UMAS and MECHA Remember Los Seis De Boulder

As I walked in through the wooden door, I heard the loud sounds of people talking and laughing in the small crowded room. A large group of students sat on the old, small and gray couch while others stood around the wooden desk. Everyone had a smile on their face while they intently talked about the upcoming events. I perceived how some of the students nodded their head when they heard a suggestion from their fellow peers, and others simply shook their head. Finally after a couple of minutes, a male student got up from the gray couch and tried to grab everyone’s attention. He held a white piece of paper in his hand while he looked around at the students that were in the warm and very crowded room. After he successfully grabbed their attention, he began to talk about the plans for the upcoming Los Seis de Boulder Memorial.

On April 9, the CU student groups UMAS and MECHA held a meeting in their small office located in the UMC. They met on a cold Wednesday afternoon to discuss and finalize details about their upcoming Los Seis de Boulder Memorial. The memorial is only a few away from happening, and these students are busy planning the historical event that will take place in Boulder.

The UMAS and MECHA students are only some of the people who really know about the tragic events that took place in Boulder during the 1970’s. After I heard about the memorial that they are organizing, I went around campus and asked students, faculty members and even teachers if they knew who Los Seis de Boulder were. I was completely astonished to find out that almost no one was aware about who and what had occurred in Boulder many years ago.

UMAS and MECHA know very well that a lot of students and even teachers at CU are completely oblivious about the two bombings that occurred in Boulder. This is why on June 1, 2014 they will have a memorial that commemorates and honors the six victims. These students want everyone on campus to learn about this tragic event. Kaylee Ortega is a part of UMAS, and she says that they are organizing this event because they want to bring knowledge and awareness to the other students on campus. She believes that this was such a life changing event that should be talked about a lot more. Most of all, Ortega hopes that she can teach people not only what happened, but why it’s important.

“ We want to bring knowledge to other students. We want to plant a seed in people, so that they know how important this was,” said Kaylee Ortega, CU student.

Magnolia Landa is another UMAS and MECHA student. She says that she decided to be a part of the planning and organizing of the Los Seis de Boulder memorial because she wants to educate everyone about it.

“ I want to educate people about what happened in Boulder many years ago. I just don’t want to educate our community, but I want to educate the whole student body,” said Magnolia Landa, CU student.

The 1970’s was a difficult time for Chicano activists. During this time, there was a Chicano student movement at CU. According to the Notes from Azlan website, On May 27, 1974, their was a massive car explosion in Chautauqua Park. This explosion completely destroyed the car and killed three former CU students. The victims were a CU law school graduate Reyes Martinez that was 26, 21-year-old Neva Romero and 24-year-old Una Jaakola. Surprisingly, only two days later on May 29, there was another car explosion in a Burger King parking lot. This explosion took the lives of 3 other former CU students and it injured another. Florencio Granado, 31, Heriberto Teran who was 24, and Francisco Dougherty, 20 were killed in this second explosion.Five out of the six victims were Chicano students that had strongly fought for equality. The Chicano communities of Colorado were angry and devastated by these unfortunate events. After their death,hundreds of people mourned and joined a memorial to honor and remember them.

According to a Daily Camera article, most of the car bombing victims were politically involved in improving the conditions of minority students at CU. These Chicano students were fighting for equality. Some of the victims were also part of the student group UMAS, and when they found out that administrators were going to cut down on funding for their group, they became very unhappy. These students demanded that those administrators be removed. When their request was ignored by the school, UMAS and other Chicano students decided to take over the Temporary Building for 19 days. The students hoped that their act of rebellion would bring change.

There is still a lot of mystery over who and why these six students were killed as the case has never been resolved. According to the UMAS website, their has never been an official police explanation. The police has only said that they believe that the six former CU students were arming the bombs themselves, and were preparing to set off more explosions. The police speculates that Neva Romero was holding a homemade bomb in her lap when it exploded. The only survivor of the explosion that was severely injured was not prosecuted because district attorneys didn’t find enough evidence to indict him.

The legacy that the six victims left behind is undeniable. Thirteen years after their death, Chicano artist Pedro Romero painted a mural of “Los Seis de Boulder.” This mural was painted for the UMAS office in the UMC. The mural was removed during the renovation, and it was taken to the Chicano Historical Museum that is located in Pueblo, Colorado. In 2003, a plaque for the victims was placed in the Boulder Canyon.

