"When I first got involved in my community I never thought that I would advocate for future activities that will benefit our communities".

However, after being part of a group who made significant changes in the community, I like it! That’s when I changed my way of thinking and decided to get involved.

I first got involved in my community back in 1992. The reason was that there were a lot of things that weren’t good. We had many public necessities; violence was just around the corner. That’s when I joined a couple of neighbors and we formed Familias Unidas North Hills. Together we worked in cleaning up the Graffiti and sweeping the streets, and protesting so there wouldn’t be any more violence.

During the strike of janitors of 2006 I changed…for the better.

I think that politics is a very important factor that affects us all in general. My father brought me to this country when I was 16 years old from Mexico City. We had a decent life in Mexico but my father had great dreams for our family.

I started working as a janitor like the rest of my family. I started to contribute to the expenses of the house to help out my parents. I knew about the union but never really got involved. It was when we started fighting for our contract with the union to get good health coverage and to have a raise in our hourly rate. I found out little by little that it was very important to participate in order to make changes possible. All those changes affect our families directly one way or another.

After three weeks of continuous strikes we finally won. We obtained our health coverage but also the increase that we thought wasn’t possible. The health coverage and pay increase wasn’t the only thing that I personally gained. I gained my own trust and leadership and to be optimistic and to have a desire for better things that haven’t felt before while growing up. I change as a person and mentally. That’s how I lost the fear and started fighting. It all started within me.

My first experience as a coordinator of my own political office was in the campaign of assembly member Kevin de Leon for district 45th. It was a very difficult political campaign and an important challenge to me. The importance of it was that we were able to increase the number of people that would normally go out and vote from a 40% to a 60%. It was such a satisfaction to have achieved the goal and at the same time to become an example for fellow coworkers. It showed others that it is worth to sacrifice in order to gain their votes.

 When I first came to this country my dreams where as a worker and student; they didn’t become true. At the union, campaigns, and my children’s schools have achieved what we didn’t dream of. We first need to change. It is such a beautiful feeling to trust that you have the co

I have three daughters; they are my reason to live.

That’s one of the primary reasons that I worry so much about the things that are happening; in particular, the way we are living. I know that in this country we have many more opportunities, not just for me but also for my daughters. Unfortunately, elements like the air and water in Fresno have so much contamination that it affects our health and growth. I’m an active member of programs for immigrant parents in the school district and politically I have worked with SOL and MAPA (Mexican American Political Association) to make sure that our communities have an opportunity.

At the beginning I thought that I was doing this for my daughters; but soon I found out that I enjoy it. My roots are Mixtecas and I’m originally from State of Mexico. I think that to many of my neighbors and compatriots our origins bring a rich culture with distinct barriers. I think that the American Dream is a light that brightens this country and inside each one of us; we just need to work on it. I want to pass on that light to my daughters. When I register voters and when I seek the Latino vote I feel that I’m cultivating that light so it can shine stronger, with more people.

It’s not easy. I learned to be humble, which you need to be in order to be able to communicate with people. It produces results and that is great. I will like to hear that more working people are seeking change as hard as we are in SOL

In Fresno we have been able to register thousands of voters. We also had the opportunity of working to elect Henry Parea Jr for Mayor. We won on the primaries but unfortunately lost on the general election. Either way, we cultivated the seed. In the future we can plant for improvements in the air, water, education, employment and opportunities in general. We had anticipated those changes if Henry had won. We will just have to leave it for another day. In the meantime we will become stronger, more conscious, and more committed. It is possible!

When I first got involved in my community I never thought that I would advocate for future activities that will benefit our communities.

However, after being part of a group who made significant changes in the community, I like it! That’s when I changed my way of thinking and decided to get involved.

I first got involved in my community back in 1992. The reason was that there were a lot of things that weren’t good. We had many public necessities; violence was just around the corner. That’s when I joined a couple of neighbors and we formed Familias Unidas North Hills. Together we worked in cleaning up the Graffiti and sweeping the streets, and protesting so there wouldn’t be any more violence.

Those experiences made me decide that I needed to express what our communities are going through to politicians. I started participating in the democratic process so my voice could be heard. With SOL I had those opportunities. I would have never thought that as an immigrant from Guatemala, a housekeeper, I would someday become a community leader. I never thought that I would lead a group of people through a political campaign. With SOL I got that opportunity.

The campaign for Manuel Perez was the first time that we worked for the Imperial and Riverside Counties. It was a difficult campaign! There were attacks from the opposite candidate towards Manuel. I learned that those communities in reality where just like mine. We are people alike, with the same dreams and we all want the same: a better future! We are willing to work and sacrifice our time and energy for them but they need to fulfill what they promised.

In SOL we work together to motivate voters by knocking on peoples doors and calling them on the phone with a message. I feel like we are talking to our neighbor from family to family. We all dream in having a better future with more opportunities for our children. By voting we don’t get that automatically; but it is when our voices are heard and when changes can happen.

I get motivated in electing great candidates but my children and grandchildren also motivate me. They are the ones growing up and who will need more opportunities in their future. I want them to get educated and to know the importance of voting. It is the way to accomplish changes.

“I would have never imagined it; but we can say that I’m a Professional in Political Campaigns!”

When I arrived from Mexico I worked in several jobs. I worked as a janitor and many other low-income jobs.  Today I still distribute magazines in stores. But since my days as an activist in the union of janitors I always enjoyed to collaborate in the decisions at hand. I think that by coming to this country in search of a better future we are not trying to wait for a better day but we are organizing to make sure that it can happen.

I look at the political campaigns as a cry from the people. It is a cry that explains the problems, which the government should try to correct. If we don’t register to vote and actually vote; then we are letting others vote and only letting their voices be heard. I have learned a lot. Now I know how to organize political campaigns and how to direct groups of walkers to carry on a message to the people in the communities but most important: how to gain their support!

There is always a risk of supporting a politician that looks Latino; there is not guarantee that it will benefit the Latino Community. In Mexico we have lots of Latino Politicians and they always follow the corrupt governments. The growth of the Latino vote can’t be the same political practices from Tijuana that are coming to our communities. That’s why I liked so much to work with Councilmember Aguirre, Guardado and Rizo in Maywood. They were good candidates with great ideas on how improve the community. The downside is that many don’t agree with them.

In many small Latino communities the new power resulted in corruption and indifference towards the necessities of the people. The hostile treatment from the police towards immigrants and the environmental hazards place our children at risk and that is something that has to change. With Rizo, Guardado and Aguirre we have an opportunity in Maywood of cleaning the air, the parks, the water, and the politics so one day the government would be for the people and working to benefit the people. Their victory tells us that when we are united we can achieve benefits for all.

Being part of this was very satisfying to me.