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 Cinco de Mayo Salsa Festival 

 Saturday, May 4, 2024, 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM 

 Cesar Chavez Plaza, San Jose, CA 

 Señor Alcario Castellano "Community Hero Award"  

 Presentation at 4:30 PM 

 MAKE A   DONATION 

Please help us continue the mission to preserve our history. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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La Raza Historical Society
of Santa Clara Valley is a California
Public Benefit Corporation (#3974355) and
is an IRS § 501(c) (3) Public Charity Non-Profit Organization. Federal ID Tax # 81-3429366. 

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La Raza Historical Society
on Youtube

La Raza Historical Society is an avenue for the

preservation of social, business, political, 

and civil rights contributions of La Raza 

community from the mid 1800s to present.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking the button below.

LRHS Video Interviews

on the RJ MARTINEZ Channel

Cinco de Mayo Cesar Chavez Historia: Salon Padre Donald McDonnell 4/28/2024

Cinco de Mayo Cesar Chavez Historia: Salon Padre Donald McDonnell 4/28/2024

Cinco de Mayo Cesar Chavez Historia: Salon Padre Donald McDonnell 4/28/2024 Lea todo el articulo en el internet:: Descargado el 29 de abril de 2024 https://ufw.org/Father-McDonnell-introduced-a-young-Cesar-Chavez-to-social-justice-teachings/ El Padre McDonnell introdujo a un joven César Chávez a las enseñanzas de justicia social Publicado el 23 de febrero de 2012 por admin Antes de que César Chávez se convirtiera en un organizador comunitario y más de una década antes de que se fundara la United Farm Workers, "mi educación comenzó cuando conocí al Padre Donald McDonnell, quien llegó a [el barrio empobrecido de East San Jose] Sal Si Puedes porque no había iglesia católica allí, ni sacerdote, y cientos de mexicoamericanos. Fuimos algunos de los primeros miembros que se unieron a su congregación para misas en un salón puertorriqueño que era simplemente una pequeña choza en ruinas". Más tarde se convirtió en la Iglesia Católica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en la calle East San Antonio. (De César Chávez: Autobiografía de La Causa, por Jacques Levy, W.W. Norton & Co., 1975, P. 89). El Padre McDonnell, de 88 años, falleció el 20 de febrero de 2012, en Hayward, después de vivir jubilado en Oakland. El Secretario-Tesorero de la UFW, Sergio Guzmán, y una delegación de trabajadores agrícolas asistirán a los servicios fúnebres del Padre McDonnell el sábado en San Francisco. Para obtener más información sobre el Padre McDonnell, consulte este comunicado de la Conferencia Católica de California: http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/a... "Mi padre hablaba a menudo sobre cuánto lo influenció el Padre McDonnell antes de convertirse en organizador con la Organización de Servicio Comunitario en 1952, y mucho antes de comenzar a construir la United Farm Workers en 1962", dijo Paul F. Chávez, hijo mediano de César Chávez y presidente de la Fundación César Chávez. "Mi papá y el Padre McDonnell tenían ambos entre veinte y mediados de veinte años, y se hicieron amigos cercanos. 