Alejandro Sanchez, M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies graduate student, recalls growing up having “carne asadas” with his family, while jamming out to “Ranchera” music, both part of culture that has helped shape his values today, which include standing up for his community.
After discovering Chicanismx, which can be defined as a sense of Mexican-American cultural nationalism, Sanchez decided that it was only right to join La Union de Chicanxs Hijxs de Aztlan, an organization that advocates for its communities and promotes Chicanismx.
Just this past month, around 15 members of the socio-political organization, gathered at the Llano Grande Center in Edcouch, on Jan. 12-13 for their inaugural Revolución Summit. This retreat was an opportunity for them to get a sense of how to get more involved.
“The Revolución Summit was trainings on how to be an organizer, and how to go out and advocate,” Sanchez said. “Whether it be on social media, or out with the LGBT community, but it’s ‘How can you engage with these issues that people have deemed problematic, how can you go on having these conversations and being comfortable?’”
One of the most pressing issues that LUCHA is dealing with is the saga which resulted from the rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which left over 800,000 undocumented individuals under the program, unprotected from deportation. These DREAMers, minors at the time, and their parents entered the country illegally and have lived here ever since. As a university who has one of the largest populations of DREAMers, being at 900 students, LUCHA believes it is only right that UTRGV creates a DREAM Center to provide support for the DREAMers that have been affected by the rescission of DACA.
“It’s like, UTSA has it, UT Austin has one…how can we not have something for them? Especially down here, where we have the largest population of DACA students. The Fear is out there and if we can offer a DREAM Center where they don’t have to worry, having this kind of center would give them some ease.” Sanchez said. “They need that safe space.”
The two-day retreat, included learning projects, information sessions, and sharing of testimonies to guide the members on how to go out and fight for issues such as DACA.
Angel Moreno, a junior who has been in LUCHA for three months, recalls late-night conversations at the Summit as a key moment.
“My favorite part I would say, was just staying up late with friends having platicas,” Moreno said. “Each one of us had so many ideas going on through our minds, and whether we can bring them to life or not we haven’t determined yet, but we were just sharing ideas.”
Both days were spent learning about motivations and goals, as well as practicing the organization’s values.
“We had all sorts of stories, and all of them were very impactful,” Sanchez said. “One of our four pillars is ‘Conocimiento’ to know yourself and where you come from, so we ended it knowing who we are and what we took away from this [the retreat].”
The organization plans to continue activism and encouraging others to do so, in hopes of growing a community where all are involved in creating change.
“Like we always say, ‘La lucha sigue’ [the fight continues]” Sanchez said. “Our community is always going to need us and we need to be there for them.”