In honor of Hispanic heritage, the Northwest Reading Room curated six biographies of Latino(a) individuals from our Valley who have made positive and lasting contributions to the community at large. We invite you to read the following brief biographies of people whose visionary legacies continue today.
Below is Part 2 featuring three community leaders: Ricardo Garcia, Guadalupe Guzman & Joel Guzman, and Erasmo Gamboa. Visit this link for Part 1 highlighting the lives of Tomás Villanueva, Herminia Mendez, and Ernest Ignacio Jose Aguilar.
Ricardo Garcia
In 1979, Ricardo R. Garcia co-founded KDNA, a Spanish-language public radio station in rural Washington State. The station gained attention for music and activism, impressing Cesar Chavez, the famed Mexican-American labor and civil rights leader. Garcia served as Station Manager for many years and his accomplishments are many.
Garcia grew up in San Diego, Texas and received a bilingual education. He joined the military after high school and underwent administration training at Fort Lewis. Garcia moved to the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington with the Army, where he worked as a medical supply specialist during Army maneuvers. After completing his service, Garcia decided to stay in Yakima and married his wife Monica in 1962. Together, they have three children named Rene, Maria, and Eliza. Currently, they are proud grandparents to five grandchildren named Nicolas, Elise, Benjamin, Julia, and Mia.
Garcia became involved in the Catholic Church after attending a Cursillo, and he there met activist friends passionate about making a difference. Learning about Cesar Chavez’s efforts to organize farm workers, Garcia realized his people were being treated unfairly in California and Washington. As Chicanos, they faced discrimination and rejection in their desire to become teachers. Garcia was inspired to join local activists, and he established community-based organizations to offer farm workers work training and social/health services. Garcia also formed a United Farm Workers affiliate and supported Cesar Chavez’s boycott actions. He has since retired from radio advocacy but remains active in local boards and advisory groups.
Guadalupe Guzman & Joel Guzman
Guadalupe Guzman hails from an immigrant farming family from Mexico that moved to Texas to find work. The family later moved to the Yakima Valley where Lupe became an accomplished musician and formed conjunto bands with neighbors and friends. Their music was heavily influenced by Guzman’s Texas background, playing a blend of Tejano-style with polkas and waltzes. They were frequent participants in the local scene, performing at weddings, quinceañeras, and other parties and dances.
Guzman turned his music-making into a multi-generational affair, enlisting the talents of his three sons. A memorable story documents Lupe introducing his son Joel to the legendary local accordionist Oscar Hernandez, where Oscar was awoken by Joel knocking on his door to introduce himself and ask for pointers. Oscar tried to get rid of Joel by telling him to learn an extremely difficult piece on the accordion, which Joel mastered that very night, only to knock on Oscar’s door the next morning to show him.
Joel Guzman moved back to Texas and became a Grammy-winning musician, contributing to the Tex-Mex, Tejano, and mainstream crossover music world. He remembers his roots in Washington and came back in 2014 to play a Sunnyside High School Reunion for the class of 1974.
Erasmo Gamboa
Erasmo Gamboa was born in Texas to Mexican immigrant parents and later grew up in Yakima Valley. Following his studies at Yakima Valley Community College, he joined the University of Washington in 1968 and emerged as a prominent student activist. Gamboa played a key role in founding the UW Chapter of MEChA, the political student organization focused on social justice issues affecting the Latinx community. Gamboa also served as the chairman of the University boycott committee that backed the United Farm Workers’ boycott of non-union grapes. He was also pivotal in establishing the Chicano Studies program at UW. Gamboa obtained an MA in History from UW in 1973 and went on to earn his PhD in 1984.
Until his retirement in 2017, Gamboa was an Associate Professor of Chicano Studies and Adjunct Associate Professor of History and Latin American Studies at University of Washington. Professor Gamboa has written several books and articles on the history of Latinos in the Pacific Northwest. Some of his notable works include “Mexican Labor and World War II: Braceros in the Pacific Northwest, 1942-1947” and “Nosotros, the Hispanic People of Oregon: Essays and Reflections.” He received the Helen and Martin Schwarz Prize from the National Federation of State Humanities Councils for his book “Nosotros.” Since his retirement, Gamboa has helped open The Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/ Latino/a/ Culture, the first museum to showcase the history and culture of the region’s Spanish-speaking communities. Gamboa’s scholarship and community service have helped build a better future while preserving the past for future generations to remember the work and sacrifice of their predecessors.
-Written by Carlos Pelley, Archive Librarian & Matt Kendall, Archive Librarian
For more fascinating stories archived in YVL’s Northwest Reading room, visit Yakima Central Library Monday – Friday, 9am – 6pm and Saturday by appointment. Learn more about this service online or email us at archives@yvl.org.
References:
Los Cinco De Joel Guzman. Las Collección Strachwitz Frontera de Grabaciones Mexicanas y México-Americanas. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://frontera.library.ucla.edu/es/artists/los-cinco-de-joel-guzman
Class of 1974 Reunion Looking for Classmates. (2014, June 11). The Sunnyside Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.sunnysidesun.com/lifestyle/class-of-1974-reunion-looking-for-classmates/article_702e1bea-9be3-58f9-9cf4-5f71acf99bd3.html
Coulmbe, C. A. (2018, March 27). Ricardo Garcia. Latino Leaders. https://www.latinoleadersmagazine.com/aprilmay-2016/2018/1/15/ricardo-garcia
The Innovative Joel Guzman. Accordion Americana. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://accordionamericana.com/2014/10/14/the-innovative-joel-guzman-accordionist/
Martinez, E. (June 3, 2013). RGV Hub Magazine Interview: Joel Guzman. Pharr From Heaven. https://pharrfromheaven.blogspot.com/2013/06/rgv-hub-magazine-interview-joel-guzman.html?m=0
Sunnyside High School. (1974). Mirror [Yearbook]. Northwest Reading Room, Yakima Central Library.
Talbott, C. (2022, May 25). Erasmo Gamboa receives Retiree Excellence in Community Service Award. University of Washington Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from https://magazine.washington.edu/erasmo-gamboa-receives-retiree-excellence-in-community-service-award/