'Aprendí bastante de él', dijo mi papá, y eso llevó a muchas cosas". "César Chávez intentó vivir los evangelios y las enseñanzas sociales de su fe católica todos los días, pero su carrera dedicada al servicio a los demás comenzó con las lecciones que aprendió temprano en la vida de su sacerdote parroquial en East San Jose, el Padre McDonnell", dijo Arturo S. Rodríguez, sucesor de Chávez como presidente de la UFW. "El Padre McDonnell encarnaba esas enseñanzas católicas y tuvo un profundo impacto en César y en tantos otros". Al principio, Chávez hacía tareas para ayudar al sacerdote: trabajo de carpintería, limpieza y pintura. Condujo al Padre McDonnell para realizar misas en campamentos cercanos para braceros importados y para presos en la cárcel del condado. A su vez, el Padre McDonnell presentó a Chávez a las enseñanzas de justicia social de la Iglesia Católica y a obras sobre espiritualidad y derechos humanos, incluyendo los escritos de San Francisco de Asís y M.K. Gandhi, biografías de líderes sindicales como Eugene Debs y John L. Lewis, y clásicos de filosofía política de Maquiavelo y de Tocqueville. Todo comenzó con "largas conversaciones sobre los trabajadores agrícolas", recordó Chávez. "Sabía mucho sobre el trabajo, pero no sabía nada í bastante de él. Tenía una imagen de una choza de trabajador y una imagen de la mansión de un cultivador; una imagen de un campo de trabajo y una imagen de un edificio de alto precio en San Francisco propiedad del mismo cultivador. Cuando me señalaban cosas, empecé a ver. Más tarde fui con él un par de veces [desde San José] a algunas huelgas [de trabajadores agrícolas] cerca de Tracy y Stockton". "Y luego leímos mucho", comenzando con las Encíclicas Papales como la Rerum Novarum (en latín, De las Nuevas Cosas) del Papa León XIII en 1891, sobre el derecho de los trabajadores a organizarse, "y teniendo el caso para alcanzar la justicia social explicado" por el sacerdote. Una biografía de San Francisco que el Padre McDonnell hizo que Chávez leyera mencionaba "a Gandhi y otros que practicaban la no violencia", recordó el líder sindical agrícola. "Ese fue un tema que tocó una cuerda muy sensible, probablemente debido a la base que había establecido mi madre. Así que lo siguiente que leí después de San Francisco fue la biografía de Louis Fischer sobre Gandhi", que todavía se encuentra en su oficina/biblioteca cuidadosamente conservada en el Centro Nacional César Chávez en La Paz en Keene, California. Videógrafo: Ramón J. Martínez PhD Enlace del video • Historia de César Chávez Donald McDonnell... Nombre de archivo 20240428_133218 (1) (1).mp4
Cinco de Mayo Cesar Chavez History Donald McDonnell Hall 4/28/2024

