Message to Aztlàn: Selected Writings of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales

Rodolpho Gonzales

Apr 2001 · Arte Publico Press

About this ebook

One of the most famous leaders of the Chicano civil rights movement, Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales was a multifaceted and charismatic, bigger-than-life hero who inspired his followers not only by taking direct political action but also by making eloquent speeches, writing incisive essays, and creating the kind of socially engaged poetry and drama that could be communicated easily through the barrios of Aztlàn, populated by Chicanos in the United States. Gonzales is the author of I Am JoaquÕn , an epic poem of the Chicano movement that lives on in film, sound recording, and hundreds of anthologies. Gonzales and other Chicanos established the Crusade for Justice, a Denver-based civil rights organization, school, and community center, in 1966. The school, La Escuela Tlatelolco, lives on today almost four decades after its founding. In Message to Aztlàn , Dr. Antonio Esquibel, Professor Emeritus of Metropolitan State College of Denver, has compiled the first collection of Gonzales diverse writings: the original I Am JoaquÕn (1976), along with a new Spanish translation, seven major speeches (1968-78); two plays, The Revolutionist and A Cross for Malcovio (1966-67); various poems written during the 1970s, and a selection of letters. These varied works demonstrate the evolution of Gonzales thought on human and civil rights. Any examination of the Chicano movement is incomplete without this volume. Eight pages of photographs accompany the text.

Ratings and reviews

Empowering and must read for anyone interested in Chicano/Mexican/American history.

About the author

DR. ANTONIO ESQUIBEL is a long time political associate and personal friend of Corky Gonzales. He served as Vice President of Metropolitan State College of Denver between 1980 and 1991 and has been an administrator and professor at the University of Colorado Health Services Center and the University of Southern Colorado.