth Center staff was prepared and
picketing of the movies set for Sunday.
The ~eaflet accuses the film as motivating gang warfare and stereotyping
Chicanos "as being inferior and not
knowing how to control or work with
their Raza."
The leaflet suggests that films like
Boulevard Nights will only further antagonize rival racial groups like the Stoner,
Crips, and F-14s.
"Are we going to wait until we J:iave
stabbings and shooting in our community before we do anything? How many
more homeboys/hbmegirls will be killed before we stop these film producers
and theatre owners from exploiting and
prostituting the Chicano community?"
The statewide organization of MEChA
has already called for a boycott of the
movie, said FSU MEChA President
Priscilla Contreras. Also boycotting the
movie is the Chicano Actors Group in
, Los Angeles.
into "hopping" contests but still wants
to get ahead and eventually marry his
girlfriend Shady (Marta Dubolis).
But, Chuco, Raymond's brother
still enjoys life in the gang. But, he is
uneasily backing into the gang. On the
way to full standing, he sniffs paint
can fumes, gets loaded on angel dust
and fights along with his homeboys.
The movie ultimately turns out to be
a struggle between the brothers.
Raymond, to help his brother out of the
cholo lifestyle, and Chuco to gain
status among his carnales.
The movie is a good story about
the love between two· brothers and
their struggles in the barrio.
Taken as a specific look at just one
segment of life in Los Angeles, Boulevard Nights is an excellent film.
It
does not glorify violence or make gang
life attractive.
If anything it shows
how tragic life in the barrio can be.
Page4
April 2, 1979
La Voz de Aztlan
Commentary
Lowrider,ch.olo
lifestyles
_
depicted in movie
\
By PEDRO RAMIREZ
La Voz Contributor
Chicanos are finally escaping their
unseen existence in the U.S . society.
We · have been a neglected people
in the U.S . society from the day we
res~ttled on this stole,n l~nd . .
There has not been equal representation for Chicanos in education, the pro- ,
fessional field .. .and in modern day
civi Iization .
Chicanos have been neglected in the
movie industry. Most Chicano characters in American-made movies exploited all the damaging stereotypes
about Mexicanos, all the way up to
taking the Mexican siesta.
Now· ·with the Chicano-casted movie, 1
Boule~ard Nights, Chicanos can say
that we have a film that represents
a segment of our populatior).
Although the movie was directed
by Michael Passman and produced
by Bill Benson (both Jew~sh) the fil~
has won high praise. Charles Champlin
art critic for the Los Angeles Times
called Boulevard Nights · a "modest,
earnest, honest, authentic-, dra~atic,
and effective drama photographed in an
East LA. barrio."
Those who have seen the movie can
tell you that this movie is not about _
cruising the main at night. If anything,
the movie's title is a gimmick designed
to attrack an audience ... that is the
mass of people who make up the
"working class." There are few scenes
of the actual boulevard.
The movie is a social documentary
about one aspect of Chicano life in
East L.A . The film starts out early on
by giving the viewer· a look at the _central characters and the main cruis~ng
strip.
One first sees the boulevard when
Raymond(Richard Yniguez), the central
character in the movie--a Chicano who ·
has abandoned being a
"cholo"
cruises the main with his girl, Shady
(Mact:a Dubois) .
•
Shady dislikes cruising down the
boulevard because she sees it as
d,iidis~ . But,_ ~ay~o-~d'~ li~~le b~9ther
a
Chuco(Danny de la Paz) is
Chicano adolescent rebelling against society's demands and as a result of this
is a cholo who enjoys life on the
street with his friends.
THE MEANING OF
LA VOZ De AZTLAN
La Voz de Aztlan means "The voice ·
of Aztlan. " Aztlan has been translated
by most historians to be the mythical
name of the Aztec (or Mexica or Chichimeca) people who held the area
around present-day Mexico City when
the Spaniards under Hernan Cortes
entered Mexico in 1519.
Two things happen in this early
scene: Raymond meets some friends
and takes part in a lowrider
hopping contest and Chuco gets into a
gang fight .
In the car hopping contest the
front end of two competing cars hop
up and down to see whose car can
jump the highest, To the partic;ipants, the event is a form of
recreation.
. It is said that this practice is -.a
variation of a CUSTOM HANDED
· DOWN BY Mexican romeos, who when
courting a lovely maiden would make
their horses rear up on its hind legs
to attract attention.
Raymond wins the hopping contest
but his girlfriend is not very pleased
by his actions. But, Raymond still
loves his car. To him, having a
lowrider provides him a source of pride
and status.
.
'
Through his car, Raymond gains his '
own sense of identity.
I
If an individual works as a computer data processor, buys a Porchel .
and gains a new group of friends, his
-actions are accepted . Raymond works in
a car shop and owns a lowrider,
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a
but his actions are not much differcomentario by Gilbert Sanchez Lujan
ent than the upper class Chicano.
· of
El Concilio de Fresno on
BOULEVARD NIGHTS. This explanaMeanwhile Chuco is out "de vagos",
tion h.as been distributed to those
having fun with his friends. Like many
attending this movie by Lujan· and
young men at this stage he is goofing
others. It explains why Lujan . has
around, drinking and getting sprayed
chosen to picket the film.
New Chicano film~
accurate but misleading
.
atioos as his salvation yet this is what
the vato loco attempts to avoid so
desperately. The stereotypical viewpoint
of the Gabacho and/or middle class
value systems are being imposed on
the Chicanos who seek Iifestyle ·alter-- n~tives in lieu of the mainstream .
The vato loco cpntinues his fallin the face with beer.~~=====:==~~==~==~~====~~~=~~~~~=~~~~~~
Everything happens on the boulevardand the boulevard happens at night.
At the bellinnine of the movie •
Chuco's gang, VGV, works over a_ga~g
The movie, Boulevard Nights:, is a
member belonging to the 11th gang.
production · that
is
unfortunately
Later while cruising, one of the gang
~ authentic in content, however, _in its
rTJembers spots Chuco and his partner_.
accuracy it fails to tell the whole story.
Soon there is a big fist-ta-c'Jffs on the
It portrays only the easily exploited
boulevard and Chuco ends up stabbing
aspects of the vato loco experience.
·the 11th street gang members.
It does not explain or suggest the
on , , ,us starts a fued amongst the
socio-politic~!
circumstances and history
- gangs . This episode lasts around five·
of the · disenfranchised youths that
minutes. Because of the violence, a
largeiy live in poor and underheated controversy amongst Chicanos
developed urban centers throughout
has risen.
the nation.
Many beieve that scenes of violence
It only displays the end-result and
SeePage5 . .
by-products of the social ills that are
well documented by many authorities.
It focuses on the multi-destructiveness
In their native Nahuatl language,
of the cholo lifestyle. The film obviously
Aztlan . meant "the place of herons, "
rides on the sublima). and conscious
and also "the place they had been
racist attitudes towards the pachuco
before." Dr. Jose Canales of the CSUF
person.
History Department said he has traced
This film is an indictment of the
the origins of the Aztecs, a migratoryChicano vato without a proper trial
tribe as far north as present-day St.
and defense. It suggests incorrectly
Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota.
,
that Mexicans are inherently criminal
To Chicanos, Aztlan is the name for
and it's their choice to practice lawthe entire Southwest -- our symbolic
breaking and self-destruction . •
homeland.
It presents a suggestive escape f?r
'Chuco' to accept middle class aspir-
""e of
guy position similarly like the farmworker accused of all the difficulties
in cont~mporary urban life as if he had
control . On the contrary , the Chucos
are social victims without political
representation and voiceless in the fac~
of social judgements. He only ~rtIculates his anguish in self-destructiveness. How can you be so · merciless
as to continue to thrash this youth?
What are your justifications for
stabbing and exposing the vato bef~re
his community aJ1d nation in · his painful dilemna. Your profits are the perpetuation of this tragedy.
My main concern is for the thousands
of youths who will, by virtue of a. nonanalytical acceptance of the Chicano
content in the film, as well as the
glamour and influence of the largerthan-life screen, emulate negative
behavior models.
Out hopes lie in the discontinuence
of this type of film and any other that
depicts Chicanos solely in an _unfavorable manor. It is not a crime
to be a vato loco--it is a social crime
to make money on others' misfortunes.
April 2, 1979
Page5
La Voz de Aztlan
Boulevard NightsOne of many gang fil_
ms
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Although Boulevard Nights is the latest
in these gang films. They have said
that getting into the system is the only
way to produce more favorable films
Chicano gang movie it is not the only
about Chicanos .
film to come under close scrutiny. The
Chicanos also claim that, just like
Warriors, a film about New York gangs
other actors, they must work to survive,
and the forthcoming Walking Proud
regardless of the part.
(formerly Gang) have also drawn fire .
But many charge that these · films
· Three deaths (two in Calif .) have been
-are rittered with damaging stereolinked to Warriors since it opened in
types that distort the Chicano lifeFebruary. In most ot those incide~ts
style and portray the gang as violent ..
the violence was sparked by racial
They say that the positive aspects
differences.
.
of the Chicano majority are ignored as
But, despite the controversy it is
the film exploits olnly the most sensacertain that the films are bringing in
tional aspects of Mexican lifestyle.
healthy prof its from mostly-young
Boulevard Nights has won critical
audiences. The Warriors cost less than
acclaim and has been defended by many
$6 million to make, but up to March 19
as a realistic look at gang life in the
had brought in more than $14.6 million .
barrio. In the movie there is no interWalking Proud is a love story between
racial or sexual violence and the lirie
a cholo and anglo girl set against a
between the good and bad guy is
background of East L.A . gang violence.
blurred.
.
·
That movie first attracted controversy
The film was shot with an all-Chicaa,o
when it was announced that 22-year-old
cast and with the help of East L.A.
anglo Robby Benson (formerly of
cholos.
"The End and One on One would play
Nevertheless, many groups have prothe lead.
tested Boulevard Nights.
The stateUniversal Studios signed Benson,
wide convention of MEChA, voted to. ,
they said to help pull in audiences
boycott and picket the film even before
then fitted him with special brownit had been released.
Executive Producer Tonyh Bill called
tinted contact lenses to help him better
The Mechistas have also gained
the mayor's action "absolute censorplay the role. In the film, · ~enson plays•
the _support of enforcement ag~ncies
a Chicano who abandons his life in
who would apparently like to diffuse ship"., and said the film is ~one~t
and realistic. He said that the film 1s
the barrio to assimilate into his anglo
any meetings between gan~ members.
only a family drama about two br~thers
girlfriend's society.
.
A theater in San Francisco cancelled
To many, the casting of Benson was
the planned run for Boulevard Nights in the barrio. ·
Locally, groups have also begun
typical of the Chicano's years of struggle
after five Chicanos were stabbed
to gain a place in the Hollywood system.
outside the theater after the premiere. to picket the film. ' Gilbert Lujan of. El
Few Latino actors are well established Mayor Dianne Feinstein (San Fran- Concilio de Fresno said that the film
in films and fewer yet involved in
cisco) asked that city distributors does not tell the whole story and can
actual film production, writing or directcancel showings of the film. She called harm -Chicano youth who see it.
Lujan pledged · that he an? others
ing.
._
the film a threat to the safety and
would
picket as ·long as the film is in
Because of that fact many have dewell being of the citizens of San FranFresno.
fended the presence of Chic~no actors
cisco.
eorge
guirre
From Page4
in ·th; film -harm manyChicano youngsters. 1 hey s·ay that many times the
young are going through the same
stage, and will bel~ive that is is ok to
partake in fights -and knifings. Some
Chicanos are also concerned with the
white audience's reaction tow~rds the
movie-.
The movie does not glorify gang
fighting, it just gives us a subt~e
reality on what frequentty happens m
East L.A. To say that the movie adds to
and condones gang welfare is a false
judgement.
See Page6
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
"BOULEVARD NIGHTS?" WILL YOU
SEEIT?
--Jesse Rushing, 28, Sociology !'lajor •
--Rafael Villegas, 22, Business
Management major
"I have heard that it presents
Chicanos
in
a
fairly_ stereotypical fashion." "I think in this ~se it's
bas because it helps people go l;ack to
stereotypes that never were true." "I
don't go to movies, I've got better things
todo."
"I feel it's deceiving because it
doesn't give a real picture. It's. putting
into the minds of these kids the
violence." "I'm probably going to see it
to get my own opinion, but right now
I feel it's an injustice."
--Vincent Mendez, 28, Art major
"I don't think I'll see it. I · think it
touches all the aspects of what a Chicano
really isn't, and I think it's just making .
a quick buck for Hollywood.", "It exploits
the minds of children."
--Sam Santillanez, 28, Natural Science
major
"I thought it was biased. There were
parts of it that I thought were . very
real, but I guess it just didn't give a
fair picture of Chicano culture."
---Photos by George Aguirre
La Voz de Aztlan
Page 6
Chicano Magazine Staff
Prepares ·For · May Issue
Los Nirios Mueren
By DORA LARA
La Voz Writer
r---------------------------,
.
,
What is this sadness I feel
As I see our children,
Fighting and killing one another?
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
My Children,
I ask you, Why?
Has society influenced you so much?
Has it taught you how to hate instead
of Love?
·
Has it taught you that death is sweete,
Than life itself?
Our poor-confused children,
The scars that . have markeci you are
so great.
The roads you have taken, so mean
and rough.
The pain you feel so intense.
. ---------------------------~
I
Does society realize the damage it has
caused you?
I weep for you, my children,
I pray for you,
My heart feels the pain you feel,
And,
Though I cry for you ,
I a stranger in your world,
Still do not realize the intensity Df
these scars.
Boulevard Nights
From Page5
The truth is , is that th is condoning of
violence has been already been taught
to many young '"Chicanos by other
movies, news articles and television.
The Warriors, The Wild Wild West
praised by U.S . culture and news stor~
ies about murder, killings, muggings
and warfare in the world have also
done this.
The majority of Chicanos in this
society live at poverty levels. Chicanos
in East L.A . live in poverty where poverty, theft, beggars and gangs are a
way of life.
This movie could have come out in
the year 2000, and the reaction of some
Chicano youth would be the same
towards the movie.
Much of why the movie was screened
was because this represented the ultimate in drama of a cholos life. We
should not throw this experience into
the closet and never expose it. No, and
we must not place the blame on a movie
that sincerely depicts this experience .
It is not the mov.ie 's fault that young
Chicanos may misinterpret the movie
in a narrow way. And those who would
boycott the film are wrong.
Boycotting this movie would only
emphasize tl'}e shame we have of our
own people, which may lead educated
Chicanos, the elitist class, to seperate
themselves among Chicanos and thus
even ~li~~e _the harmful stereotypes .
I thmk 1t 1s important for Chicanos to
sit dow~ and give written explanations
of the film to young Chicanos who do
not_ k~ow how to interpret this movie .
It 1s important that young Chicanos
have an understanding on the many dive~sities in his/her group to exploit the
Ch1~ano people. It simply portrays the
reality of a certain type of Chicano
~e should not blame one ·paltry.
movie _for som~thing that -has roots in
our educational system, our econom ic
environments and television and news
articles. If we are to boycott anything it
should not be our own movies, it should
be the facilities. that influence Chicano
youth each day.
Again, this movie
shows a smail segment of Chicano
youth.
Two Chicana journalists were recently
named
managing
editors
of
SENTIMIENTOS Del Valle, a magazine
for the San Joaquin Valley's Chiqmo
community.
Dianne Solis, who last semester
served as the first minority editor of
the CSUF Journalism department's
lab newspaper, insight, will coordinate
assignments · and general design . Elvia
Ruiz will coordinate the magazine's
bilingual aspects and svpervise general
production.
General editor Tomas Uribes, who will
handle fundraising and overall operation, said the next issue will be published by May 14 and will feature
the 1979 CSUF Chicano graduates.
