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Ernest Rodriguez' "Impressions," 1960s-1980s
""The Sleeping Giant Awakens"" Page 3
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Page 3 Spanish-language Viva Kennedy brochures, as a Deputy to the Chief of Protocol of the United States, Carlos McCormick remained as an aide in the State Department on Capitol Hill, and Dr. Hector Garcia as head of a presidential envoy on a junket trip to the West Indies to gather information pertinent to U. S. Latin America relations. The wisdom of President Kennedy's appointments of Spanish-speaking Americans in Latin American countries became evident when Ambassador Tellez during a communist inspired demonstration in front of the American Embassy spoke in Spanish to an angry mob and not only succeeded in dispersing the crowd but had them shouting Viva the United States before it was all over. Pedro San Juan as Deputy to the Chief of Protocol of the United States distinguished himself by persuading restaurant and hotel owners along Rt. 40 between Baltimore and Washington to stop discriminating against African and Asian representatives to this country, and saving the U. S. som [sic] untold embarrassement [sic]. Morrally [sic] fortified and strengthed [sic] lobby-wise in Washington with the late presence of Forummeers Congressma Joseph Montoya of New Mexico and Sen. Dennis Chavez in Congress, PASSO set about winning support for the repeal of the Bracero Program under Public Law 78, civil rights bill, Federal aid to education, and the Medicare proposal. They participated in the election of U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez of Texas in 1961 and sent countless letters to Washington endorsing the appointents of competent Latin-Americans. The effectiveness of PASSO's operations was uniquely demonstrated in a Texas election that [elected?] a Republican, John Tower, to the U. S. Senate. PASSO Officials decided to urge Mexican-Americans to boycott the polls since both candidates were undesirable as far as recognizing the legislative needs of the Spanish-speaking [people] of Texas. This proved conclusively to PASSO's leadership that no candidate, Democrat or Republican, could win a state-wide election in Texas without the help of the Mexican-American vote. Since the Crystal City election, political pros among Texan Anglos are casting a speculative eye toward at [sic] Mexican-Americans who make up one-fourth of the State's population. Liberal-labor forces are already vying fo the affections of the Spanish-speaking vote. One AFL-CIO official warned Mexican-Americans at a recent meeting to steer clear of PASSO saying it was controlled by the Teamstears Union. On the other hand a teamster official belittled PASSO's role in the Crystal City election saying that the Teamsters could have handled it just as well without PASSO's help. To many Mexican-Americans in Texas who have been preyed upon by politicians in the past, who paid their poll taxes and told them how to vote, any attempt to alienate them from PASSO would be sacrilegious. Passo [sic] officials seemed quite prepared to weather any adverse conditions of the future, and as Juan Cornejo put it when he was recently elected Mayor of Crystal City, "I have'nt [sic] got a college education but I am experienced in the ways of my people."
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Page 3 Spanish-language Viva Kennedy brochures, as a Deputy to the Chief of Protocol of the United States, Carlos McCormick remained as an aide in the State Department on Capitol Hill, and Dr. Hector Garcia as head of a presidential envoy on a junket trip to the West Indies to gather information pertinent to U. S. Latin America relations. The wisdom of President Kennedy's appointments of Spanish-speaking Americans in Latin American countries became evident when Ambassador Tellez during a communist inspired demonstration in front of the American Embassy spoke in Spanish to an angry mob and not only succeeded in dispersing the crowd but had them shouting Viva the United States before it was all over. Pedro San Juan as Deputy to the Chief of Protocol of the United States distinguished himself by persuading restaurant and hotel owners along Rt. 40 between Baltimore and Washington to stop discriminating against African and Asian representatives to this country, and saving the U. S. som [sic] untold embarrassement [sic]. Morrally [sic] fortified and strengthed [sic] lobby-wise in Washington with the late presence of Forummeers Congressma Joseph Montoya of New Mexico and Sen. Dennis Chavez in Congress, PASSO set about winning support for the repeal of the Bracero Program under Public Law 78, civil rights bill, Federal aid to education, and the Medicare proposal. They participated in the election of U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez of Texas in 1961 and sent countless letters to Washington endorsing the appointents of competent Latin-Americans. The effectiveness of PASSO's operations was uniquely demonstrated in a Texas election that [elected?] a Republican, John Tower, to the U. S. Senate. PASSO Officials decided to urge Mexican-Americans to boycott the polls since both candidates were undesirable as far as recognizing the legislative needs of the Spanish-speaking [people] of Texas. This proved conclusively to PASSO's leadership that no candidate, Democrat or Republican, could win a state-wide election in Texas without the help of the Mexican-American vote. Since the Crystal City election, political pros among Texan Anglos are casting a speculative eye toward at [sic] Mexican-Americans who make up one-fourth of the State's population. Liberal-labor forces are already vying fo the affections of the Spanish-speaking vote. One AFL-CIO official warned Mexican-Americans at a recent meeting to steer clear of PASSO saying it was controlled by the Teamstears Union. On the other hand a teamster official belittled PASSO's role in the Crystal City election saying that the Teamsters could have handled it just as well without PASSO's help. To many Mexican-Americans in Texas who have been preyed upon by politicians in the past, who paid their poll taxes and told them how to vote, any attempt to alienate them from PASSO would be sacrilegious. Passo [sic] officials seemed quite prepared to weather any adverse conditions of the future, and as Juan Cornejo put it when he was recently elected Mayor of Crystal City, "I have'nt [sic] got a college education but I am experienced in the ways of my people."
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