Tejano Voices Interviewees - By Region

Alejandro, Aaron - Wichita Falls (Interview date: 8/22/1997)

Born February 6, 1966, in Dallas, Texas, Alejandro graduated from Midwestern University with a degree in public administration. He is a former state president of Future Farmers of America and served with former U.S. Representative Bill Sarpaulis for three terms (1989-1995) as his district coordinator. At the time of the interview Alejandro held the position of Executive Director of the Gateway Council on Substance Abuse, owned a consulting firm, and was running for county judge in Wichita County, Texas.

Alonzo, Roberto - Dallas (Interview date: 12/16/1996)

Born December 25, 1956, in Crystal City, Texas, Roberto Alonzo is an attorney with the Dallas firm of Rich and Alonzo. He was the first Mexican American elected University of Texas at Austin student body president, was voted state president of Mexican American Democrats in 1991, and was the first Mexican American elected state representative from Dallas. Elected in 1992 to represent Dallas County's District 104 in the Texas Legislature, Alonzo lost his seat in 1996 but was re-elected in 2002.

Chávez, Gilbert - Dallas (Interview date: 10/24/1997)

Born in 1931 in Cottonwood, Arizona. Mr. Chávez became Regional Director for the Community Relations Service for the United States Department of Justice, Southwest Regional Office, in Dallas, Texas, in 1992. He was also the Vice National President of the National Association of Hispanic Public Executives, and a former President of Incorporated Mexican American Government Employees (IMAGE). He served in various administrative leadership roles for 32 years as a United States federal employee. Chávez also served in the United States Air Force. He earned a B.A. and a M.A. from Arizona State University.

González, Angel - Dallas/Austin/Houston/Crystal City (Interview date: 7/1/1996)

Born November 18, 1929, in Edinburg, Texas. One of the first Chicano school superintendents in Texas, Mr. González has held top administrative positions in the public schools in Crystal City, Houston and Dallas, and has worked for the Texas Education Agency. He also worked as the Branch Chief in the Office of Education for Bilingual Education in Washington, D.C. In 1976, he ran for Congress in the Rio Grande Valley. He retired from active employment and resides in Dallas.

Gonzales, Ray - Wichita Falls (Interview date: 6/17/1998)

Born in 1945 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Mr. González was vice-chair of the Mexican American Democrats of Texas in 1997. He is a Vietnam War era veteran. Mr. González attended Midwestern University and has operated and automobile repair business with his father for over thirty years.

Jasso, Juan - Cockrell Hill/Dallas County (Interview date: 2/3/1998)

Born June 24, 1957. First Mexican American Municipal Judge for the City of Cockrell Hill in the Dallas metropolitan area. Ran for a newly created Justice of the Peace position in Dallas County as a result of single member district litigation in 1994. He was one of two Mexican Americans elected as the first Justice of the Peace in the county.

Lara, Severita - Crystal City (Interview date: 7/22/1996)

Born February 6, 1952, Ms. Lara was a leader of the 1969 student walkout of the Crystal City, Texas, schools. She was the first Mexican American woman to be elected County Judge in Texas in 1986, only to lose the position in an election contest. In 1992, Ms. Lara was elected to the City Council of Crystal City, and was later elected mayor by the council members.

Martínez, Anita - Dallas (Interview date: 10/26/1998)

Born in 1925 in Dallas, Texas, Mrs. Martínez was the first Mexican American woman elected to the Dallas City Council (1969) and is the founder of the Anita N. Martínez Ballet Folkórico Company. She was the recipient of the Mary McLarry Bywaters Award bestowed annually by the Dance Council, and has been listed in the "100 Most Influential Texas Women of the 20th Century" by the Dallas Morning News. During her career she has served as resident of the Dallas Women's Restaurant Auxiliary and on the board of directors of the Young Women's Christian Association of Metropolitan Dallas.

Martínez, George - Austin/Tarrant County (Interview date: 8/24/1997)

Born September 11, 1944, Mr. Martínez was the first Mexican American state district judge in Texas. He was appointed to the 254th District Court by former Governor Dolph Briscoe in 1977. Martínez is a graduate of The University of Texas, having earned his B.A. degree in history in 1966 and his law degree in 1970. He has taught as an adjunct instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington in the area of business law.

Medrano, Francisco - Dallas/Grand Prairie (Interview date: 6/27/1996)

Born October 2, 1920, in Dallas, Texas. Francisco F. Medrano, known as Pancho Medrano, was an official for the United Auto Workers. He was active in local politics in Dallas, Texas, and supported the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee efforts in Texas and California. He was also well-known as a Mexican heavyweight boxing champion.

Morales, Victor - Crandall (Interview date: 7/2/1996)

Born November 15, 1949, in Racine, Wisconsin, Morales was a City Council member in Crandall, Texas, and the first Mexican American Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate in the General Election in 1996. He sought election to the 5th Congressional District seat in 1998, and in 2002 sought the Democratic Party's nomination for United States Senate. Morales is a graduate of Texas A & I University in Kingsville where he earned a Bachelor's degree in physical education. He has taught in Texas public schools since 1977.

Morales, Victor - Crandall (Interview date: 12/4/1996)

Born November 15, 1949, in Racine, Wisconsin, Morales was a City Council member in Crandall, Texas, and the first Mexican American Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate in the General Election in 1996. He sought election to the 5th Congressional District seat in 1998, and in 2002 sought the Democratic Party's nomination for United States Senate. Morales is a graduate of Texas A & I University in Kingsville where he earned a Bachelor's degree in physical education. He has taught in Texas public schools since 1977.

Orozco, Diana - Dallas (Interview date: 2/23/1998)

Justice of the peace, attorney. Born 1960. Graduate of St. Mary's College in Indiana and Southern Methodist University Law School (1985). The first Mexican American woman elected justice of the peace in Dallas County, Orozco was elected in 1994 to Precinct 6, Place 1 (Oak Cliff). She began her first term in January 1995 and was re-elected in 1996.

Plata, José - Dallas (Interview date: 2/24/1998)

Born in 1954 and reared and educated in Cunningham, Texas in Southeast Lamar County. Plata was an educator and was first elected to the Dallas Independent School District Board of Education in 1996. He received his B.A. in 1978 from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas and later received his bilingual education certification from East Texas State University at Commerce.

Salazar, Steve - Dallas (Interview date: 11/25/1997)

Mr. Salazar served three terms on the Dallas City Council. He also served as the first Mexican American trustee ever to be elected to the Dallas County Community College District. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, and his law degree from the University of Houston. Mr. Salazar began his legal career as a law clerk with Dallas attorneys Roberto Alonzo and Domingo García.

Valdez, Manuel - Tarrant County (Interview date: 11/2/1997)

Born in San Antonio, Texas. In the early 1980s, Mr. Valdez became the first Mexican American elected Justice of the Peace in Tarrant County, Texas. He organized the first Mexican American youth programs in Fort Worth in the early 1960s, and he is an alumnus of the University of Texas at Arlington.

Zapata, Louis - Fort Worth (Interview date: 2/26/1998)

Mr. Zapata was born October 5, 1934, in Fort Worth, Texas, and was the first Mexican American elected to the Fort Worth City Council.