SENTIMJENTOS is a non-profit,
volunteer publication produced by
Chicano student and
professional
journalists from Fresno. It is now f unded
with advertising and ind ividual donat ions ($10 and $25 ).
T he magazine began in 1976 as a
brochure for the CSUF Chicano Youth
Conference . After producing another
CYC brochure in 1977, the staff decided to develop a magazine for t he
local Chicano commun ity.
The
fi rst
issue
under
the
SENTIMIENTOS name appeared in
January 1978 as a part of t hat year' s
CYC.
Last May, t he staff produced its
second issue ·and spotlighted that year' s·
Chicano Commencement Ceremonies .
This year's SENTIMIENTOS. will
include photos of all the Chicano
graduates participating in this year's
Chicano . Commencement Ceremonies,
set for May 20.
He said in addition to the CSUF
graduates, SENTIMIENTOS will
Chicano graduates from educa
institutions throughout the
by listing their names in the magaz·
Promoting the graduation is ond
in fulfilling the magazine's obj
said Ruiz, who has worked
magazine since it became
MIENTOS .
"We want to retlect the
things happening in our comm
especially since so little is ever
sented in other media," she said.
But while the magazine seeks to
the good things going on withi
Chicano commu nity , it does not int
be a "PR" organ.
"We want to d iscuss the issu
face and t he problems that plague
said Ruiz .
·
.. vve nope commu nity members
help us in this respect by bringing
our attention whatever information th~
feel should be presented ."
Solis said the deadline for the ne
issue is nearing and anyone wit
suggestions or editorial material shoul
contact the editors by April 15. She sai
that is the "absolute last day" the sta:
will accept anything for publication
She advised anyone who is interes
to inform the staff sooner than that da
if they plan to submi t something
space in the magazine can be allocated
The magazine staff will conslde
creative writing (poetry , short stories
narratives , etc.), essays and analytica
writings , feature and news writing
artwork and photography .
More information may be obtained bl
contacting Uribes at · 225-3859
266-2622
or
by
writing
t
SENTIMIENTOS, P .0. Box 12303
Fresno, CA, 93777.
- ---uFW NOT1c1As~~~.i
UFWUPDATE
"Female Farmworkers"
The income difference was blamed on
Female farmworkers in California the fact that women were assigned to
typically earn less than male farmwork- lower paying jobs. Men also worked
ers and are excluded from training pro- more weeks than women and at higher
grams for better jobs, according• to the paying jobs, such as operating farm
Commission on the Status of Women.
machinery or irrigating. ·
The commission recently said that a . - Farm employers interviewed in the
1977 survey of 400 women and 200 men study said they believed women were
who work in Fresno and Imperial county physically incapable of handling higher
fields showed that women earn an aver- paying jobs.
age yearly income of less than $3,000.
However, the commission said that
Women experienced at farm work earn- the Fair Employment Practices Act,
ed one-third as much as men with the bars · an employer from refusing to hire
same level of experience.
female job-seekers on the grounds that
One third of the women surveyed women have physical limitations bewere heads of households .
cause of their sex.
About a dozen California sheriffs
recently with state lawmakers, and p
dieted escalating violence arising oi:
of farm labor confrontations in the Sa
inas Valley.
The sheriffs, mostly from rural areas
discussed their farm strike-relate
problems with over a dozen lawmak
in Sacramento.
·
The law enforcement officials told
legislators that farm labor disputes i
volving
the
UFW
and
p
ducers may produce a Nlong hot su
mer" as picketing moves to the Sali
Valley, where the harvest season blos
soms in two weeks .
Imperial County Sheriff Oren Fox sa~
that 91 county offic;:ers had to be aideC
by 160 officers from neighboring area:
to contain strike-related violence in h~
county. Law enforcement costs totalle:
about $667,000, he said.
In other developments, a Superi
Court judge issued a temporary restraill'
ing order recently against the UF\1
prohibiting union members from picket
ing Growers Exchange property in Ventura County. The order, issued by Judge
Steve Stone, also specifies that unior
members must not threaten compan
employees with violence .
Page7
La Voz de Aztlan
Chavez supports
idwest agri-union
But the FLOC ''S commitment to
farm~_orkers isn't their only area of
concentration. They are also participating in the boycott of Nestles' products
which is the parent company of Libby'.
Nestles' has been promoting infant
formula for feeding babies in Third
World and deveioping nations, but
reports have tied infant formulas to
malnutrition and even death to children
of unsuspecting mothers.
· From the other side of the camp,
Libby's and Campbell's companies
have refused to negotiate with Ohio
farmworkers over wages and working
conditions. It is for this reason that
FLOC is calling a nation-wide consumer boycott of the following companies and their products:LIBBY-MCNEIL-UBBY
--All Nesties' products
--All vegetables, fruits meats and
juices with the Libby label
--Campbell Soup
, --Swanson frozen prepared dinners and
meats
--V-8 vegetable juice
--Recipe pet food
--Franco-American products
--Pepperidge Farm products
--Granny's soups
--Bounty canned chili and entrees
·--Vlasic.
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz Writer
Sen. Cranston,left, arid
Fresno recently.
Tom . Haden were in
Cranston,Had_
en
speak out on Liberalism
.
'
By RJCARDO PIMENTEL
La Voz Contributor
Traditional liberal thought and what
may be the new liberal wave· took turns
presenting their cases at the CaUfornia
Democratic Council (CDC) convention at
the Fresno Hilton recently.
Senator Alan Cranston, founder and
first president of CDC, told the liberal
Democrats, March 23, pretty much what
they wanted to hear. But, the next day,
former anti-war activist and unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in
1976, Tom Hayden, decried CDC and
what he viewed as the ineffectiveness of
the liberal movement.
l'CDC is in danger of becoming a
relic," said Hayden. He characterized
the organization as one without "clout ...
being used by liberal lawyers then abandoned."
Cranston, however, retained a familiar
liberal theme throughout his sp.e ech, attacking big government yet calling for
a commitment to subsidize "small bus·iness and farmers no less than food
stamps."
Contrary to traditional liberal thought,
both speakers cal led for a balanced budget but were against a consitutional convention to achieve it. Cranston said
he "strongly opposes" a constitutional
convention and has "deep doubts" about amending the constitution in any
way to fight inflation.
It may come to a choice between a
convention or a states' sponsored
amendment to curb the budget, Cranston said. "Both ideas will fail," he.added, "then we can get on with the real job
of making government work better."
While the senator came out for a balanced budget as soon as possible, he
didn't say how it would be accomplished. In an apparent attempt to allay
the fears of the liberals, Cranston said,
"I will do all in my power from letting
budget balancing deteriorate to an attack on the help1ess ."
Hayden, chairman of the "Campaign
for Economic Democracy", put the
blame for inflation directly on liberals.
Cranston also attacked defense spending, earning cheers from the partisan
crowd. He said, "Everyone else is
biting the bullet. Why shouldn't the
Pentagon."
He said, liberals have been content to
·"ride· the tiger" of inflation rather than
fight it.
Hayden said "inflation and government spending are not Republicc)n issues. They are people issues."
He warned, "Don't' put yourself in
the position of defending deficit spending." He said an unbalanced budget
has never solved any problems "and
liberalism is lame if it fights a balanced
budget."
Hayden said the real inflation fighters
are not those in government, but "the
people in Santa Monica fighting for
rent control." He said, Hthe best way to
fight inflation is to boycott Chiquita
bananas" (an apparent reference to
UFW leader Cesar Chavez' call for a
boycott of United Brands-owned Chiquita bananas).
Hayden later told reporters that although criticism of Governor Brown from
his organization have not been abundant, there are some problems between
the two. Of Brown's budget balancing
proposal, Hayden said, "I don't agree
with the consitutional approach. It does
not approach the issue of full employment."
He added, "We think he (Brown)
should be as tough on corporate profits
as government spending. Our approach
is to say the problem is big business and
big government."
Asked about Brown's political ideology, the former anti-war activist said
"No, he's not a liberal. He's a liberal i~
transition, which is better than a liberal
stuck in the mud ."
Cesar Chavez and the United Farm
Workers are not the only ones who are
striking for higher wages. In Ohio this
past January 28, the Farm Labor
Organizing Committee (FLOC) officially kicked-off its international boycott of Libby-McNeil, Libby and Campbell Soup products.
The FLOC initiated the boycott
because of the canners' and growers'
unwillingness to respond to peaceful
invitations · by union leaders to negotiate, according to the "Nuestra Luca"
newspaper from Ohio. The FLOC is
hoping that the boycott can pressure
canners into requiring better wages
and working conditions for farm workers from the grower.
The FLOC is committed to helping
farm laborers achieve better wages and
working conditions. They have received
support from many institutions, includ-·
ing California's United Farmworkers
Union under Cesar Chavez.
But organizing in the Midwest is
difficult. Most Ohio farm workers
migrate each summer from Florida and
Texas, allowing only a few months for
workers to mobilize into effective
acti_o n, according to the FLOC.
"He neither drinks nor smokes; his
work is his life and passion."
"Home is a four-room cottage at union
headquarters in La Paz, Calif., and on
the road he lives with his work~rs.
"At 52 (and 5' 6", 149 pounds), he
still lives by the exemplary asceticism of
the UFW's youth. He works a slave
driver's schedule of 20-hours days,
sleeping where he drops, accepting only
$10 a week in pay, plus expenses.
On the road he lives simply: "I eat
whatever they have and sleep on floors
when there's no bed,' he says. 'It's
, •a way to stay in touch. Sure it's inconvenient when you have to run to pay
phones, but I ge~ insights I wouldn't
get if I stayed in motels.'"
"Chavez prays and meditates two or
three h6urs a day and often fasts."
"Chavez counts his family among his
disciplines. Most of the eight children
are grown and work for the UFW, and
wife of 30-years, Helen, 51, is on the organization's credit union until she retired last month."
"Some of the family have converted
to his vegetarian diet, but few of his
children have adopted the 30-year habit
of yoga and contempl~tion t~at he be1ieves is the source of his stamina.
I wouldri 't last if I didn't do that,'
he says. 'As it is I'm made for this kjnd
of work--no heart attacks, or ulcers, or
high blood pressure or anything (thou_gh
he admits to some back problems, which
he attributes to his days at stoop labor) ...
prayer and meditation have a lot to do
with that. '"
'" I don't plan to retire,' he says.
'This is a good place for me to be here.
It is a burden to be a leader, but I won't
burn out. We have to discipline ourselves more than most people because
we must win. We have to win."
Quienes
Cesar Chavez?
Editor's note: Just who is this man
Cesar Chavez? He is the head of the
3$, 000 member United Farm Workers
of America, but to many, still a mysterious person. "People" magazine in their
edition of March 12, 1979 provided this
description of Chavez.
"Born in Yuma, Arizona, he dropped
out of school in the eighth grade and
went to work in his teens as a field hand.
Once an unlettered street corner tough,
he discovered Gandhi and turned to
steel-willed self-discipline.
11
'
La Voz de Aztlan
Page8
r
...__ _ _ _Noticias de la Raza-_,.._..:..--_ ___,
MECHA MEETINGS
EOP
Mecha continues to recruit students
to become involved with issues that
affect all Chicanos. Officers have re- •
issued the invitation that students join
the group and attend Mecha meetings.
The next Mecha meeting will be held
April 5 (Thursday) in the College
Union, room 309.
Applications for EOP Student AdvisQ
positions for the 1979-80 academic year
are· now available. The positions an
aesigned to provide employment and a
unique learning experience for individu,
als interested in education and counseling related careers.
Applications-are available in the EOP
office, .Joyal Administration Buildin~,
room 238. The deadline to apply 11
April 6, 1979.
For additional information, please
contact Wanda Fulbright,
Student
Advisor Coordinator at 487-1021.
CHICANO COMMENCEMENT
Applications will be accepted
through April 18 for the third annual
Chicano Commencement at CSUF. The
event, being organized by the Chicano
Commencement Committee of the Chicano Alumni Association, is set for
Sunday, May 20 at the Fresno Dist_rict
Fairgrounds.
Applications can be picked up at
Tutorial Services, the La Raza Studies
office, and the EOP office. For more information call 487-1053.
UFWPLEA
Food and money are still being requested by striking members of the
United Farm Workers in Huron. · Donations may be left at the · La Raza
Studies office in San Ramon 4, room
118. For more · information call
487-2848.
"Social Services sought for
Border _!>rocessing Sites"
TEA TRO DEL ESPIRITU
STATEWIDE CHICANO TOURNEY
The Teatro del Espiritu will perform
Saturday April 21 in Visalia. The troupe
will be seen from 8-10 p.m. in the L.J.
Williams Theater, 1001 Main St.
Admission for adults is $2 in advance
or $2.50 at the door. For more information cal I 625-5300. The performance
is being sponsored .by RAYO, Real
AlternativP~ for-Youth Organization.
A statewide Chicano basketball tour- .
nament, sponsored by the Chicano
Youth Center, will be held April 21-22
here in Fresno.
Teams from Fresno, Hayward, Los
Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San
Jose, and Woodland, and others will
vie for awards in the single-elimination
competition.
"Tortilla Curtain"
Cesar Chavez
Chicanos honor .O bledo
"Quien dice que no' podemos trabaja~
ju ntos !" (Who says we can 't work together). With that bold declaration
members of the Association of MexicanAmerican Elected Officials(AMEO)
greeted a fe~ hundred supporters at
a testimonial dance for Mario Obledo
(Calif. Sec. of Health & Welfare) Friday
night at the Rainbow Ballroom.
Members of AMEO from Fresno
Cou~ty as well as United Farm Workers
president Cesar Chavez gathered ·to
~onor ~bledo, the state's highest rankmg Chicano official.
The m~yors of Mendota, Orang~ Cove
and ~arl,er presented Obledo with a re:.
solutmn co~mending him for his service
to the Chicano community. Top local
and state political learlers also spoke out
on the future power of Chicanos in California.
Later, live band music and dancing
took center stage.
Gov. Jerry Brown was originally
scheduled to attend the testimonial, but
cancelled at the·last moment. However, .
his absence was hardly felt as Obledo, ·
Chavez and other speakers picked up the
slack.
·
Obledo told the crowd that Chicanos
are on the verge of becoming the most
powerful political force in the state.
Chavez, who celebrated his birthday
Friday (53rd), praised Obledo and the ·
growing power of the movement. He
gained a standing ovation as he began
his lengthy speech in Spanish and drew
shouts of "Viva La Huelga! ", and "Viva
La Causal"
President Carter has approved a
plan to replace deteriorating fences orf
the U.S./Mexican border with a more
icnoregnable barrier. th·e ·washington
Post reported March 23.
An.earlier White House effort to erect
new fences met with stiff resistance from
Chicano groups and from the Mexican
government.
The . President may be holding off on
an official announcement to avoid any
conflict with Mexican President J o~e
Lopez Portillo, when the Mexican leader visits in June. Portillo was ..said to
have been insulted when the U.S. first
unveiled the plan last year and publically
chided Carter about American insensitivity when the two met in Mexico
City in late February.
The original plan called for a 10-foot
high fence in the El Paso· and San Diego areas. Opposition mounted when it
was learned that the new fence might
amputate fingers and toes caught in
its sharp wire mesh. The fence came to
be known as the "Tortilla Curtain."
High government sources said the
plan for a new fence had never been
scrapped. The decision has always been,
they said, not whether to build the
fence, but how much to construct and
how to build it.
In a related event, the Mexican Congress announced March 27 that it was
sending a special committee fo the U.S.
to investigate alleged human rights violations against illegal Mexican aliens.
The committee will report back to a
joint congressional session in the
next few weeks, a Mexican congress
spokesman said. The committee report
will also be brought up at an April 2628 meeting in Mexico City of U.S. and
Mexican representatives on the illegal
alien oroblem.
