- Luis J. Rodriguez
Luis J. Rodriguez (born
1954 ) is an American poet, novelist, journalist, critic, and columnist. His work has won several awards, and he is recognized as a major figure of contemporaryChicano literature . His best-known work, "", is the recipient of theCarl Sandburg Literary Award, among others, and has been the subject of controversy when included on reading lists in California, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas schools due to its frank depictions of gang life. Rodriguez has also founded or co-founded numerous organizations, including the Tía Chucha Press, which publishes the work of unknown writers, Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural, aSan Fernando Valley cultural center , and theChicago -based Youth Struggling for Survival, an organization for at-risk youth.Early life
Rodriguez was born in the
United States-Mexico border cityEl Paso, Texas . His parents, natives ofCiudad Juárez ,Chihuahua , had their children on the U.S. side of the border to ease the transition into the United States, where they had intentions of relocating. His father was a high school principal and his mother, who is descended from theRaramuri , a people indigenous to Chihuahua, was a school secretary. The elder Rodriguez, who refused to be dominated by local politicians from theInstitutional Revolutionary Party , relocated the family toSouth Los Angeles when Rodriguez was two. There he spent the first part of his childhood and witnessed the 1965Watts Riots . The family later moved to theSan Gabriel Valley , and he joined his firststreet gang at the age of 11. He had joined the Lomas gang (which translates to the "Hills") during their early wars with the Sangra 13 gang (Chicano slang for "San Gabriel"). The two gangs are still active as of today in the San Gabriel Valley and still maintain a fierce rivalry despite gentrification.Gang and political activities
During the 1960s and 1970s, he was an active gang member in East Los Angeles, developing a long
rap sheet . However, his criminal activity did not preclude his participation in theChicano Movement , and he joined the 1968East L.A. walkouts and attended the August 30, 1970Chicano Moratorium against theVietnam War . At the moratorium, he was brutalized and arrested along with numerous other peaceful protesters. In 1972, he painted severalmural s in the San Gabriel Valley communities of Rosemead and South San Gabriel. During part of this period he was a student atMark Keppel High School in Alhambra, and he later attendedCalifornia State University, Los Angeles briefly from 1972–1973, and became a member of theChicano activist groupMEChA .The two currents in his life came to an inevitable head when at the age of 18, a sentence imposed for a criminal conviction was mitigated by letters of support from community members who saw his potential. Feeling a sense of indebtedness to those who had helped him, he decided to dedicate himself to
community organizing on behalf of theMexican American people.Writing career
In 1980, he began attending night school at
East Los Angeles College , and working as a photographer for several area publications. That summer he attended a workshop for minority journalists atUC Berkeley , after which he covered crime and other urban issues for the "San Bernardino Sun ". At the same time, he continued to be active in East Los Angeles, leading a group ofbarrio writers and publishing "ChismeArte", aChicano art journal, out of an office atSelf Help Graphics & Art .
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