Being part of the Los Seis de Boulder memorial personally matters to Landa and Ortega. They strongly believe that these six victims paved the way for many other Chicano students to become a part of CU. They also think that it’s important for Chicano students on campus to know their history and take pride in it.

“ When we don’t have our history, we don’t have anything that pushes us or motivates us to help our community. Thanks to those people and their work, we are here,” said Landa.

UMAS and MECHA students want other CU students to become involved with the memorial. They are welcoming everybody who wants to learn and be a part of this historical event. CU student Nataly Banda wants students to be open-minded and prepared to see the ugly reality. Ortega wants people to come to the memorial with open eyes and be willing to hear what happened.

“It’s nice to see people shaken by something that happened,” said Ortega.

Landa also believes that it’s time for people to learn the history of CU.

“ We want students to realize that not everything on this campus has been good. There is still a lot of discrimination and racism on this campus. It’s time to change that,” said Landa.

The Los Seis de Boulder memorial will take place on June 1, 2014 in Boulder. This year marks the 40th anniversary of their death, and this is why UMAS and MECHA decided to organize such a big event for them. These groups are hoping to make an impact. It’s important for us to become aware of events like these. If you are interested in learning more about who Los Seis de Boulder were, and how you can become a part of the memorial, you can visit their website.

Cesar Chavez Event at CU

As I sat in a large room in the UMC around other students and faculty members, the sound of the guitar entered my ears. I immediately turned my body towards the back of the room, and I perceived a group of people enter through the large wooden doors. The people who entered, were playing the guitar while passionately singing along to the beat. Then after a couple of seconds, another group of people walked in as they held large and vibrant signs. Everyone that sat in the room intently watched and clapped along to the catchy melody that the performers sang. Once the performers finished singing, they raised the large, vibrant red signs in the air and yelled “Huelga.” It was at this moment when I realized that they were beginning to perform a play based on the Chicano civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez.

On April 1, the CU student groups UMAS and MECHA presented a free event at the UMC. The event was honoring the life and work of Cesar Chavez. Both student groups successfully contacted and arranged for the Su Teatro theatre to do a performance at CU. Su Teatro theatre is one of the few Chicano theaters in the United States, and it’s located in downtown Denver. UMAS and MECHA knew that it would be a great idea if Su Teatro did a free performance at our University.

Su Teatro performed a play called “Papi, Me and Cesar Chavez.” Their performance was based on the life and struggles of the Chicano activist Cesar Chavez. The play also focused on the life of a 10 year old girl named Gloria and her field working father. “Papi, Me and Cesar Chavez” was about Gloria’s story as she and her father joined Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers Union during the 1960’s. The performance highlighted the historical march that the United Farm Workers did from Delano to Sacramento. Gloria and her field working father joined Cesar Chavez and his movement, because they wanted to improve their living conditions.

Gloria was a creative young girl who wrote very imaginative stories. She created a fictional superhero which she called, “Chicana Superhero.” Gloria had a very close bond with her father, and she always shared her eccentric stories to him. Gloria was a very optimistic girl, despite her and her families terrible working and living conditions.

This was the first year ever that UMAS and MECHA did an event that honored Cesar Chavez. Both student groups organized this event because they wanted to bring awareness to people about what Chavez did, and the legacy he left behind. Magnolia is a sophomore student at CU that is part of UMAS and MECHA. Magnolia said that the Cesar Chavez movie that premiered on March 28, also triggered the idea to do this event.

UMAS and MECHA hope that their events like the Cesar Chavez one impacts other CU students. Sophomore Jacqueline Manzo who is also part of these student groups, hopes that events like these can provide students a cultural identity. Manzo wants other Chicano students at CU to have knowledge about their culture, and have a significant presence on campus.

“ What matters is that our people know about their culture. It builds strength within each other,” said Manzo.

UMAS and MECHA want other CU students to know more about the struggles that farmworkers endured. These groups believe that there are not enough events or representations of people of color. They think that it’s very important for people to respect and honor those who made a social and political change.

“ We hope to organize more events that relate to the history of our people,” said Magnolia.

Both UMAS and MECHA are making an impact on CU and the students. It’s important for us to become aware of events like the Cesar Chavez one. College is not only about going to class and studying, it’s also about branching out and meeting new people. Being part of any event on campus is not only a great way for us to make friends, but it also allows us to learn more about ourselves and the role we want to have in this world. If you are interested in learning more about UMAS and MECHA, and their upcoming events, you can visit their website http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/UMAS-MECHA/UMAS.html.