Although the methods of deporti
illegal aliens have improved, conditio
are still not humane according to tr·
Chicano Caucas Steering- Committee
the National Association of Social Wort
ers.
That group recently spent two days a'
a workshop· in El Paso, Texas, arrangec
by the U.S. Immigration and Naturah·
zation Service (INS).
According to the groups' newspaper
of Feb. 19, the group learned that 15,00:
Latinos are detained and deported ead
month in El Paso alone.
"Most are held three to four days, but
some up to six months if their nationality cannot be verified, said grou·
members.
They are held in "sterile barracks sur·
rounded by incredibly intimidatin~
barbed:-wire fences. At no time are thoSc
in detention spoken to by a social work·
er," said the group.
They asked INS commissioner Leone'.
Castillo to "take neccessary steps to hu·
manize this detention/deportation process."
The group learned that an estimateo
vne-million undocumented immigrants
come into the United States durin_g an
12-month period.
To those who urge more personnel
and constrt:1ction of physical barriers to
"seal the Border," the group was criti·
cal.
Dr. Manuel Spector, INS special con·
sultant to Castillo said that the concept
of sealing the border was born out o
naivete and is often advanced by .. reactionaries" who may or may not be
racists.
,
To improve the situation, the group
learned that the INS hoped to raise U.S
Immigration quotas and allow more to
legally come in from Mexico. Mexico 's
quotia is now 20,000 a year, and would
be raised to 40-50,000.
The group also found out that in El
Pa·so there are no facilities for undocu·
mented females· and little is done to
apprehend them. The few that are
caught are brought to churches or social
agencies for processing.
.
Soaring illegal immigration has been
caused by rampant unemployment in
Mexico, spiraling intlation and 3.5 per·
cent population growth - one of . the
highest in the world.
. Until these problems can be dealt with
the group said "a humane method of
processing the hundreds of thousands o
immigrants who come to the U.S. seek·
ing a better way of life must be found."
Condensed from
"National Association of S.W. News"
r
.
.
-
-Special Publication of The Daily Collegian
LA -v oz de AZTLAN
Monday
April 2, 1979
1111,....
Coors Boycott Continues
~Page 2
Boulevqrd ·Nights-. · The movie,The Contioversy
-- Pages 3-6
Boulevard Nights stirs. up local, national trouble(abuve). ·
Mario Obledo honored in FresnQ.
.
·
• George Aguirre Photo
. S-entirriientos Del Valle
-Page 6 ·
Cranston, Hayden ·
and Liberalism
·-Page 7
OQledo, Chavez
· Come -T o Fresno
-Page 8
ConientariOS
Coors cervezaBoulevard Nightsstill sour brew
the trouble with. a picket
2
~Pageiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Boulevard Nights is not a perfect
movie . But, neither is it such a flawed ,
discriminatory and stereotypical film
that we shou ld all go out and set
picket lines at the Tower Theater .
If one sees the film he is convinced that it attempts to portray
just one aspect of Chicano life in
East Los Angeles. Viewed from that
perspective,the film is a sucess.
It has won critical aclaim and
rightly so. The movie has an allChicano cast,employs authentic dialogue
and realistic situations and comes off
as an honest portray! of Chicano life.
Boulevard Nights should not be
boycotted. Chicanos and non-Chicanos
should go to see it to gain an
understanding of one of the m<?st
destructive elements of the barrio-gang violence.
The film reinforces the fact that
gang violence is undesireable and
something must be done about it now.
Violence isn't glorified and contrary
to what many have said, the incidents of violence surrounding the film
have been few and far between.
The most positive thing that
Boulevard Nights has done by coming
to Fresno is that it has helped bring
more attention to the problems of the
barrfo. Perhaps now -we can all rededicate ourselves to improving conditions there.
Chicanos In Law :
Group_Prepares_For
Future As Attorneys
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz.Writer
Despite claims by President Carter
and career counselors and others that ·
there is an oversupply of lawyers,
there is no oversupply of Chicano lawyers .
President Carter has said that the ·
U.S. has one of the heaviest concentration of lawyers on earth . He has
charged that there is more litigation,
but he isn't sure that there is more
justice .
Many Chicanos can identify with
having little justice. With a higher
percentage of persons in prisons than
in graduate schools, Chicanos are pot
whom Carter was speaking of when he
spoke about a heavy concentration of
lawyers. for example there is one
Chicano lawyer for every 9,480 Chicanos, compared to one Anglo lawyer
for every 530 Anglos .
For many Chicano college students it.
has become a challenge to consider
going on to law school.
Here at CSUF there is an organization dedicated to making law school a
more feasible goal. This organization is
HChicanos in Law ." Since the beginning of this school year, the group has
been busy establishing itself as a
serious organization . It has boosted its
membership to twenty-five pre-law
students under the leadership of president, Luis Ambriz.
Among the activities thus far have
been trips to various law schools in
California. Members have met representatives of the Stanford School of
Law in Palo Alto, Hastings Law School
in San Francisco, UCLA School of Law
in Los Angeles, Boalt Hall in Berkeley, ·
McGeorge Law School in Sacramento
and most recently, Santa Clara Law
School . Members have also attended
various minority admissions pre-law
conferences .
'
.
Last semester, Chicanos in Law
along with "Ola Raza," a law group
from San Francisco, hosted an LSAT
prep test (similar to the SAT college
~mrance examJ tor students mterestea
in pursuing a career in law.
At their bi-monthly meetings, Chicanos in Law have also hosted such
speakers as former judge Al Villa,
Ed Valdez, a Fresno attorney, Robert
Perez, CSUF criminology instructor
and practicing attorney, Marcos Lopez
an attorney from the UFW headquarters in Keene, California, and Dr.
Karl Svenson of the political science
department. Topics have ranged from
talks on different law schools to talks on
post-Bakke effects on law school minority admissions.
Their biggest project to date has
been the planning of "Chicanos in Law,
Law Day" at CSUF for the upc<>ming
year. Recruiters from various law
schools will be invited to attend and
disseminate information ) on their
schools.
The news that the American C . I.
Forum voted at a recent national meeting to end its 12-year boycott of Coors
beer was disappointing , predictable and
inaccurately reported by major media .
It is apparently true the G.I. Forum , a
10,000-strong veterans organ ization , is
pulHng out of the boycott they started
when Coors company refused to hire
Chicanos and other minorities. It was
a1so predictable since the Forum has
done little in recent years to promote the
boycott and has had to forfeit grants
from the Coors Company because of the
boycott.
It is not true, however: that the boycott of Coors beer is over. What has hap. pened is the powerful Coors public relations machine has attempted to use the
C. I. Forum's decision to speak for the
millions of Chicanos, AFL-CIO cnembers .
and other boycotts who will never drink
, Coors again.
In the 12 years since the boycott started, too much Rocky Mountain spring
water has passed under the bridge to reverse the flow. In spite of Coors' domination of the media, many people have
been educated to the company's racist
and reactionary politics. Union members
know of Coors practice of breaking
strikes and unions at the brewery. Anti- .
war activists know of the gross profits of
Coors owned porcelain plant made
during the Vietnam war. Chicano
April 2, 1979
students at the state's universities know
of Joseph Coors activities as a member
of the Board of Regents to stop financial
aid prog rams which hel ped hundreds of
Ch icanos attend the University of Colorado .
The recent media blitz behind the G.I
Forum decision to end the ir participation
in the Coors boycott is only one example
of the economic success of the boycott.
As a resu lt of the boycott, Coors slipped
from fou rth to fifth nationwide in beer
sales . This year, profits for the company
have continued the downward slide of
recent years.
The Coors company is using the G.I.
Forum, golfer Lee Trevi no and the ne.ws
media it controls in an attempt to fool
Chicanos into thinking the boycott is
over.
Some people will be deceived by the
tokenism and misleading "news" stories .
Most people will recognize the deception
as the actions of a desperate company
trying to reverse the effects of a damaging boycott. We cannot compromise
our principles as a people. The goals of
the Coors family are in direct conflict to
the goals of the Chicano movement.
Boycott Coors, over a million Chicanos
can't be wrong.
From "La Cucaracha,"
Pueblo, Colorado
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter ,n response to
the March 19 edition of La Voz. I
cannot help but detect the bias in your ,/
article by Feliz Contreras on the price
of lettuce in Continental Market.
Craig Kozy simply state on the sign
that as a result of the UFW strike
the price of lettuce is 98¢ a head. He
did not say, as a result of the UFW
lettuce is 98¢.
Why are you compelled to think
that this leads to misconceptions of the
strike?? Maybe _because they aren't
misconceptions?? Maybe because
you' re afraid the public will see what
the strike truely (sic) represents.
All Contreras talks about is . the
poor little hara-working Mexicans
.
.
(he calls them Chicanos) who slave for
. A pane~ of sp~ak_ers m the field _ the farmers _at what he considers
of l~w will b.e invited to s~akon grossly insufficient wages. However, .
~rtment legal issues, and CIL will pronowhere does he mention that Ceasar
v1de a LSAT prepa.ratory test. Cl L Chavez is asking upwards to 200%
has asked t~e A~soc1ated Students to wage increases which is obviously
help fund this proJ~. . .
.
greater than the maximum increase
0her futur~ act1v1t1es 1~cl~de: a
possible under President Carter's
burrito fundra1s~r salei a picnic. and
anti-inflation wage and price guidesoftball game ~1~h Ch1c~no Business
lines . A maximum increase which has
Students Assoc1at1on; a trip to La Paz,
been offered by the farmers by rejected
Cesar Chavez' UFW headquarters in
bu the UFW who wants even more
Keene, California, and a National
(sic)
~awyer's Guild four-day conference
The absurdity of the UFW's de- _
m Santa Clara .
.
.
mands are reflected by the rejection of
For the month of April, CIL 1s planhelp from the Federal Mediation and
ning a Chicano A~torney Openhouse
Conciliation Service.
where students will. have a c~ance
So why the strike?? Mr. Contreras
to meet and s~eak with local _Chicano
also fails to mention that within the
attorneys at an. mforma~ gathering .
past six months, there has been three
_ For more mform.at,on on CIL, a
decertification elections called for by
mess_age may be left in the CIL message the UFW workers themselves because
box in the La Raza ~tuct,e!, umce .
they are unhappy with the union .
I
Also why is it never mentioned that
there has been a marked increase in
the complaints about the medical plan,
by the workers themselves, ever since
the UFW took over, despite the fact
that the UFW has amassed a $6.2
million surplus in their medical fund.
I think my points are very clear. Mr.
Contreras is resorting to the old UFW
tactic of trying to get public sympathy.
A tactic which even failed them on the
famous Proposition 14. The California
public is smarter than you think.
My word to the public is, if you
blame the UFW for high lettuce prices,
it is not' because of store signs, but
because of what the UFW represents.
Don't be misled by biased articles in
La Voz .
--Signed Anonymous
(Because of fear of violent r~taliation
for being outspoken)
i . Voz .de Azt1an is published by the ·
Associated Students at California State
University, Fresno and the newspaper
staff. Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the i . Voz staff, and not necessarily the views of the Associated Students, CSUF or the State of California.
Editor ... Richard Aguirre
Photography ... George Aguirre,Ricardo
Pimentel,Lupe Mora
Art ... Albino Franco, Arturo Ocampo
Reporters ... Dora Lara,Margarita Martinez , Octavio Yescas.
Contributors ... Felix Contreras , Elvia
Ruiz , Dianne Solis , Ricardo Pimentel,
Pedro Ramirez.
April 2, 1979
A Special Supplement to· LA VOZ de AZTLAN
By TOMAS URIBES
"College (Chicano) students are elite
in the Chicano community because there
aren 't that many of us. We have the
responsibility to communicate the movie's negativeness to our community."
La Voz Contributor
Boulevard Nights is a movie about
lowriders and gang members in the East
Los Angeles community. But some members of the Chicano community, both
statewide and locally, feel Chicanos are
being taken for a ride and that something must be done about it.
Fresno State University ' s Chicano
student organization, MEChA, decided
Thursday to join the MEChA at Fresno
City College and the community-based
Chicano Youth Center in a protest of
the film now playing at t he Tower The- atre.
·
New Chicano g~ng film
draws Fresno boyc~tt
He said the movie stereotypes and
is racist and that MEChA has a responsibility to demonstrate that to the·younger kids.
"Glorification will take place on that
level (younger kids). They' II take what
they want from the movie and not analyze it for what it's worth."
"We' re not telling people 'don't see
it,' said CSUF La Raza Studies professor
Alex Sara·goza at MEChA; s weekly
meeting Thursday . "We just want to
point out to the community the movie's
flaws."
"We' re criticizing those elements of
the movie that are negative, that exploit and manipulate. It could have
been a movie about the farmworker
plight ."
Boulevard Nights hit Fresno last
March 23 and Saragoza called it a "C_ultural event" for Chicanos . The movie
depicts a fatherless Chicano family
whose eldest son, once a gang member
himself but who "knew when to get
out," sees his younger brother becoming
entangled' with the gang and its conflicts.
The elder brother is a lowrider, his
car decked out with hydraulic equipment that gives him· the edge in a "hopping" contests. His dream is to own his
own car shop and leave behind the gang
life.
His younger brother, however, is a
"cholo" who becomes the target of a
. rival gang after one of the rival members is stabbed in a fight between the
two gangs.
The tragedy and depiction of life in
the movie has been described as "real- .
istic" portray.al of East Los Angeles life. ·
Some movie goers have even said the
movie's depiction is mild to what actually happens in East Los Angeles.
But Chicano activists are upset
that "negative" aspects ot the Chicano
life are overly ~tressed because different
people have different interpretations of
the film's message.
"The little kids and cholos that watch
the movie will have very different interpretation than students who would
intellectualize the movie and view it
with a critical sophisticated perception,"
said Saragoza. Saragoza was raised in
Madera and is a sociologist with degrees
. from CSUF and UC Berkeley.
Boulevard
-Nights
Review ·
Boulevard Nights is a grim look at
oPe aspect of Chicano society in East
L.A. - gang violence .
It is a painfully honest view of the
fighting of the gangs, what motivates
them to fight and the tragedy they
can bring.
The acting, dialogue, attire, backgrounds and cars are authentic and convincing.
Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez)
plays the part of the big brother we all
knew and loved. He- makes the audience
feel the anguish of trying to escape life
in the barrio.
He slaps around his younger unpredictable brother Chuco (Danny de la Paz),
but does so only to_try to get his brother
to abandon the life of a vato loco.
Raymond has escaped that cholo
existence and is now a hard-working
car customizer and dedicated lowrider.
He loves to cruise the main and ~et
Pagel I
Manuel Nunez, CSUF EOP counselor
said:
"The stereotypes affect our kids educational life. They get into high school
and are put into lower classes because
they' re perceived as low acheivers,
based on these stereotypes. As a result,
they don't get the classes they need to
qualify for college or to succeed.
A leaflet prepared by the Chicano
Youth Center staff was prepared and
picketing of the movies set for Sunday.
The ~eaflet accuses the film as motivating gang warfare and stereotyping
Chicanos "as being inferior and not
knowing how to control or work with
their Raza."
The leaflet suggests that films like
Boulevard Nights will only further antagonize rival racial groups like the Stoner,
Crips, and F-14s.
"Are we going to wait until we J:iave
stabbings and shooting in our community before we do anything? How many
more homeboys/hbmegirls will be killed before we stop these film producers
and theatre owners from exploiting and
prostituting the Chicano community?"
The statewide organization of MEChA
has already called for a boycott of the
movie, said FSU MEChA President
Priscilla Contreras. Also boycotting the
movie is the Chicano Actors Group in
, Los Angeles.
into "hopping" contests but still wants
to get ahead and eventually marry his
girlfriend Shady (Marta Dubolis).
But, Chuco, Raymond's brother
still enjoys life in the gang. But, he is
uneasily backing into the gang. On the
way to full standing, he sniffs paint
can fumes, gets loaded on angel dust
and fights along with his homeboys.