Cinco de Mayo Cesar Chavez History Donald McDonnell Hall 4/28/2024

Cinco de Mayo Cesar Chavez History Donald McDonnell Hall 4/28/2024 Downloaded 4.29.2024 https://ufw.org/Father-McDonnell-introduced-a-young-Cesar-Chavez-to-social-justice-teachings/ Father McDonnell introduced a young Cesar Chavez to social justice teachings Posted on February 23, 2012 by admin Before Cesar Chavez became a community organizer and more than a decade before the United Farm Workers was founded, “my education started when I met Father Donald McDonnell, who came to [the impoverished East San Jose barrio of] Sal Si Puedes [or “Get Out If You Can”] because there was no Catholic church there, no priest, and hundreds of Mexican Americans. We were some of the first members who joined his congregation for masses in a Puerto Rican hall that was just a broken-down little shack.” It later became Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on East San Antonio Street. (From Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa, by Jacques Levy, W.W. Norton & Co., 1975, P. 89.) Father McDonnell, 88, passed away on Feb. 20, 2012, in Hayward, after living in retirement in Oakland. UFW Secretary-Treasurer Sergio Guzman and a delegation of farm workers are attending the services for Father McDonnell Saturday in San Francisco. For more about Father McDonnell, see this statement from the California Catholic Conference: http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/about/bishops-of-california/331-rest-in-peace-rev-donald-charles-mcdonnell “My father often spoke about how much Father McDonnell influenced him before he became an organizer with the Community Service Organization in 1952, and long before he started building the United Farm Workers in 1962,” said Paul F. Chavez, Cesar Chavez’s middle son and president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. “My dad and Father McDonnell were both in their early- to mid-20s, and they became close friends. ‘I learned quite a bit from him,” my dad said, and it led to a lot of things.” “Cesar Chavez tried to live the gospels and the social teachings of his Catholic faith every day, but his career dedicated to service to others all began with the lessons he learned early in life from his parish priest in East San Jose, Father McDonnell,” said Arturo S. Rodriguez, Chavez’s successor as president of the UFW. “Father McDonnell embodied those Catholic teachings and he profoundly impacted Cesar and so many others.” At first, Chavez did chores to assist the priest—carpentry work, cleaning and painting. He drove Father McDonnell to perform mass at nearby camps for imported bracero farm laborers and for prisoners at the county jail. In turn, Father McDonnell introduced Chavez to the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church and to works on spirituality and human rights, including the writings of St. Francis of Assisi and M.K. Gandhi, biographies of labor leaders Eugene Debs and John L. Lewis, and classics of political philosophy by Machiavelli and de Tocqueville. It started out with “long talks about farm workers,” Chavez recalled. “I knew a lot about the work, but I didn’t know anything about economics, and I learned quite a bit from him. He had a picture of a worker’s shanty and a picture of a grower’s mansion; a picture of a labor camp and a picture of a high-priced building in San Francisco owned by the same grower. When things were pointed out to me, I began to see. Later I went with him a couple of times [from San Jose] to some [farm worker] strikes near Tracy and Stockton.” “And then we did a lot of reading,” starting with Papal Encyclicals such as Rerum Novarum (Latin for Of New Things) by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, on the right of workers to organize, “and having the case for attaining social justice explained” by the priest. A biography of St. Francis Father McDonnell had Chavez read mentioned “Gandhi and others who practiced nonviolence,” the farm labor leader recalled. “That was a theme that struck a very responsive chord, probably because of the foundation laid by my mother. So the next thing I read after St. Francis was the Louis Fischer biography of Gandhi,” which is still in his carefully preserved office/library at the National Chavez Center at La Paz in Keene, Calif. Father McDonnell asked to be relieved of parish duties and serve, along with a handful of other priests, as “priests to the poor” in what became known as the Spanish Mission Band throughout the 13-county Northern California Catholic Diocese, aiding farm workers and other poor Spanish-speaking Catholics. Father McDonnell’s base was Sal Si Puedes in East San Jose. His nephews, Steve and James McDonnell, survive Father McDonnell. Services are scheduled as follows: - Vigil on Friday, February 24, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Saint Margaret Mary Church, 1219 Excelsior Avenue, Oakland, Calif. Funeral Mass on Saturday, February 25, 2012, 11:30 a.m., Saint Mary’s Cathedral 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco, Calif. Videographer: Ramon J Martinez PhD Video link https://youtu.be/BYFOJ1oJOes Filename 20240428_133218 (1) (1).mp4
San Jose and Californio Mexicans in the US Civil War 1863-1866 1/3/2024

