Luis Rodriguez reflects on his upbringing in South San Gabriel, a predominantly Mexican immigrant neighborhood in Los Angeles during the 1960s. His experiences of violence and trauma, particularly surrounding police actions during protests, highlighted the importance of community resilience. Rodriguez founded Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural in 2003 to create empowering spaces for arts and literacy. He emphasizes that creativity plays a crucial role in maintaining resilience amid chaos and that reading and writing helped him navigate his challenges and break cycles of trauma.
In fact, all three people were killed by sheriff's deputies or police, LAPD. The idea was, we were the impetus for them to attack the 30,000 people that had gathered against the Vietnam War in East L.A., the largest anti-war protest in a community of color at the time.
I saw terrible things. Deputies maced us in the bus while we were shackled. I saw one guy's arm get broken. And I began to realize the power of the Chicano movement and how important it was.
I think resiliency has to be centered around creativity more than anything, and it keeps you intact.
To me, resiliency is keeping intact in the midst of chaos.
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