The movie ultimately turns out to be
a struggle between the brothers.
Raymond, to help his brother out of the
cholo lifestyle, and Chuco to gain
status among his carnales.
The movie is a good story about
the love between two· brothers and
their struggles in the barrio.
Taken as a specific look at just one
segment of life in Los Angeles, Boulevard Nights is an excellent film.
It
does not glorify violence or make gang
life attractive.
If anything it shows
how tragic life in the barrio can be.
Page4
April 2, 1979
La Voz de Aztlan
Commentary
Lowrider,ch.olo
lifestyles
_
depicted in movie
\
By PEDRO RAMIREZ
La Voz Contributor
Chicanos are finally escaping their
unseen existence in the U.S . society.
We · have been a neglected people
in the U.S . society from the day we
res~ttled on this stole,n l~nd . .
There has not been equal representation for Chicanos in education, the pro- ,
fessional field .. .and in modern day
civi Iization .
Chicanos have been neglected in the
movie industry. Most Chicano characters in American-made movies exploited all the damaging stereotypes
about Mexicanos, all the way up to
taking the Mexican siesta.
Now· ·with the Chicano-casted movie, 1
Boule~ard Nights, Chicanos can say
that we have a film that represents
a segment of our populatior).
Although the movie was directed
by Michael Passman and produced
by Bill Benson (both Jew~sh) the fil~
has won high praise. Charles Champlin
art critic for the Los Angeles Times
called Boulevard Nights · a "modest,
earnest, honest, authentic-, dra~atic,
and effective drama photographed in an
East LA. barrio."
Those who have seen the movie can
tell you that this movie is not about _
cruising the main at night. If anything,
the movie's title is a gimmick designed
to attrack an audience ... that is the
mass of people who make up the
"working class." There are few scenes
of the actual boulevard.
The movie is a social documentary
about one aspect of Chicano life in
East L.A . The film starts out early on
by giving the viewer· a look at the _central characters and the main cruis~ng
strip.
One first sees the boulevard when
Raymond(Richard Yniguez), the central
character in the movie--a Chicano who ·
has abandoned being a
"cholo"
cruises the main with his girl, Shady
(Mact:a Dubois) .
•
Shady dislikes cruising down the
boulevard because she sees it as
d,iidis~ . But,_ ~ay~o-~d'~ li~~le b~9ther
a
Chuco(Danny de la Paz) is
Chicano adolescent rebelling against society's demands and as a result of this
is a cholo who enjoys life on the
street with his friends.
THE MEANING OF
LA VOZ De AZTLAN
La Voz de Aztlan means "The voice ·
of Aztlan. " Aztlan has been translated
by most historians to be the mythical
name of the Aztec (or Mexica or Chichimeca) people who held the area
around present-day Mexico City when
the Spaniards under Hernan Cortes
entered Mexico in 1519.
Two things happen in this early
scene: Raymond meets some friends
and takes part in a lowrider
hopping contest and Chuco gets into a
gang fight .
In the car hopping contest the
front end of two competing cars hop
up and down to see whose car can
jump the highest, To the partic;ipants, the event is a form of
recreation.
. It is said that this practice is -.a
variation of a CUSTOM HANDED
· DOWN BY Mexican romeos, who when
courting a lovely maiden would make
their horses rear up on its hind legs
to attract attention.
Raymond wins the hopping contest
but his girlfriend is not very pleased
by his actions. But, Raymond still
loves his car. To him, having a
lowrider provides him a source of pride
and status.
.
'
Through his car, Raymond gains his '
own sense of identity.
I
If an individual works as a computer data processor, buys a Porchel .
and gains a new group of friends, his
-actions are accepted . Raymond works in
a car shop and owns a lowrider,
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a
but his actions are not much differcomentario by Gilbert Sanchez Lujan
ent than the upper class Chicano.
· of
El Concilio de Fresno on
BOULEVARD NIGHTS. This explanaMeanwhile Chuco is out "de vagos",
tion h.as been distributed to those
having fun with his friends. Like many
attending this movie by Lujan· and
young men at this stage he is goofing
others. It explains why Lujan . has
around, drinking and getting sprayed
chosen to picket the film.
New Chicano film~
accurate but misleading
.
atioos as his salvation yet this is what
the vato loco attempts to avoid so
desperately. The stereotypical viewpoint
of the Gabacho and/or middle class
value systems are being imposed on
the Chicanos who seek Iifestyle ·alter-- n~tives in lieu of the mainstream .
The vato loco cpntinues his fallin the face with beer.~~=====:==~~==~==~~====~~~=~~~~~=~~~~~~
Everything happens on the boulevardand the boulevard happens at night.
At the bellinnine of the movie •
Chuco's gang, VGV, works over a_ga~g
The movie, Boulevard Nights:, is a
member belonging to the 11th gang.
production · that
is
unfortunately
Later while cruising, one of the gang
~ authentic in content, however, _in its
rTJembers spots Chuco and his partner_.
accuracy it fails to tell the whole story.
Soon there is a big fist-ta-c'Jffs on the
It portrays only the easily exploited
boulevard and Chuco ends up stabbing
aspects of the vato loco experience.
·the 11th street gang members.
It does not explain or suggest the
on , , ,us starts a fued amongst the
socio-politic~!
circumstances and history
- gangs . This episode lasts around five·
of the · disenfranchised youths that
minutes. Because of the violence, a
largeiy live in poor and underheated controversy amongst Chicanos
developed urban centers throughout
has risen.
the nation.
Many beieve that scenes of violence
It only displays the end-result and
SeePage5 . .
by-products of the social ills that are
well documented by many authorities.
It focuses on the multi-destructiveness
In their native Nahuatl language,
of the cholo lifestyle. The film obviously
Aztlan . meant "the place of herons, "
rides on the sublima). and conscious
and also "the place they had been
racist attitudes towards the pachuco
before." Dr. Jose Canales of the CSUF
person.
History Department said he has traced
This film is an indictment of the
the origins of the Aztecs, a migratoryChicano vato without a proper trial
tribe as far north as present-day St.
and defense. It suggests incorrectly
Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota.
,
that Mexicans are inherently criminal
To Chicanos, Aztlan is the name for
and it's their choice to practice lawthe entire Southwest -- our symbolic
breaking and self-destruction . •
homeland.
It presents a suggestive escape f?r
'Chuco' to accept middle class aspir-
""e of
guy position similarly like the farmworker accused of all the difficulties
in cont~mporary urban life as if he had
control . On the contrary , the Chucos
are social victims without political
representation and voiceless in the fac~
of social judgements. He only ~rtIculates his anguish in self-destructiveness. How can you be so · merciless
as to continue to thrash this youth?
What are your justifications for
stabbing and exposing the vato bef~re
his community aJ1d nation in · his painful dilemna. Your profits are the perpetuation of this tragedy.
My main concern is for the thousands
of youths who will, by virtue of a. nonanalytical acceptance of the Chicano
content in the film, as well as the
glamour and influence of the largerthan-life screen, emulate negative
behavior models.
Out hopes lie in the discontinuence
of this type of film and any other that
depicts Chicanos solely in an _unfavorable manor. It is not a crime
to be a vato loco--it is a social crime
to make money on others' misfortunes.
April 2, 1979
Page5
La Voz de Aztlan
Boulevard NightsOne of many gang fil_
ms
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Although Boulevard Nights is the latest
in these gang films. They have said
that getting into the system is the only
way to produce more favorable films
Chicano gang movie it is not the only
about Chicanos .
film to come under close scrutiny. The
Chicanos also claim that, just like
Warriors, a film about New York gangs
other actors, they must work to survive,
and the forthcoming Walking Proud
regardless of the part.
(formerly Gang) have also drawn fire .
But many charge that these · films
· Three deaths (two in Calif .) have been
-are rittered with damaging stereolinked to Warriors since it opened in
types that distort the Chicano lifeFebruary. In most ot those incide~ts
style and portray the gang as violent ..
the violence was sparked by racial
They say that the positive aspects
differences.
.
of the Chicano majority are ignored as
But, despite the controversy it is
the film exploits olnly the most sensacertain that the films are bringing in
tional aspects of Mexican lifestyle.
healthy prof its from mostly-young
Boulevard Nights has won critical
audiences. The Warriors cost less than
acclaim and has been defended by many
$6 million to make, but up to March 19
as a realistic look at gang life in the
had brought in more than $14.6 million .
barrio. In the movie there is no interWalking Proud is a love story between
racial or sexual violence and the lirie
a cholo and anglo girl set against a
between the good and bad guy is
background of East L.A . gang violence.
blurred.
.
·
That movie first attracted controversy
The film was shot with an all-Chicaa,o
when it was announced that 22-year-old
cast and with the help of East L.A.
anglo Robby Benson (formerly of
cholos.
"The End and One on One would play
Nevertheless, many groups have prothe lead.
tested Boulevard Nights.
The stateUniversal Studios signed Benson,
wide convention of MEChA, voted to. ,
they said to help pull in audiences
boycott and picket the film even before
then fitted him with special brownit had been released.
Executive Producer Tonyh Bill called
tinted contact lenses to help him better
The Mechistas have also gained
the mayor's action "absolute censorplay the role. In the film, · ~enson plays•
the _support of enforcement ag~ncies
a Chicano who abandons his life in
who would apparently like to diffuse ship"., and said the film is ~one~t
and realistic. He said that the film 1s
the barrio to assimilate into his anglo
any meetings between gan~ members.
only a family drama about two br~thers
girlfriend's society.
.
A theater in San Francisco cancelled
To many, the casting of Benson was
the planned run for Boulevard Nights in the barrio. ·
Locally, groups have also begun
typical of the Chicano's years of struggle
after five Chicanos were stabbed
to gain a place in the Hollywood system.
outside the theater after the premiere. to picket the film. ' Gilbert Lujan of. El
Few Latino actors are well established Mayor Dianne Feinstein (San Fran- Concilio de Fresno said that the film
in films and fewer yet involved in
cisco) asked that city distributors does not tell the whole story and can
actual film production, writing or directcancel showings of the film. She called harm -Chicano youth who see it.
Lujan pledged · that he an? others
ing.
._
the film a threat to the safety and
would
picket as ·long as the film is in
Because of that fact many have dewell being of the citizens of San FranFresno.
fended the presence of Chic~no actors
cisco.
eorge
guirre
From Page4
in ·th; film -harm manyChicano youngsters. 1 hey s·ay that many times the
young are going through the same
stage, and will bel~ive that is is ok to
partake in fights -and knifings. Some
Chicanos are also concerned with the
white audience's reaction tow~rds the
movie-.
The movie does not glorify gang
fighting, it just gives us a subt~e
reality on what frequentty happens m
East L.A. To say that the movie adds to
and condones gang welfare is a false
judgement.
See Page6
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
"BOULEVARD NIGHTS?" WILL YOU
SEEIT?
--Jesse Rushing, 28, Sociology !'lajor •
--Rafael Villegas, 22, Business
Management major
"I have heard that it presents
Chicanos
in
a
fairly_ stereotypical fashion." "I think in this ~se it's
bas because it helps people go l;ack to
stereotypes that never were true." "I
don't go to movies, I've got better things
todo."
"I feel it's deceiving because it
doesn't give a real picture. It's. putting
into the minds of these kids the
violence." "I'm probably going to see it
to get my own opinion, but right now
I feel it's an injustice."
--Vincent Mendez, 28, Art major
"I don't think I'll see it. I · think it
touches all the aspects of what a Chicano
really isn't, and I think it's just making .
a quick buck for Hollywood.", "It exploits
the minds of children."
--Sam Santillanez, 28, Natural Science
major
"I thought it was biased. There were
parts of it that I thought were . very
real, but I guess it just didn't give a
fair picture of Chicano culture."
---Photos by George Aguirre
La Voz de Aztlan
Page 6
Chicano Magazine Staff
Prepares ·For · May Issue
Los Nirios Mueren
By DORA LARA
La Voz Writer
r---------------------------,
.
,
What is this sadness I feel
As I see our children,
Fighting and killing one another?
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
My Children,
I ask you, Why?
Has society influenced you so much?
Has it taught you how to hate instead
of Love?
·
Has it taught you that death is sweete,
Than life itself?
Our poor-confused children,
The scars that . have markeci you are
so great.
The roads you have taken, so mean
and rough.
The pain you feel so intense.
. ---------------------------~
I
Does society realize the damage it has
caused you?
I weep for you, my children,
I pray for you,
My heart feels the pain you feel,
And,
Though I cry for you ,
I a stranger in your world,
Still do not realize the intensity Df
these scars.
Boulevard Nights
From Page5
The truth is , is that th is condoning of
violence has been already been taught
to many young '"Chicanos by other
movies, news articles and television.
The Warriors, The Wild Wild West
praised by U.S . culture and news stor~
ies about murder, killings, muggings
and warfare in the world have also
done this.
The majority of Chicanos in this
society live at poverty levels. Chicanos
in East L.A . live in poverty where poverty, theft, beggars and gangs are a
way of life.
This movie could have come out in
the year 2000, and the reaction of some
Chicano youth would be the same
towards the movie.
Much of why the movie was screened
was because this represented the ultimate in drama of a cholos life. We
should not throw this experience into
the closet and never expose it. No, and
we must not place the blame on a movie
that sincerely depicts this experience .
It is not the mov.ie 's fault that young
Chicanos may misinterpret the movie
in a narrow way. And those who would
boycott the film are wrong.
Boycotting this movie would only
emphasize tl'}e shame we have of our
own people, which may lead educated
Chicanos, the elitist class, to seperate
themselves among Chicanos and thus
even ~li~~e _the harmful stereotypes .
I thmk 1t 1s important for Chicanos to
sit dow~ and give written explanations
of the film to young Chicanos who do
not_ k~ow how to interpret this movie .
It 1s important that young Chicanos
have an understanding on the many dive~sities in his/her group to exploit the
Ch1~ano people. It simply portrays the
reality of a certain type of Chicano
~e should not blame one ·paltry.
movie _for som~thing that -has roots in
our educational system, our econom ic
environments and television and news
articles. If we are to boycott anything it
should not be our own movies, it should
be the facilities. that influence Chicano
youth each day.
Again, this movie
shows a smail segment of Chicano
youth.
Two Chicana journalists were recently
named
managing
editors
of
SENTIMIENTOS Del Valle, a magazine
for the San Joaquin Valley's Chiqmo
community.
Dianne Solis, who last semester
served as the first minority editor of
the CSUF Journalism department's
lab newspaper, insight, will coordinate
assignments · and general design . Elvia
Ruiz will coordinate the magazine's
bilingual aspects and svpervise general
production.
General editor Tomas Uribes, who will
handle fundraising and overall operation, said the next issue will be published by May 14 and will feature
the 1979 CSUF Chicano graduates.
SENTIMJENTOS is a non-profit,
volunteer publication produced by
Chicano student and
professional
journalists from Fresno. It is now f unded
with advertising and ind ividual donat ions ($10 and $25 ).
T he magazine began in 1976 as a
brochure for the CSUF Chicano Youth
Conference . After producing another
CYC brochure in 1977, the staff decided to develop a magazine for t he
local Chicano commun ity.
The
fi rst
issue
under
the
SENTIMIENTOS name appeared in
January 1978 as a part of t hat year' s
CYC.
Last May, t he staff produced its
second issue ·and spotlighted that year' s·
Chicano Commencement Ceremonies .
This year's SENTIMIENTOS. will
include photos of all the Chicano
graduates participating in this year's
Chicano . Commencement Ceremonies,
set for May 20.
He said in addition to the CSUF
graduates, SENTIMIENTOS will
Chicano graduates from educa
institutions throughout the
by listing their names in the magaz·
Promoting the graduation is ond
in fulfilling the magazine's obj
said Ruiz, who has worked
magazine since it became
MIENTOS .