San Jose and Californio Mexicans in the US Civil War 1863-1866 1/3/2024

San Jose and Californio Mexicans in the US Civil War 1863-1866 1/3/2024 Thanks to George Green who gave us a personal tour of the Drum Barracks and provided information about the Yorba Californio Family who owned Southern California land in the Mexican Period. He and the Drum Barracks Management gave us about 20 civil war books and material at a reduced price. The material will be available at La Raza Historical Society Chiechi House at San Jose History Park. See the interior of the Drum Barracks building on the C-Span Videos below: https://thedrumbarracks.org/ https://thedrumbarracks.org/latest-news#4da7177e-bfa9-4379-846b-501085ed94e1 American Artifacts Drum Barracks Civil War Museum, Part 1 and Part 2 Susan Ogle gave a tour of the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum as she talked about the history of the facility and California’s role in the Civil War. . Located near the Port of Los Angeles in Wilmington, California, the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum is the only remaining Civil War era military facility in the Los Angeles area. California’s role in the Civil War included shipments of gold that financed 25% of the Union war effort, to a battle fought in New Mexico that turned back a small Confederate invasion from Texas. https://www.c-span.org/video/?301095-1/drum-barracks-civil-war-museum-part-1 https://www.c-span.org/video/?301220-1/drum-barracks-civil-war-museum-part-2 LOS CALIFORNIOS: CALIFORNIA’S FIRST NATIVE CAVALRY DRUM BARRACKS CIVIL WAR MUSEUM 1052 N Banning Blvd, Wilmington, CA 90744 https://thedrumbarracks.org/ ♦ In December of 1862, Brigadier General George Wright requested permission to raise 4 companies of Native cavalry in the Los Angeles area. The following year, his request was approved. ♦ Company A came from San Jose, Company B from San Francisco, Company C from Santa Barbara, and Company _D from Los Angeles. ♦ The first proposed .l\1.ajor of the Battalion was Don Andres Pico. When he declined, Salvador Vallejo was commissioned (1864-1865). Vallejo was succeeded by John C. Cremony in 1865. ♦ Californios were largely native Californians or Mexicans who grew up riding horses. They were said to be the 'best horsemen in the world.' ♦ Also called Lancers, the Californios were accustomed to riding and using lassos and lances. Lances were an homage to California's Hispanic history. ♦ The first celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in California in 1863 gave Mexicans and Californios a strong sense of patriotism, which is thought to have driven an increase m volunteering to join the Union Army. ♦ Some soldiers brought their wives with them to their stations. Women often served as cooks and laundresses. ♦ The recruits for the California Native Cavalry were diverse - with recruits coming from l\1e.xico, Latin America, and Europe. Nearly half of the recruits were actually native Californios. Over 16,000 Californians served in the Union Army. ♦ Companies C and D were assigned to serve at the Drum Barracks. It was here that Major Vallejo resigned after his companies were assigned to ditch digging duty for an irrigation project under Commander Colonel James Curtis. ♦ Companies A, B, and D were mustered out at the Drum Barracks in 1866. NOTABLE PERSONS ♦ Romualdo Pacheco - California state senator and the first person to suggest the formation of Native California troops. ♦ Brigadier General George Wright - Responsible for acquiring permission to form the California First Native Cavalry (CFNC). ♦ Andres Pico - First to be offered the role of Major of the Battalion of the CFNC; he rejected the proposal because of old age and declining health. ♦ Major William P. Reynolds - Adjutant to Andres Pico, who took an interest to the CFNC and played a large role in early recruitment. ♦ Major Salvador Vallejo - The first Major of i.he Battalion of the CFNC -- widely known as the 'best vaquero in California. ♦ Major John C. Cremony - The last Major of the Battalion of the CFNC - ♦ He wasn't a Californio, but he was a skilled polyglot and leader. ♦ Captain Jose Ramon Pico - Organized Company A of the CFNC and roused Native troops by tying the Civil War to the Mexican fight against the French in Puebla. ♦ Captain Porfirio Jimeno - Led Company Band, along with Pico, led troops to capture Union Army deserters in Mexico. ♦ Captain Antonio Maria de la Guerra - Organized Company C of the CFNC - many of the enlisted men in this company were loyal de la Guerra relatives. ♦ Captain Jose Antonio Sanchez - Organized Company D of the CFNC - his company was stationed at the Drum Barracks in \Wilmington, CA and were directed to dig for the barracks' irrigation project. ♦ Dr. Vincent Gelcich - Temporarily served as the assistant surgeon for the battalion. After his service, he partnered with Andres Pico to claim petroleum fields in California. Gelcich went on to found Chevron. Videographer: Ramon J Martinez PhD Video link https://youtu.be/52dSHqbyY64 Filename 20240103151844 (1) (2) (1) (2) (1) (1).m2ts
Image by César Couto

Our Mission

Preserving la raza contributions

We collect and digitize articles, photographs, taped videos and oral histories of individuals and families who have long contributed to the prosperity of our region.

Availability of this information to academic researchers and others who are interested in knowing more about our Raza community

provides data about our community heroes, many of whom have never received civic recognition for their efforts in making

Santa Clara Valley what it is today.

Your Impact

Continued support to meet our goals

Your contributions help fund our projects with community-based affiliates like History San Jose, individuals, schools and other groups. 

Our list of sponsors have allowed us to move forward with our major objectives and we are counting on you for your support.

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Humberto Garcia speaking outside Civic Auditorium San Jose

Downtown San Jose

Mexican Historic Sites Tour

A walk through Mexican historic Downtown San Jose sponsored by San Jose City Councilmember Honorable Raul Peralez

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Watch now! Our history, like the pyramids of Mesoamerica, is built upon layers. Each generation influenced by the one that preceded it.

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