¡Viva El Mariachi! How a Festival in a Cramped Office Became the Dream’s First Victory
Five people. One office. 1988. That is where the Mexican Heritage Plaza began. Eddie García documents how the Mexican Heritage Corporation turned four decades of rejection into a $153,000 mariachi festival victory. Part 8 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
The Dream: Four Decades of Fighting for a Space to Call Our Own
As early as 1952, San José's Mexican community was fighting for a cultural center. The city said no. Four decades of roadblocks and demolished plans. Eddie García documents the dream that refused to die. Part 7 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
The Tech Museum and the Children's Discovery Museum Stand on the Ashes of La Colonia
Before the Tech Museum and the Children's Discovery Museum, there was La Colonia. Eddie García documents how San José's urban renewal policies demolished a thriving Mexican neighborhood. Part 6 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
24,342 Acres. By 1865 His Family Had 2,200. The Difference Was the Law.
24,342 acres. By 1865 his family had 2,200. Eddie García tells the story of Antonio Chaboya, San José's largest landowner, and the law written to take his land away. Part 5 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
New Almaden Mines: How Mexican Labor Built Silicon Valley and Fought Back
During the 1820s, Secundino Robles, a landowner born in Santa Cruz, was the first non-Ohlone to see cinnabar embedded in the hillside soil. Cinnabar, another name for mercury, is a bright reddish-orange mineral that the Ohlone used for thousands of years as paint for ceremonial adornments.
The Founding of El Pueblo de San José: A 22-Day Journey Into History
In November 1777, 66 Mexicans and 200 animals left San Francisco on foot. Twenty-two days later they founded El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. Eddie García reconstructs the journey that history forgot. Part 3 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
The Mexicans: How San José's Founders Were Written Out of Their Own City's History
Historian Eddie García examines how San José's Mexican founders were systematically erased from the city's own historical record and who finally told the truth. Part 2 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
Raíces | Vol. 1, Part 1 — The Prologue
Before Silicon Valley had a name, Latino hands built its first industries. Eddie García begins his 12-part series documenting the remarkable story of Mexican Heritage Plaza — a cultural landmark rooted in over two centuries of community, sacrifice, and defiance.