"We want to retlect the
things happening in our comm
especially since so little is ever
sented in other media," she said.
But while the magazine seeks to
the good things going on withi
Chicano commu nity , it does not int
be a "PR" organ.
"We want to d iscuss the issu
face and t he problems that plague
said Ruiz .
·
.. vve nope commu nity members
help us in this respect by bringing
our attention whatever information th~
feel should be presented ."
Solis said the deadline for the ne
issue is nearing and anyone wit
suggestions or editorial material shoul
contact the editors by April 15. She sai
that is the "absolute last day" the sta:
will accept anything for publication
She advised anyone who is interes
to inform the staff sooner than that da
if they plan to submi t something
space in the magazine can be allocated
The magazine staff will conslde
creative writing (poetry , short stories
narratives , etc.), essays and analytica
writings , feature and news writing
artwork and photography .
More information may be obtained bl
contacting Uribes at · 225-3859
266-2622
or
by
writing
t
SENTIMIENTOS, P .0. Box 12303
Fresno, CA, 93777.
- ---uFW NOT1c1As~~~.i
UFWUPDATE
"Female Farmworkers"
The income difference was blamed on
Female farmworkers in California the fact that women were assigned to
typically earn less than male farmwork- lower paying jobs. Men also worked
ers and are excluded from training pro- more weeks than women and at higher
grams for better jobs, according• to the paying jobs, such as operating farm
Commission on the Status of Women.
machinery or irrigating. ·
The commission recently said that a . - Farm employers interviewed in the
1977 survey of 400 women and 200 men study said they believed women were
who work in Fresno and Imperial county physically incapable of handling higher
fields showed that women earn an aver- paying jobs.
age yearly income of less than $3,000.
However, the commission said that
Women experienced at farm work earn- the Fair Employment Practices Act,
ed one-third as much as men with the bars · an employer from refusing to hire
same level of experience.
female job-seekers on the grounds that
One third of the women surveyed women have physical limitations bewere heads of households .
cause of their sex.
About a dozen California sheriffs
recently with state lawmakers, and p
dieted escalating violence arising oi:
of farm labor confrontations in the Sa
inas Valley.
The sheriffs, mostly from rural areas
discussed their farm strike-relate
problems with over a dozen lawmak
in Sacramento.
·
The law enforcement officials told
legislators that farm labor disputes i
volving
the
UFW
and
p
ducers may produce a Nlong hot su
mer" as picketing moves to the Sali
Valley, where the harvest season blos
soms in two weeks .
Imperial County Sheriff Oren Fox sa~
that 91 county offic;:ers had to be aideC
by 160 officers from neighboring area:
to contain strike-related violence in h~
county. Law enforcement costs totalle:
about $667,000, he said.
In other developments, a Superi
Court judge issued a temporary restraill'
ing order recently against the UF\1
prohibiting union members from picket
ing Growers Exchange property in Ventura County. The order, issued by Judge
Steve Stone, also specifies that unior
members must not threaten compan
employees with violence .
Page7
La Voz de Aztlan
Chavez supports
idwest agri-union
But the FLOC ''S commitment to
farm~_orkers isn't their only area of
concentration. They are also participating in the boycott of Nestles' products
which is the parent company of Libby'.
Nestles' has been promoting infant
formula for feeding babies in Third
World and deveioping nations, but
reports have tied infant formulas to
malnutrition and even death to children
of unsuspecting mothers.
· From the other side of the camp,
Libby's and Campbell's companies
have refused to negotiate with Ohio
farmworkers over wages and working
conditions. It is for this reason that
FLOC is calling a nation-wide consumer boycott of the following companies and their products:LIBBY-MCNEIL-UBBY
--All Nesties' products
--All vegetables, fruits meats and
juices with the Libby label
--Campbell Soup
, --Swanson frozen prepared dinners and
meats
--V-8 vegetable juice
--Recipe pet food
--Franco-American products
--Pepperidge Farm products
--Granny's soups
--Bounty canned chili and entrees
·--Vlasic.
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz Writer
Sen. Cranston,left, arid
Fresno recently.
Tom . Haden were in
Cranston,Had_
en
speak out on Liberalism
.
'
By RJCARDO PIMENTEL
La Voz Contributor
Traditional liberal thought and what
may be the new liberal wave· took turns
presenting their cases at the CaUfornia
Democratic Council (CDC) convention at
the Fresno Hilton recently.
Senator Alan Cranston, founder and
first president of CDC, told the liberal
Democrats, March 23, pretty much what
they wanted to hear. But, the next day,
former anti-war activist and unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in
1976, Tom Hayden, decried CDC and
what he viewed as the ineffectiveness of
the liberal movement.
l'CDC is in danger of becoming a
relic," said Hayden. He characterized
the organization as one without "clout ...
being used by liberal lawyers then abandoned."
Cranston, however, retained a familiar
liberal theme throughout his sp.e ech, attacking big government yet calling for
a commitment to subsidize "small bus·iness and farmers no less than food
stamps."
Contrary to traditional liberal thought,
both speakers cal led for a balanced budget but were against a consitutional convention to achieve it. Cranston said
he "strongly opposes" a constitutional
convention and has "deep doubts" about amending the constitution in any
way to fight inflation.
It may come to a choice between a
convention or a states' sponsored
amendment to curb the budget, Cranston said. "Both ideas will fail," he.added, "then we can get on with the real job
of making government work better."
While the senator came out for a balanced budget as soon as possible, he
didn't say how it would be accomplished. In an apparent attempt to allay
the fears of the liberals, Cranston said,
"I will do all in my power from letting
budget balancing deteriorate to an attack on the help1ess ."
Hayden, chairman of the "Campaign
for Economic Democracy", put the
blame for inflation directly on liberals.
Cranston also attacked defense spending, earning cheers from the partisan
crowd. He said, "Everyone else is
biting the bullet. Why shouldn't the
Pentagon."
He said, liberals have been content to
·"ride· the tiger" of inflation rather than
fight it.
Hayden said "inflation and government spending are not Republicc)n issues. They are people issues."
He warned, "Don't' put yourself in
the position of defending deficit spending." He said an unbalanced budget
has never solved any problems "and
liberalism is lame if it fights a balanced
budget."
Hayden said the real inflation fighters
are not those in government, but "the
people in Santa Monica fighting for
rent control." He said, Hthe best way to
fight inflation is to boycott Chiquita
bananas" (an apparent reference to
UFW leader Cesar Chavez' call for a
boycott of United Brands-owned Chiquita bananas).
Hayden later told reporters that although criticism of Governor Brown from
his organization have not been abundant, there are some problems between
the two. Of Brown's budget balancing
proposal, Hayden said, "I don't agree
with the consitutional approach. It does
not approach the issue of full employment."
He added, "We think he (Brown)
should be as tough on corporate profits
as government spending. Our approach
is to say the problem is big business and
big government."
Asked about Brown's political ideology, the former anti-war activist said
"No, he's not a liberal. He's a liberal i~
transition, which is better than a liberal
stuck in the mud ."
Cesar Chavez and the United Farm
Workers are not the only ones who are
striking for higher wages. In Ohio this
past January 28, the Farm Labor
Organizing Committee (FLOC) officially kicked-off its international boycott of Libby-McNeil, Libby and Campbell Soup products.
The FLOC initiated the boycott
because of the canners' and growers'
unwillingness to respond to peaceful
invitations · by union leaders to negotiate, according to the "Nuestra Luca"
newspaper from Ohio. The FLOC is
hoping that the boycott can pressure
canners into requiring better wages
and working conditions for farm workers from the grower.
The FLOC is committed to helping
farm laborers achieve better wages and
working conditions. They have received
support from many institutions, includ-·
ing California's United Farmworkers
Union under Cesar Chavez.
But organizing in the Midwest is
difficult. Most Ohio farm workers
migrate each summer from Florida and
Texas, allowing only a few months for
workers to mobilize into effective
acti_o n, according to the FLOC.
"He neither drinks nor smokes; his
work is his life and passion."
"Home is a four-room cottage at union
headquarters in La Paz, Calif., and on
the road he lives with his work~rs.
"At 52 (and 5' 6", 149 pounds), he
still lives by the exemplary asceticism of
the UFW's youth. He works a slave
driver's schedule of 20-hours days,
sleeping where he drops, accepting only
$10 a week in pay, plus expenses.
On the road he lives simply: "I eat
whatever they have and sleep on floors
when there's no bed,' he says. 'It's
, •a way to stay in touch. Sure it's inconvenient when you have to run to pay
phones, but I ge~ insights I wouldn't
get if I stayed in motels.'"
"Chavez prays and meditates two or
three h6urs a day and often fasts."
"Chavez counts his family among his
disciplines. Most of the eight children
are grown and work for the UFW, and
wife of 30-years, Helen, 51, is on the organization's credit union until she retired last month."
"Some of the family have converted
to his vegetarian diet, but few of his
children have adopted the 30-year habit
of yoga and contempl~tion t~at he be1ieves is the source of his stamina.
I wouldri 't last if I didn't do that,'
he says. 'As it is I'm made for this kjnd
of work--no heart attacks, or ulcers, or
high blood pressure or anything (thou_gh
he admits to some back problems, which
he attributes to his days at stoop labor) ...
prayer and meditation have a lot to do
with that. '"
'" I don't plan to retire,' he says.
'This is a good place for me to be here.
It is a burden to be a leader, but I won't
burn out. We have to discipline ourselves more than most people because
we must win. We have to win."
Quienes
Cesar Chavez?
Editor's note: Just who is this man
Cesar Chavez? He is the head of the
3$, 000 member United Farm Workers
of America, but to many, still a mysterious person. "People" magazine in their
edition of March 12, 1979 provided this
description of Chavez.
"Born in Yuma, Arizona, he dropped
out of school in the eighth grade and
went to work in his teens as a field hand.
Once an unlettered street corner tough,
he discovered Gandhi and turned to
steel-willed self-discipline.
11
'
La Voz de Aztlan
Page8
r
...__ _ _ _Noticias de la Raza-_,.._..:..--_ ___,
MECHA MEETINGS
EOP
Mecha continues to recruit students
to become involved with issues that
affect all Chicanos. Officers have re- •
issued the invitation that students join
the group and attend Mecha meetings.
The next Mecha meeting will be held
April 5 (Thursday) in the College
Union, room 309.
Applications for EOP Student AdvisQ
positions for the 1979-80 academic year
are· now available. The positions an
aesigned to provide employment and a
unique learning experience for individu,
als interested in education and counseling related careers.
Applications-are available in the EOP
office, .Joyal Administration Buildin~,
room 238. The deadline to apply 11
April 6, 1979.
For additional information, please
contact Wanda Fulbright,
Student
Advisor Coordinator at 487-1021.
CHICANO COMMENCEMENT
Applications will be accepted
through April 18 for the third annual
Chicano Commencement at CSUF. The
event, being organized by the Chicano
Commencement Committee of the Chicano Alumni Association, is set for
Sunday, May 20 at the Fresno Dist_rict
Fairgrounds.
Applications can be picked up at
Tutorial Services, the La Raza Studies
office, and the EOP office. For more information call 487-1053.
UFWPLEA
Food and money are still being requested by striking members of the
United Farm Workers in Huron. · Donations may be left at the · La Raza
Studies office in San Ramon 4, room
118. For more · information call
487-2848.
"Social Services sought for
Border _!>rocessing Sites"
TEA TRO DEL ESPIRITU
STATEWIDE CHICANO TOURNEY
The Teatro del Espiritu will perform
Saturday April 21 in Visalia. The troupe
will be seen from 8-10 p.m. in the L.J.
Williams Theater, 1001 Main St.
Admission for adults is $2 in advance
or $2.50 at the door. For more information cal I 625-5300. The performance
is being sponsored .by RAYO, Real
AlternativP~ for-Youth Organization.
A statewide Chicano basketball tour- .
nament, sponsored by the Chicano
Youth Center, will be held April 21-22
here in Fresno.
Teams from Fresno, Hayward, Los
Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San
Jose, and Woodland, and others will
vie for awards in the single-elimination
competition.
"Tortilla Curtain"
Cesar Chavez
Chicanos honor .O bledo
"Quien dice que no' podemos trabaja~
ju ntos !" (Who says we can 't work together). With that bold declaration
members of the Association of MexicanAmerican Elected Officials(AMEO)
greeted a fe~ hundred supporters at
a testimonial dance for Mario Obledo
(Calif. Sec. of Health & Welfare) Friday
night at the Rainbow Ballroom.
Members of AMEO from Fresno
Cou~ty as well as United Farm Workers
president Cesar Chavez gathered ·to
~onor ~bledo, the state's highest rankmg Chicano official.
The m~yors of Mendota, Orang~ Cove
and ~arl,er presented Obledo with a re:.
solutmn co~mending him for his service
to the Chicano community. Top local
and state political learlers also spoke out
on the future power of Chicanos in California.
Later, live band music and dancing
took center stage.
Gov. Jerry Brown was originally
scheduled to attend the testimonial, but
cancelled at the·last moment. However, .
his absence was hardly felt as Obledo, ·
Chavez and other speakers picked up the
slack.
·
Obledo told the crowd that Chicanos
are on the verge of becoming the most
powerful political force in the state.
Chavez, who celebrated his birthday
Friday (53rd), praised Obledo and the ·
growing power of the movement. He
gained a standing ovation as he began
his lengthy speech in Spanish and drew
shouts of "Viva La Huelga! ", and "Viva
La Causal"
President Carter has approved a
plan to replace deteriorating fences orf
the U.S./Mexican border with a more
icnoregnable barrier. th·e ·washington
Post reported March 23.
An.earlier White House effort to erect
new fences met with stiff resistance from
Chicano groups and from the Mexican
government.
The . President may be holding off on
an official announcement to avoid any
conflict with Mexican President J o~e
Lopez Portillo, when the Mexican leader visits in June. Portillo was ..said to
have been insulted when the U.S. first
unveiled the plan last year and publically
chided Carter about American insensitivity when the two met in Mexico
City in late February.
The original plan called for a 10-foot
high fence in the El Paso· and San Diego areas. Opposition mounted when it
was learned that the new fence might
amputate fingers and toes caught in
its sharp wire mesh. The fence came to
be known as the "Tortilla Curtain."
High government sources said the
plan for a new fence had never been
scrapped. The decision has always been,
they said, not whether to build the
fence, but how much to construct and
how to build it.
In a related event, the Mexican Congress announced March 27 that it was
sending a special committee fo the U.S.
to investigate alleged human rights violations against illegal Mexican aliens.
The committee will report back to a
joint congressional session in the
next few weeks, a Mexican congress
spokesman said. The committee report
will also be brought up at an April 2628 meeting in Mexico City of U.S. and
Mexican representatives on the illegal
alien oroblem.
Although the methods of deporti
illegal aliens have improved, conditio
are still not humane according to tr·
Chicano Caucas Steering- Committee
the National Association of Social Wort
ers.
That group recently spent two days a'
a workshop· in El Paso, Texas, arrangec
by the U.S. Immigration and Naturah·
zation Service (INS).
According to the groups' newspaper
of Feb. 19, the group learned that 15,00:
Latinos are detained and deported ead
month in El Paso alone.
"Most are held three to four days, but
some up to six months if their nationality cannot be verified, said grou·
members.
They are held in "sterile barracks sur·
rounded by incredibly intimidatin~
barbed:-wire fences. At no time are thoSc
in detention spoken to by a social work·
er," said the group.
They asked INS commissioner Leone'.
Castillo to "take neccessary steps to hu·
manize this detention/deportation process."
The group learned that an estimateo
vne-million undocumented immigrants
come into the United States durin_g an
12-month period.
To those who urge more personnel
and constrt:1ction of physical barriers to
"seal the Border," the group was criti·
cal.
