Message to Aztlan: Selected Writings of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales (Hispanic Civil Rights (Paperback))

Message to Aztlan is the first collection of Gonzales' diverse writings: the original I Am Joaquin (1967), along with a new Spanish translation; seven major speeches (1968-78); two plays, The Revolutionist and A Cross for Malcovio (1966-67); various poems and a selection of letters. Eight pages of photographs accompany the text.

This edition features selected writings of the Chicano civil rights leader, handpicked by Gonzales himself with the help of his longtime friend and political associate Esquibel (emeritus, Metropolitan State Coll. of Denver). The years represented in these writings, 1966-1980, were important ones for the Chicano movement, as mainstream America had just begun to wake up to the concerns of Mexican Americans and other Latin American citizens. As his speeches reveal, Gonzales was a key figure. His words expose and attack the cultural stereotypes plaguing his people for centuries under Euro-American domination and emphasize education for the Chicano people, both academic and political. Also included in this work is the famous "Yo Soy Joaquin," an epic poem covering the history of Aztec civilization and the fate of its descendants today. Gonzales's poetry and plays (also featured in this edition) may seem a bit dated and melodramatic today, but they are historically important and represent the struggles encountered by Chicanos up to the 1980s. Gonzales hoped that this work would "inspire and motivate a new generation of Chicanos," and for this reason it belongs in academic libraries and public libraries with many Chicano or Mexican American patrons. Nedra C. Evers, Sacramento P.L.
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