Entering the Mexica World: Flight of the Hummingbird
"Most accounts of the Aztecs begin with conquest or sacrifice. I wanted to begin with a human voice." In Part 2 of Raíces Vol. 2, Salomón Quintero introduces Huitzilin, the narrator of Flight of the Hummingbird, and the philosopher-artisan father whose jewelry learns to carry the weight of beauty and mortality.
From Activism to Ancestral Memory: Why I Wrote Flight of the Hummingbird
A new volume of Raíces begins. Volume 1 gave our history a place. Volume 2 gives it a voice. Salomón Quintero, UC Berkeley Chicano movement veteran and 45-year attorney, on the questions that led him from the picket line to writing Flight of the Hummingbird.
In a Word — Hope: The Mexican Heritage Plaza and the Legacy That Refuses to Be Renamed
“This cultural center will offer, in a word — hope." Twelve chapters of forgotten San José history later, Eddie García closes the Raíces series with the legacy that refuses to be renamed, and a 94-year-old Blanca Alvarado having the last word.
9-9-99: The Day San José’s Mexican Community Finally Came Home
September 9, 1999. The Mexican Heritage Plaza opens its doors. The spirits of 220 years of presence, resilience, and perseverance gather on the balcony. Todos Juntos with the community. Eddie García takes us to the day they all came home. Part 11 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
The Dream Comes True: 300 People, 46 Degrees, and Four Decades of Fighting Finally Break Ground
Gun-metal gray skies. Forty-six degrees. Three hundred people huddled together on an open lot in East San José. December 13, 1997. Eddie García takes us to the morning four decades of dreaming finally broke ground. Part 10 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
Show Me the Money: How the Mexican Heritage Plaza Got Funded Against All Odds
$30,000 from a community appeal. Less than 3% of what was needed. Eddie García documents how community members with persistence, tenacity, and an unshakeable belief took the dream all the way to Congress. Part 9 of Raíces — Our Story, Our Narrative.
¡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.