Dr. Manuel Spector, INS special con·
sultant to Castillo said that the concept
of sealing the border was born out o
naivete and is often advanced by .. reactionaries" who may or may not be
racists.
,
To improve the situation, the group
learned that the INS hoped to raise U.S
Immigration quotas and allow more to
legally come in from Mexico. Mexico 's
quotia is now 20,000 a year, and would
be raised to 40-50,000.
The group also found out that in El
Pa·so there are no facilities for undocu·
mented females· and little is done to
apprehend them. The few that are
caught are brought to churches or social
agencies for processing.
.
Soaring illegal immigration has been
caused by rampant unemployment in
Mexico, spiraling intlation and 3.5 per·
cent population growth - one of . the
highest in the world.
. Until these problems can be dealt with
the group said "a humane method of
processing the hundreds of thousands o
immigrants who come to the U.S. seek·
ing a better way of life must be found."
Condensed from
"National Association of S.W. News"
.
.
-
-Special Publication of The Daily Collegian
LA -v oz de AZTLAN
Monday
April 2, 1979
1111,....
Coors Boycott Continues
~Page 2
Boulevqrd ·Nights-. · The movie,The Contioversy
-- Pages 3-6
Boulevard Nights stirs. up local, national trouble(abuve). ·
Mario Obledo honored in FresnQ.
.
·
• George Aguirre Photo
. S-entirriientos Del Valle
-Page 6 ·
Cranston, Hayden ·
and Liberalism
·-Page 7
OQledo, Chavez
· Come -T o Fresno
-Page 8
ConientariOS
Coors cervezaBoulevard Nightsstill sour brew
the trouble with. a picket
2
~Pageiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Boulevard Nights is not a perfect
movie . But, neither is it such a flawed ,
discriminatory and stereotypical film
that we shou ld all go out and set
picket lines at the Tower Theater .
If one sees the film he is convinced that it attempts to portray
just one aspect of Chicano life in
East Los Angeles. Viewed from that
perspective,the film is a sucess.
It has won critical aclaim and
rightly so. The movie has an allChicano cast,employs authentic dialogue
and realistic situations and comes off
as an honest portray! of Chicano life.
Boulevard Nights should not be
boycotted. Chicanos and non-Chicanos
should go to see it to gain an
understanding of one of the m<?st
destructive elements of the barrio-gang violence.
The film reinforces the fact that
gang violence is undesireable and
something must be done about it now.
Violence isn't glorified and contrary
to what many have said, the incidents of violence surrounding the film
have been few and far between.
The most positive thing that
Boulevard Nights has done by coming
to Fresno is that it has helped bring
more attention to the problems of the
barrfo. Perhaps now -we can all rededicate ourselves to improving conditions there.
Chicanos In Law :
Group_Prepares_For
Future As Attorneys
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz.Writer
Despite claims by President Carter
and career counselors and others that ·
there is an oversupply of lawyers,
there is no oversupply of Chicano lawyers .
President Carter has said that the ·
U.S. has one of the heaviest concentration of lawyers on earth . He has
charged that there is more litigation,
but he isn't sure that there is more
justice .
Many Chicanos can identify with
having little justice. With a higher
percentage of persons in prisons than
in graduate schools, Chicanos are pot
whom Carter was speaking of when he
spoke about a heavy concentration of
lawyers. for example there is one
Chicano lawyer for every 9,480 Chicanos, compared to one Anglo lawyer
for every 530 Anglos .
For many Chicano college students it.
has become a challenge to consider
going on to law school.
Here at CSUF there is an organization dedicated to making law school a
more feasible goal. This organization is
HChicanos in Law ." Since the beginning of this school year, the group has
been busy establishing itself as a
serious organization . It has boosted its
membership to twenty-five pre-law
students under the leadership of president, Luis Ambriz.
Among the activities thus far have
been trips to various law schools in
California. Members have met representatives of the Stanford School of
Law in Palo Alto, Hastings Law School
in San Francisco, UCLA School of Law
in Los Angeles, Boalt Hall in Berkeley, ·
McGeorge Law School in Sacramento
and most recently, Santa Clara Law
School . Members have also attended
various minority admissions pre-law
conferences .
'
.
Last semester, Chicanos in Law
along with "Ola Raza," a law group
from San Francisco, hosted an LSAT
prep test (similar to the SAT college
~mrance examJ tor students mterestea
in pursuing a career in law.
At their bi-monthly meetings, Chicanos in Law have also hosted such
speakers as former judge Al Villa,
Ed Valdez, a Fresno attorney, Robert
Perez, CSUF criminology instructor
and practicing attorney, Marcos Lopez
an attorney from the UFW headquarters in Keene, California, and Dr.
Karl Svenson of the political science
department. Topics have ranged from
talks on different law schools to talks on
post-Bakke effects on law school minority admissions.
Their biggest project to date has
been the planning of "Chicanos in Law,
Law Day" at CSUF for the upc<>ming
year. Recruiters from various law
schools will be invited to attend and
disseminate information ) on their
schools.
The news that the American C . I.
Forum voted at a recent national meeting to end its 12-year boycott of Coors
beer was disappointing , predictable and
inaccurately reported by major media .
It is apparently true the G.I. Forum , a
10,000-strong veterans organ ization , is
pulHng out of the boycott they started
when Coors company refused to hire
Chicanos and other minorities. It was
a1so predictable since the Forum has
done little in recent years to promote the
boycott and has had to forfeit grants
from the Coors Company because of the
boycott.
It is not true, however: that the boycott of Coors beer is over. What has hap. pened is the powerful Coors public relations machine has attempted to use the
C. I. Forum's decision to speak for the
millions of Chicanos, AFL-CIO cnembers .
and other boycotts who will never drink
, Coors again.
In the 12 years since the boycott started, too much Rocky Mountain spring
water has passed under the bridge to reverse the flow. In spite of Coors' domination of the media, many people have
been educated to the company's racist
and reactionary politics. Union members
know of Coors practice of breaking
strikes and unions at the brewery. Anti- .
war activists know of the gross profits of
Coors owned porcelain plant made
during the Vietnam war. Chicano
April 2, 1979
students at the state's universities know
of Joseph Coors activities as a member
of the Board of Regents to stop financial
aid prog rams which hel ped hundreds of
Ch icanos attend the University of Colorado .
The recent media blitz behind the G.I
Forum decision to end the ir participation
in the Coors boycott is only one example
of the economic success of the boycott.
As a resu lt of the boycott, Coors slipped
from fou rth to fifth nationwide in beer
sales . This year, profits for the company
have continued the downward slide of
recent years.
The Coors company is using the G.I.
Forum, golfer Lee Trevi no and the ne.ws
media it controls in an attempt to fool
Chicanos into thinking the boycott is
over.
Some people will be deceived by the
tokenism and misleading "news" stories .
Most people will recognize the deception
as the actions of a desperate company
trying to reverse the effects of a damaging boycott. We cannot compromise
our principles as a people. The goals of
the Coors family are in direct conflict to
the goals of the Chicano movement.
Boycott Coors, over a million Chicanos
can't be wrong.
From "La Cucaracha,"
Pueblo, Colorado
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter ,n response to
the March 19 edition of La Voz. I
cannot help but detect the bias in your ,/
article by Feliz Contreras on the price
of lettuce in Continental Market.
Craig Kozy simply state on the sign
that as a result of the UFW strike
the price of lettuce is 98¢ a head. He
did not say, as a result of the UFW
lettuce is 98¢.
Why are you compelled to think
that this leads to misconceptions of the
strike?? Maybe _because they aren't
misconceptions?? Maybe because
you' re afraid the public will see what
the strike truely (sic) represents.
All Contreras talks about is . the
poor little hara-working Mexicans
.
.
(he calls them Chicanos) who slave for
. A pane~ of sp~ak_ers m the field _ the farmers _at what he considers
of l~w will b.e invited to s~akon grossly insufficient wages. However, .
~rtment legal issues, and CIL will pronowhere does he mention that Ceasar
v1de a LSAT prepa.ratory test. Cl L Chavez is asking upwards to 200%
has asked t~e A~soc1ated Students to wage increases which is obviously
help fund this proJ~. . .
.
greater than the maximum increase
0her futur~ act1v1t1es 1~cl~de: a
possible under President Carter's
burrito fundra1s~r salei a picnic. and
anti-inflation wage and price guidesoftball game ~1~h Ch1c~no Business
lines . A maximum increase which has
Students Assoc1at1on; a trip to La Paz,
been offered by the farmers by rejected
Cesar Chavez' UFW headquarters in
bu the UFW who wants even more
Keene, California, and a National
(sic)
~awyer's Guild four-day conference
The absurdity of the UFW's de- _
m Santa Clara .
.
.
mands are reflected by the rejection of
For the month of April, CIL 1s planhelp from the Federal Mediation and
ning a Chicano A~torney Openhouse
Conciliation Service.
where students will. have a c~ance
So why the strike?? Mr. Contreras
to meet and s~eak with local _Chicano
also fails to mention that within the
attorneys at an. mforma~ gathering .
past six months, there has been three
_ For more mform.at,on on CIL, a
decertification elections called for by
mess_age may be left in the CIL message the UFW workers themselves because
box in the La Raza ~tuct,e!, umce .
they are unhappy with the union .
I
Also why is it never mentioned that
there has been a marked increase in
the complaints about the medical plan,
by the workers themselves, ever since
the UFW took over, despite the fact
that the UFW has amassed a $6.2
million surplus in their medical fund.
I think my points are very clear. Mr.
Contreras is resorting to the old UFW
tactic of trying to get public sympathy.
A tactic which even failed them on the
famous Proposition 14. The California
public is smarter than you think.
My word to the public is, if you
blame the UFW for high lettuce prices,
it is not' because of store signs, but
because of what the UFW represents.
Don't be misled by biased articles in
La Voz .
--Signed Anonymous
(Because of fear of violent r~taliation
for being outspoken)
i . Voz .de Azt1an is published by the ·
Associated Students at California State
University, Fresno and the newspaper
staff. Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the i . Voz staff, and not necessarily the views of the Associated Students, CSUF or the State of California.
Editor ... Richard Aguirre
Photography ... George Aguirre,Ricardo
Pimentel,Lupe Mora
Art ... Albino Franco, Arturo Ocampo
Reporters ... Dora Lara,Margarita Martinez , Octavio Yescas.
Contributors ... Felix Contreras , Elvia
Ruiz , Dianne Solis , Ricardo Pimentel,
Pedro Ramirez.
April 2, 1979
A Special Supplement to· LA VOZ de AZTLAN
By TOMAS URIBES
"College (Chicano) students are elite
in the Chicano community because there
aren 't that many of us. We have the
responsibility to communicate the movie's negativeness to our community."
La Voz Contributor
Boulevard Nights is a movie about
lowriders and gang members in the East
Los Angeles community. But some members of the Chicano community, both
statewide and locally, feel Chicanos are
being taken for a ride and that something must be done about it.
Fresno State University ' s Chicano
student organization, MEChA, decided
Thursday to join the MEChA at Fresno
City College and the community-based
Chicano Youth Center in a protest of
the film now playing at t he Tower The- atre.
·
New Chicano g~ng film
draws Fresno boyc~tt
He said the movie stereotypes and
is racist and that MEChA has a responsibility to demonstrate that to the·younger kids.
"Glorification will take place on that
level (younger kids). They' II take what
they want from the movie and not analyze it for what it's worth."
"We' re not telling people 'don't see
it,' said CSUF La Raza Studies professor
Alex Sara·goza at MEChA; s weekly
meeting Thursday . "We just want to
point out to the community the movie's
flaws."
"We' re criticizing those elements of
the movie that are negative, that exploit and manipulate. It could have
been a movie about the farmworker
plight ."
Boulevard Nights hit Fresno last
March 23 and Saragoza called it a "C_ultural event" for Chicanos . The movie
depicts a fatherless Chicano family
whose eldest son, once a gang member
himself but who "knew when to get
out," sees his younger brother becoming
entangled' with the gang and its conflicts.
The elder brother is a lowrider, his
car decked out with hydraulic equipment that gives him· the edge in a "hopping" contests. His dream is to own his
own car shop and leave behind the gang
life.
His younger brother, however, is a
"cholo" who becomes the target of a
. rival gang after one of the rival members is stabbed in a fight between the
two gangs.
The tragedy and depiction of life in
the movie has been described as "real- .
istic" portray.al of East Los Angeles life. ·
Some movie goers have even said the
movie's depiction is mild to what actually happens in East Los Angeles.
But Chicano activists are upset
that "negative" aspects ot the Chicano
life are overly ~tressed because different
people have different interpretations of
the film's message.
"The little kids and cholos that watch
the movie will have very different interpretation than students who would
intellectualize the movie and view it
with a critical sophisticated perception,"
said Saragoza. Saragoza was raised in
Madera and is a sociologist with degrees
. from CSUF and UC Berkeley.
Boulevard
-Nights
Review ·
Boulevard Nights is a grim look at
oPe aspect of Chicano society in East
L.A. - gang violence .
It is a painfully honest view of the
fighting of the gangs, what motivates
them to fight and the tragedy they
can bring.
The acting, dialogue, attire, backgrounds and cars are authentic and convincing.
Raymond Avila (Richard Yniguez)
plays the part of the big brother we all
knew and loved. He- makes the audience
feel the anguish of trying to escape life
in the barrio.
He slaps around his younger unpredictable brother Chuco (Danny de la Paz),
but does so only to_try to get his brother
to abandon the life of a vato loco.
Raymond has escaped that cholo
existence and is now a hard-working
car customizer and dedicated lowrider.
He loves to cruise the main and ~et
Pagel I
Manuel Nunez, CSUF EOP counselor
said:
"The stereotypes affect our kids educational life. They get into high school
and are put into lower classes because
they' re perceived as low acheivers,
based on these stereotypes. As a result,
they don't get the classes they need to
qualify for college or to succeed.
A leaflet prepared by the Chicano
Youth Center staff was prepared and
picketing of the movies set for Sunday.
The ~eaflet accuses the film as motivating gang warfare and stereotyping
Chicanos "as being inferior and not
knowing how to control or work with
their Raza."
The leaflet suggests that films like
Boulevard Nights will only further antagonize rival racial groups like the Stoner,
Crips, and F-14s.
"Are we going to wait until we J:iave
stabbings and shooting in our community before we do anything? How many
more homeboys/hbmegirls will be killed before we stop these film producers
and theatre owners from exploiting and
prostituting the Chicano community?"
The statewide organization of MEChA
has already called for a boycott of the
movie, said FSU MEChA President
Priscilla Contreras. Also boycotting the
movie is the Chicano Actors Group in
, Los Angeles.
into "hopping" contests but still wants
to get ahead and eventually marry his
girlfriend Shady (Marta Dubolis).
But, Chuco, Raymond's brother
still enjoys life in the gang. But, he is
uneasily backing into the gang. On the
way to full standing, he sniffs paint
can fumes, gets loaded on angel dust
and fights along with his homeboys.
The movie ultimately turns out to be
a struggle between the brothers.
Raymond, to help his brother out of the
cholo lifestyle, and Chuco to gain
status among his carnales.
The movie is a good story about
the love between two· brothers and
their struggles in the barrio.
Taken as a specific look at just one
segment of life in Los Angeles, Boulevard Nights is an excellent film.
It
does not glorify violence or make gang
life attractive.
If anything it shows
how tragic life in the barrio can be.
Page4
April 2, 1979
La Voz de Aztlan
Commentary
Lowrider,ch.olo
lifestyles
_
depicted in movie
\
By PEDRO RAMIREZ
La Voz Contributor
Chicanos are finally escaping their
unseen existence in the U.S . society.
We · have been a neglected people
in the U.S . society from the day we
res~ttled on this stole,n l~nd . .
There has not been equal representation for Chicanos in education, the pro- ,
fessional field .. .and in modern day
civi Iization .
Chicanos have been neglected in the
movie industry. Most Chicano characters in American-made movies exploited all the damaging stereotypes
about Mexicanos, all the way up to
taking the Mexican siesta.
Now· ·with the Chicano-casted movie, 1
Boule~ard Nights, Chicanos can say
that we have a film that represents
a segment of our populatior).
Although the movie was directed
by Michael Passman and produced
by Bill Benson (both Jew~sh) the fil~
has won high praise. Charles Champlin
art critic for the Los Angeles Times
called Boulevard Nights · a "modest,
earnest, honest, authentic-, dra~atic,
and effective drama photographed in an
East LA. barrio."
Those who have seen the movie can
tell you that this movie is not about _
cruising the main at night. If anything,
the movie's title is a gimmick designed
to attrack an audience ... that is the
mass of people who make up the
"working class." There are few scenes
of the actual boulevard.
The movie is a social documentary
about one aspect of Chicano life in
East L.A . The film starts out early on
by giving the viewer· a look at the _central characters and the main cruis~ng
strip.
One first sees the boulevard when
Raymond(Richard Yniguez), the central
character in the movie--a Chicano who ·
has abandoned being a
"cholo"
cruises the main with his girl, Shady
(Mact:a Dubois) .
•
Shady dislikes cruising down the
boulevard because she sees it as
d,iidis~ . But,_ ~ay~o-~d'~ li~~le b~9ther
a
Chuco(Danny de la Paz) is
Chicano adolescent rebelling against society's demands and as a result of this
is a cholo who enjoys life on the
street with his friends.
THE MEANING OF
LA VOZ De AZTLAN
La Voz de Aztlan means "The voice ·
of Aztlan. " Aztlan has been translated
by most historians to be the mythical
name of the Aztec (or Mexica or Chichimeca) people who held the area
around present-day Mexico City when
the Spaniards under Hernan Cortes
entered Mexico in 1519.
Two things happen in this early
scene: Raymond meets some friends
and takes part in a lowrider
hopping contest and Chuco gets into a
gang fight .
In the car hopping contest the
front end of two competing cars hop
up and down to see whose car can
jump the highest, To the partic;ipants, the event is a form of
recreation.
. It is said that this practice is -.a
variation of a CUSTOM HANDED
· DOWN BY Mexican romeos, who when
courting a lovely maiden would make
their horses rear up on its hind legs
to attract attention.
Raymond wins the hopping contest
but his girlfriend is not very pleased
by his actions. But, Raymond still
loves his car. To him, having a
lowrider provides him a source of pride
and status.
.
'
Through his car, Raymond gains his '
own sense of identity.
I
If an individual works as a computer data processor, buys a Porchel .
and gains a new group of friends, his
-actions are accepted . Raymond works in
a car shop and owns a lowrider,
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a
but his actions are not much differcomentario by Gilbert Sanchez Lujan
ent than the upper class Chicano.
· of
El Concilio de Fresno on
BOULEVARD NIGHTS. This explanaMeanwhile Chuco is out "de vagos",
tion h.as been distributed to those
having fun with his friends. Like many
attending this movie by Lujan· and
young men at this stage he is goofing
others. It explains why Lujan . has
around, drinking and getting sprayed
chosen to picket the film.
New Chicano film~
accurate but misleading
.
atioos as his salvation yet this is what
the vato loco attempts to avoid so
desperately. The stereotypical viewpoint
of the Gabacho and/or middle class
value systems are being imposed on
the Chicanos who seek Iifestyle ·alter-- n~tives in lieu of the mainstream .
The vato loco cpntinues his fallin the face with beer.~~=====:==~~==~==~~====~~~=~~~~~=~~~~~~
Everything happens on the boulevardand the boulevard happens at night.
At the bellinnine of the movie •
Chuco's gang, VGV, works over a_ga~g
The movie, Boulevard Nights:, is a
member belonging to the 11th gang.
production · that
is
unfortunately
Later while cruising, one of the gang
~ authentic in content, however, _in its
rTJembers spots Chuco and his partner_.
accuracy it fails to tell the whole story.
Soon there is a big fist-ta-c'Jffs on the
It portrays only the easily exploited
boulevard and Chuco ends up stabbing
aspects of the vato loco experience.
·the 11th street gang members.
It does not explain or suggest the
on , , ,us starts a fued amongst the
socio-politic~!
circumstances and history
- gangs . This episode lasts around five·
of the · disenfranchised youths that
minutes. Because of the violence, a
largeiy live in poor and underheated controversy amongst Chicanos
developed urban centers throughout
has risen.
the nation.
Many beieve that scenes of violence
It only displays the end-result and
SeePage5 . .
by-products of the social ills that are
well documented by many authorities.
It focuses on the multi-destructiveness
In their native Nahuatl language,
of the cholo lifestyle. The film obviously
Aztlan . meant "the place of herons, "
rides on the sublima). and conscious
and also "the place they had been
racist attitudes towards the pachuco
before." Dr. Jose Canales of the CSUF
person.
History Department said he has traced
This film is an indictment of the
the origins of the Aztecs, a migratoryChicano vato without a proper trial
tribe as far north as present-day St.
and defense. It suggests incorrectly
Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota.
,
that Mexicans are inherently criminal
To Chicanos, Aztlan is the name for
and it's their choice to practice lawthe entire Southwest -- our symbolic
breaking and self-destruction . •
homeland.
It presents a suggestive escape f?r
'Chuco' to accept middle class aspir-
""e of
guy position similarly like the farmworker accused of all the difficulties
in cont~mporary urban life as if he had
control . On the contrary , the Chucos
are social victims without political
representation and voiceless in the fac~
of social judgements. He only ~rtIculates his anguish in self-destructiveness. How can you be so · merciless
as to continue to thrash this youth?
What are your justifications for
stabbing and exposing the vato bef~re
his community aJ1d nation in · his painful dilemna. Your profits are the perpetuation of this tragedy.
My main concern is for the thousands
of youths who will, by virtue of a. nonanalytical acceptance of the Chicano
content in the film, as well as the
glamour and influence of the largerthan-life screen, emulate negative
behavior models.
Out hopes lie in the discontinuence
of this type of film and any other that
depicts Chicanos solely in an _unfavorable manor. It is not a crime
to be a vato loco--it is a social crime
to make money on others' misfortunes.
April 2, 1979
Page5
La Voz de Aztlan
Boulevard NightsOne of many gang fil_
ms
By RICHARD AGUIRRE
Editor of La Voz
Although Boulevard Nights is the latest
in these gang films. They have said
that getting into the system is the only
way to produce more favorable films
Chicano gang movie it is not the only
about Chicanos .
film to come under close scrutiny. The
Chicanos also claim that, just like
Warriors, a film about New York gangs
other actors, they must work to survive,
and the forthcoming Walking Proud
regardless of the part.
(formerly Gang) have also drawn fire .
But many charge that these · films
· Three deaths (two in Calif .) have been
-are rittered with damaging stereolinked to Warriors since it opened in
types that distort the Chicano lifeFebruary. In most ot those incide~ts
style and portray the gang as violent ..
the violence was sparked by racial
They say that the positive aspects
differences.
.
of the Chicano majority are ignored as
But, despite the controversy it is
the film exploits olnly the most sensacertain that the films are bringing in
tional aspects of Mexican lifestyle.
healthy prof its from mostly-young
Boulevard Nights has won critical
audiences. The Warriors cost less than
acclaim and has been defended by many
$6 million to make, but up to March 19
as a realistic look at gang life in the
had brought in more than $14.6 million .
barrio. In the movie there is no interWalking Proud is a love story between
racial or sexual violence and the lirie
a cholo and anglo girl set against a
between the good and bad guy is
background of East L.A . gang violence.
blurred.
.
·
That movie first attracted controversy
The film was shot with an all-Chicaa,o
when it was announced that 22-year-old
cast and with the help of East L.A.
anglo Robby Benson (formerly of
cholos.
"The End and One on One would play
Nevertheless, many groups have prothe lead.
tested Boulevard Nights.
The stateUniversal Studios signed Benson,
wide convention of MEChA, voted to. ,
they said to help pull in audiences
boycott and picket the film even before
then fitted him with special brownit had been released.
Executive Producer Tonyh Bill called
tinted contact lenses to help him better
The Mechistas have also gained
the mayor's action "absolute censorplay the role. In the film, · ~enson plays•
the _support of enforcement ag~ncies
a Chicano who abandons his life in
who would apparently like to diffuse ship"., and said the film is ~one~t
and realistic. He said that the film 1s
the barrio to assimilate into his anglo
any meetings between gan~ members.
only a family drama about two br~thers
girlfriend's society.
.
A theater in San Francisco cancelled
To many, the casting of Benson was
the planned run for Boulevard Nights in the barrio. ·
Locally, groups have also begun
typical of the Chicano's years of struggle
after five Chicanos were stabbed
to gain a place in the Hollywood system.
outside the theater after the premiere. to picket the film. ' Gilbert Lujan of. El
Few Latino actors are well established Mayor Dianne Feinstein (San Fran- Concilio de Fresno said that the film
in films and fewer yet involved in
cisco) asked that city distributors does not tell the whole story and can
actual film production, writing or directcancel showings of the film. She called harm -Chicano youth who see it.
Lujan pledged · that he an? others
ing.
._
the film a threat to the safety and
would
picket as ·long as the film is in
Because of that fact many have dewell being of the citizens of San FranFresno.
fended the presence of Chic~no actors
cisco.
eorge
guirre
From Page4
in ·th; film -harm manyChicano youngsters. 1 hey s·ay that many times the
young are going through the same
stage, and will bel~ive that is is ok to
partake in fights -and knifings. Some
Chicanos are also concerned with the
white audience's reaction tow~rds the
movie-.
The movie does not glorify gang
fighting, it just gives us a subt~e
reality on what frequentty happens m
East L.A. To say that the movie adds to
and condones gang welfare is a false
judgement.
See Page6
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
"BOULEVARD NIGHTS?" WILL YOU
SEEIT?
--Jesse Rushing, 28, Sociology !'lajor •
--Rafael Villegas, 22, Business
Management major
"I have heard that it presents
Chicanos
in
a
fairly_ stereotypical fashion." "I think in this ~se it's
bas because it helps people go l;ack to
stereotypes that never were true." "I
don't go to movies, I've got better things
todo."
"I feel it's deceiving because it
doesn't give a real picture. It's. putting
into the minds of these kids the
violence." "I'm probably going to see it
to get my own opinion, but right now
I feel it's an injustice."
--Vincent Mendez, 28, Art major
"I don't think I'll see it. I · think it
touches all the aspects of what a Chicano
really isn't, and I think it's just making .
a quick buck for Hollywood.", "It exploits
the minds of children."
--Sam Santillanez, 28, Natural Science
major
"I thought it was biased. There were
parts of it that I thought were . very
real, but I guess it just didn't give a
fair picture of Chicano culture."
---Photos by George Aguirre
La Voz de Aztlan
Page 6
Chicano Magazine Staff
Prepares ·For · May Issue
Los Nirios Mueren
By DORA LARA
La Voz Writer
r---------------------------,
.
,
What is this sadness I feel
As I see our children,
Fighting and killing one another?
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
My Children,
I ask you, Why?
Has society influenced you so much?
Has it taught you how to hate instead
of Love?
·
Has it taught you that death is sweete,
Than life itself?
Our poor-confused children,
The scars that . have markeci you are
so great.
The roads you have taken, so mean
and rough.
The pain you feel so intense.
. ---------------------------~
I
Does society realize the damage it has
caused you?
I weep for you, my children,
I pray for you,
My heart feels the pain you feel,
And,
Though I cry for you ,
I a stranger in your world,
Still do not realize the intensity Df
these scars.
Boulevard Nights
From Page5
The truth is , is that th is condoning of
violence has been already been taught
to many young '"Chicanos by other
movies, news articles and television.
The Warriors, The Wild Wild West
praised by U.S . culture and news stor~
ies about murder, killings, muggings
and warfare in the world have also
done this.
The majority of Chicanos in this
society live at poverty levels. Chicanos
in East L.A . live in poverty where poverty, theft, beggars and gangs are a
way of life.
This movie could have come out in
the year 2000, and the reaction of some
Chicano youth would be the same
towards the movie.
Much of why the movie was screened
was because this represented the ultimate in drama of a cholos life. We
should not throw this experience into
the closet and never expose it. No, and
we must not place the blame on a movie
that sincerely depicts this experience .
It is not the mov.ie 's fault that young
Chicanos may misinterpret the movie
in a narrow way. And those who would
boycott the film are wrong.
Boycotting this movie would only
emphasize tl'}e shame we have of our
own people, which may lead educated
Chicanos, the elitist class, to seperate
themselves among Chicanos and thus
even ~li~~e _the harmful stereotypes .
I thmk 1t 1s important for Chicanos to
sit dow~ and give written explanations
of the film to young Chicanos who do
not_ k~ow how to interpret this movie .
It 1s important that young Chicanos
have an understanding on the many dive~sities in his/her group to exploit the
Ch1~ano people. It simply portrays the
reality of a certain type of Chicano
~e should not blame one ·paltry.
movie _for som~thing that -has roots in
our educational system, our econom ic
environments and television and news
articles. If we are to boycott anything it
should not be our own movies, it should
be the facilities. that influence Chicano
youth each day.
Again, this movie
shows a smail segment of Chicano
youth.
Two Chicana journalists were recently
named
managing
editors
of
SENTIMIENTOS Del Valle, a magazine
for the San Joaquin Valley's Chiqmo
community.
Dianne Solis, who last semester
served as the first minority editor of
the CSUF Journalism department's
lab newspaper, insight, will coordinate
assignments · and general design . Elvia
Ruiz will coordinate the magazine's
bilingual aspects and svpervise general
production.
General editor Tomas Uribes, who will
handle fundraising and overall operation, said the next issue will be published by May 14 and will feature
the 1979 CSUF Chicano graduates.
SENTIMJENTOS is a non-profit,
volunteer publication produced by
Chicano student and
professional
journalists from Fresno. It is now f unded
with advertising and ind ividual donat ions ($10 and $25 ).
T he magazine began in 1976 as a
brochure for the CSUF Chicano Youth
Conference . After producing another
CYC brochure in 1977, the staff decided to develop a magazine for t he
local Chicano commun ity.
The
fi rst
issue
under
the
SENTIMIENTOS name appeared in
January 1978 as a part of t hat year' s
CYC.
Last May, t he staff produced its
second issue ·and spotlighted that year' s·
Chicano Commencement Ceremonies .
This year's SENTIMIENTOS. will
include photos of all the Chicano
graduates participating in this year's
Chicano . Commencement Ceremonies,
set for May 20.
He said in addition to the CSUF
graduates, SENTIMIENTOS will
Chicano graduates from educa
institutions throughout the
by listing their names in the magaz·
Promoting the graduation is ond
in fulfilling the magazine's obj
said Ruiz, who has worked
magazine since it became
MIENTOS .
"We want to retlect the
things happening in our comm
especially since so little is ever
sented in other media," she said.
But while the magazine seeks to
the good things going on withi
Chicano commu nity , it does not int
be a "PR" organ.
"We want to d iscuss the issu
face and t he problems that plague
said Ruiz .
·
.. vve nope commu nity members
help us in this respect by bringing
our attention whatever information th~
feel should be presented ."
Solis said the deadline for the ne
issue is nearing and anyone wit
suggestions or editorial material shoul
contact the editors by April 15. She sai
that is the "absolute last day" the sta:
will accept anything for publication
She advised anyone who is interes
to inform the staff sooner than that da
if they plan to submi t something
space in the magazine can be allocated
The magazine staff will conslde
creative writing (poetry , short stories
narratives , etc.), essays and analytica
writings , feature and news writing
artwork and photography .
More information may be obtained bl
contacting Uribes at · 225-3859
266-2622
or
by
writing
t
SENTIMIENTOS, P .0. Box 12303
Fresno, CA, 93777.
- ---uFW NOT1c1As~~~.i
UFWUPDATE
"Female Farmworkers"
The income difference was blamed on
Female farmworkers in California the fact that women were assigned to
typically earn less than male farmwork- lower paying jobs. Men also worked
ers and are excluded from training pro- more weeks than women and at higher
grams for better jobs, according• to the paying jobs, such as operating farm
Commission on the Status of Women.
machinery or irrigating. ·
The commission recently said that a . - Farm employers interviewed in the
1977 survey of 400 women and 200 men study said they believed women were
who work in Fresno and Imperial county physically incapable of handling higher
fields showed that women earn an aver- paying jobs.
age yearly income of less than $3,000.
However, the commission said that
Women experienced at farm work earn- the Fair Employment Practices Act,
ed one-third as much as men with the bars · an employer from refusing to hire
same level of experience.
female job-seekers on the grounds that
One third of the women surveyed women have physical limitations bewere heads of households .
cause of their sex.
About a dozen California sheriffs
recently with state lawmakers, and p
dieted escalating violence arising oi:
of farm labor confrontations in the Sa
inas Valley.
The sheriffs, mostly from rural areas
discussed their farm strike-relate
problems with over a dozen lawmak
in Sacramento.
·
The law enforcement officials told
legislators that farm labor disputes i
volving
the
UFW
and
p
ducers may produce a Nlong hot su
mer" as picketing moves to the Sali
Valley, where the harvest season blos
soms in two weeks .
Imperial County Sheriff Oren Fox sa~
that 91 county offic;:ers had to be aideC
by 160 officers from neighboring area:
to contain strike-related violence in h~
county. Law enforcement costs totalle:
about $667,000, he said.
In other developments, a Superi
Court judge issued a temporary restraill'
ing order recently against the UF\1
prohibiting union members from picket
ing Growers Exchange property in Ventura County. The order, issued by Judge
Steve Stone, also specifies that unior
members must not threaten compan
employees with violence .
Page7
La Voz de Aztlan
Chavez supports
idwest agri-union
But the FLOC ''S commitment to
farm~_orkers isn't their only area of
concentration. They are also participating in the boycott of Nestles' products
which is the parent company of Libby'.
Nestles' has been promoting infant
formula for feeding babies in Third
World and deveioping nations, but
reports have tied infant formulas to
malnutrition and even death to children
of unsuspecting mothers.
· From the other side of the camp,
Libby's and Campbell's companies
have refused to negotiate with Ohio
farmworkers over wages and working
conditions. It is for this reason that
FLOC is calling a nation-wide consumer boycott of the following companies and their products:LIBBY-MCNEIL-UBBY
--All Nesties' products
--All vegetables, fruits meats and
juices with the Libby label
--Campbell Soup
, --Swanson frozen prepared dinners and
meats
--V-8 vegetable juice
--Recipe pet food
--Franco-American products
--Pepperidge Farm products
--Granny's soups
--Bounty canned chili and entrees
·--Vlasic.
By MARGARITA MARTINEZ
La Voz Writer
Sen. Cranston,left, arid
Fresno recently.
Tom . Haden were in
Cranston,Had_
en
speak out on Liberalism
.
'
By RJCARDO PIMENTEL
La Voz Contributor
Traditional liberal thought and what
may be the new liberal wave· took turns
presenting their cases at the CaUfornia
Democratic Council (CDC) convention at
the Fresno Hilton recently.
Senator Alan Cranston, founder and
first president of CDC, told the liberal
Democrats, March 23, pretty much what
they wanted to hear. But, the next day,
former anti-war activist and unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in
1976, Tom Hayden, decried CDC and
what he viewed as the ineffectiveness of
the liberal movement.
l'CDC is in danger of becoming a
relic," said Hayden. He characterized
the organization as one without "clout ...
being used by liberal lawyers then abandoned."
Cranston, however, retained a familiar
liberal theme throughout his sp.e ech, attacking big government yet calling for
a commitment to subsidize "small bus·iness and farmers no less than food
stamps."
Contrary to traditional liberal thought,
both speakers cal led for a balanced budget but were against a consitutional convention to achieve it. Cranston said
he "strongly opposes" a constitutional
convention and has "deep doubts" about amending the constitution in any
way to fight inflation.
It may come to a choice between a
convention or a states' sponsored
amendment to curb the budget, Cranston said. "Both ideas will fail," he.added, "then we can get on with the real job
of making government work better."
While the senator came out for a balanced budget as soon as possible, he
didn't say how it would be accomplished. In an apparent attempt to allay
the fears of the liberals, Cranston said,
"I will do all in my power from letting
budget balancing deteriorate to an attack on the help1ess ."
Hayden, chairman of the "Campaign
for Economic Democracy", put the
blame for inflation directly on liberals.
Cranston also attacked defense spending, earning cheers from the partisan
crowd. He said, "Everyone else is
biting the bullet. Why shouldn't the
Pentagon."
He said, liberals have been content to
·"ride· the tiger" of inflation rather than
fight it.
Hayden said "inflation and government spending are not Republicc)n issues. They are people issues."
He warned, "Don't' put yourself in
the position of defending deficit spending." He said an unbalanced budget
has never solved any problems "and
liberalism is lame if it fights a balanced
budget."
Hayden said the real inflation fighters
are not those in government, but "the
people in Santa Monica fighting for
rent control." He said, Hthe best way to
fight inflation is to boycott Chiquita
bananas" (an apparent reference to
UFW leader Cesar Chavez' call for a
boycott of United Brands-owned Chiquita bananas).
Hayden later told reporters that although criticism of Governor Brown from
his organization have not been abundant, there are some problems between
the two. Of Brown's budget balancing
proposal, Hayden said, "I don't agree
with the consitutional approach. It does
not approach the issue of full employment."
He added, "We think he (Brown)
should be as tough on corporate profits
as government spending. Our approach
is to say the problem is big business and
big government."
Asked about Brown's political ideology, the former anti-war activist said
"No, he's not a liberal. He's a liberal i~
transition, which is better than a liberal
stuck in the mud ."
Cesar Chavez and the United Farm
Workers are not the only ones who are
striking for higher wages. In Ohio this
past January 28, the Farm Labor
Organizing Committee (FLOC) officially kicked-off its international boycott of Libby-McNeil, Libby and Campbell Soup products.
The FLOC initiated the boycott
because of the canners' and growers'
unwillingness to respond to peaceful
invitations · by union leaders to negotiate, according to the "Nuestra Luca"
newspaper from Ohio. The FLOC is
hoping that the boycott can pressure
canners into requiring better wages
and working conditions for farm workers from the grower.
The FLOC is committed to helping
farm laborers achieve better wages and
working conditions. They have received
support from many institutions, includ-·
ing California's United Farmworkers
Union under Cesar Chavez.
But organizing in the Midwest is
difficult. Most Ohio farm workers
migrate each summer from Florida and
Texas, allowing only a few months for
workers to mobilize into effective
acti_o n, according to the FLOC.
"He neither drinks nor smokes; his
work is his life and passion."
"Home is a four-room cottage at union
headquarters in La Paz, Calif., and on
the road he lives with his work~rs.
"At 52 (and 5' 6", 149 pounds), he
still lives by the exemplary asceticism of
the UFW's youth. He works a slave
driver's schedule of 20-hours days,
sleeping where he drops, accepting only
$10 a week in pay, plus expenses.
On the road he lives simply: "I eat
whatever they have and sleep on floors
when there's no bed,' he says. 'It's
, •a way to stay in touch. Sure it's inconvenient when you have to run to pay
phones, but I ge~ insights I wouldn't
get if I stayed in motels.'"
"Chavez prays and meditates two or
three h6urs a day and often fasts."
"Chavez counts his family among his
disciplines. Most of the eight children
are grown and work for the UFW, and
wife of 30-years, Helen, 51, is on the organization's credit union until she retired last month."
"Some of the family have converted
to his vegetarian diet, but few of his
children have adopted the 30-year habit
of yoga and contempl~tion t~at he be1ieves is the source of his stamina.
I wouldri 't last if I didn't do that,'
he says. 'As it is I'm made for this kjnd
of work--no heart attacks, or ulcers, or
high blood pressure or anything (thou_gh
he admits to some back problems, which
he attributes to his days at stoop labor) ...
prayer and meditation have a lot to do
with that. '"
'" I don't plan to retire,' he says.
'This is a good place for me to be here.
It is a burden to be a leader, but I won't
burn out. We have to discipline ourselves more than most people because
we must win. We have to win."
Quienes
Cesar Chavez?
Editor's note: Just who is this man
Cesar Chavez? He is the head of the
3$, 000 member United Farm Workers
of America, but to many, still a mysterious person. "People" magazine in their
edition of March 12, 1979 provided this
description of Chavez.
"Born in Yuma, Arizona, he dropped
out of school in the eighth grade and
went to work in his teens as a field hand.
Once an unlettered street corner tough,
he discovered Gandhi and turned to
steel-willed self-discipline.
11
'
La Voz de Aztlan
Page8
r
...__ _ _ _Noticias de la Raza-_,.._..:..--_ ___,
MECHA MEETINGS
EOP
Mecha continues to recruit students
to become involved with issues that
affect all Chicanos. Officers have re- •
issued the invitation that students join
the group and attend Mecha meetings.
The next Mecha meeting will be held
April 5 (Thursday) in the College
Union, room 309.
Applications for EOP Student AdvisQ
positions for the 1979-80 academic year
are· now available. The positions an
aesigned to provide employment and a
unique learning experience for individu,
als interested in education and counseling related careers.
Applications-are available in the EOP
office, .Joyal Administration Buildin~,
room 238. The deadline to apply 11
April 6, 1979.
For additional information, please
contact Wanda Fulbright,
Student
Advisor Coordinator at 487-1021.
CHICANO COMMENCEMENT
Applications will be accepted
through April 18 for the third annual
Chicano Commencement at CSUF. The
event, being organized by the Chicano
Commencement Committee of the Chicano Alumni Association, is set for
Sunday, May 20 at the Fresno Dist_rict
Fairgrounds.
Applications can be picked up at
Tutorial Services, the La Raza Studies
office, and the EOP office. For more information call 487-1053.
UFWPLEA
Food and money are still being requested by striking members of the
United Farm Workers in Huron. · Donations may be left at the · La Raza
Studies office in San Ramon 4, room
118. For more · information call
487-2848.
"Social Services sought for
Border _!>rocessing Sites"
TEA TRO DEL ESPIRITU
STATEWIDE CHICANO TOURNEY
The Teatro del Espiritu will perform
Saturday April 21 in Visalia. The troupe
will be seen from 8-10 p.m. in the L.J.
Williams Theater, 1001 Main St.
Admission for adults is $2 in advance
or $2.50 at the door. For more information cal I 625-5300. The performance
is being sponsored .by RAYO, Real
AlternativP~ for-Youth Organization.
A statewide Chicano basketball tour- .
nament, sponsored by the Chicano
Youth Center, will be held April 21-22
here in Fresno.
Teams from Fresno, Hayward, Los
Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San
Jose, and Woodland, and others will
vie for awards in the single-elimination
competition.
"Tortilla Curtain"
Cesar Chavez
Chicanos honor .O bledo
"Quien dice que no' podemos trabaja~
ju ntos !" (Who says we can 't work together). With that bold declaration
members of the Association of MexicanAmerican Elected Officials(AMEO)
greeted a fe~ hundred supporters at
a testimonial dance for Mario Obledo
(Calif. Sec. of Health & Welfare) Friday
night at the Rainbow Ballroom.
Members of AMEO from Fresno
Cou~ty as well as United Farm Workers
president Cesar Chavez gathered ·to
~onor ~bledo, the state's highest rankmg Chicano official.
The m~yors of Mendota, Orang~ Cove
and ~arl,er presented Obledo with a re:.
solutmn co~mending him for his service
to the Chicano community. Top local
and state political learlers also spoke out
on the future power of Chicanos in California.
Later, live band music and dancing
took center stage.
Gov. Jerry Brown was originally
scheduled to attend the testimonial, but
cancelled at the·last moment. However, .
his absence was hardly felt as Obledo, ·
Chavez and other speakers picked up the
slack.
·
Obledo told the crowd that Chicanos
are on the verge of becoming the most
powerful political force in the state.
Chavez, who celebrated his birthday
Friday (53rd), praised Obledo and the ·
growing power of the movement. He
gained a standing ovation as he began
his lengthy speech in Spanish and drew
shouts of "Viva La Huelga! ", and "Viva
La Causal"
President Carter has approved a
plan to replace deteriorating fences orf
the U.S./Mexican border with a more
icnoregnable barrier. th·e ·washington
Post reported March 23.
An.earlier White House effort to erect
new fences met with stiff resistance from
Chicano groups and from the Mexican
government.
The . President may be holding off on
an official announcement to avoid any
conflict with Mexican President J o~e
Lopez Portillo, when the Mexican leader visits in June. Portillo was ..said to
have been insulted when the U.S. first
unveiled the plan last year and publically
chided Carter about American insensitivity when the two met in Mexico
City in late February.
The original plan called for a 10-foot
high fence in the El Paso· and San Diego areas. Opposition mounted when it
was learned that the new fence might
amputate fingers and toes caught in
its sharp wire mesh. The fence came to
be known as the "Tortilla Curtain."
High government sources said the
plan for a new fence had never been
scrapped. The decision has always been,
they said, not whether to build the
fence, but how much to construct and
how to build it.
In a related event, the Mexican Congress announced March 27 that it was
sending a special committee fo the U.S.
to investigate alleged human rights violations against illegal Mexican aliens.
The committee will report back to a
joint congressional session in the
next few weeks, a Mexican congress
spokesman said. The committee report
will also be brought up at an April 2628 meeting in Mexico City of U.S. and
Mexican representatives on the illegal
alien oroblem.
Although the methods of deporti
illegal aliens have improved, conditio
are still not humane according to tr·
Chicano Caucas Steering- Committee
the National Association of Social Wort
ers.
That group recently spent two days a'
a workshop· in El Paso, Texas, arrangec
by the U.S. Immigration and Naturah·
zation Service (INS).
According to the groups' newspaper
of Feb. 19, the group learned that 15,00:
Latinos are detained and deported ead
month in El Paso alone.
"Most are held three to four days, but
some up to six months if their nationality cannot be verified, said grou·
members.
They are held in "sterile barracks sur·
rounded by incredibly intimidatin~
barbed:-wire fences. At no time are thoSc
in detention spoken to by a social work·
er," said the group.
They asked INS commissioner Leone'.
Castillo to "take neccessary steps to hu·
manize this detention/deportation process."
The group learned that an estimateo
vne-million undocumented immigrants
come into the United States durin_g an
12-month period.
To those who urge more personnel
and constrt:1ction of physical barriers to
"seal the Border," the group was criti·
cal.
Dr. Manuel Spector, INS special con·
sultant to Castillo said that the concept
of sealing the border was born out o
naivete and is often advanced by .. reactionaries" who may or may not be
racists.
,
To improve the situation, the group
learned that the INS hoped to raise U.S
Immigration quotas and allow more to
legally come in from Mexico. Mexico 's
quotia is now 20,000 a year, and would
be raised to 40-50,000.
The group also found out that in El
Pa·so there are no facilities for undocu·
mented females· and little is done to
apprehend them. The few that are
caught are brought to churches or social
agencies for processing.
.
Soaring illegal immigration has been
caused by rampant unemployment in
Mexico, spiraling intlation and 3.5 per·
cent population growth - one of . the
highest in the world.
. Until these problems can be dealt with
the group said "a humane method of
processing the hundreds of thousands o
immigrants who come to the U.S. seek·
ing a better way of life must be found."
Condensed from
"National Association of S.W. News"