Mexican American and Puerto Rican women have long taken up the challenge to improve the lives of Chicagoans in the city’s Latino/a/x communities. Rita D. Hernández, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, and Elena R. Gutiérrez present testimonies by Latina leaders who blazed new trails and shaped Latina Chicago history from the 1960s through today.

Taking a do-it-all attitude, these women advanced agendas, built institutions, forged alliances, and created essential resources that Latino/a/x communities lacked. Time and again, they found themselves the first Latina to hold their post or part of the first Latino/a/x institution of its kind. Just as often, early grassroots efforts to address issues affecting themselves, their families, and their neighborhoods grew into larger endeavors. Their experiences ranged from public schools to healthcare to politics to broadcast media, and each woman’s story shows how her work changed countless lives and still reverberates across the entire city.

An eyewitness view of an unknown history, Chicago Latina Trailblazers reveals the vision and passion that fueled a group of women in the vanguard of reform.

Contributors: Ana Castillo, Maria B. Cerda, Carmen Chico, Aracelis Flecha Figueroa, Aida Luz Maisonet Giachello, Mary Gonzales, Ada Nivia López, Emma Lozano, Virginia Martinez, Carmen Mendoza, Elena Mulcahy, Guadalupe Reyes, Luz Maria B. Solis, and Carmen Velasquez

Foreword

Frances Aparicio

Preface

Introduction

Rita D. Hernández, Elena R. Gutiérrez, and Leticia Villarreal Sosa

1. Yo Soy India: A Native, a Fighter, an Indigenous

Guadalupe Reyes, 1918–2020

written by Mary Gonzales, daughter

2. CARPE DIEM “Seize the Day and Exploit Your Opportunities”

Mary Gonzales, 1941–Present

3. Mother to Family and Community

Carmen Mendoza, 1925–2000

written by Jim Hecimovich, son-in-law

4. The Accidental Public Servant: A Voice from Chicago’s Southeast Side

Carmen Chico, 1929–Present

written by Carmen Chico and Cynthia Chico, daughter

5. Siempre en la Lucha

Maria B. Cerda, 1934–2020

written by Marta Cerda, daughter, and Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Ada Nivia López, Aracelis Figueroa, and Rita D. Hernández

6. If You Survive the Teas, You Can Survive Anything

Aracelis Flecha Figueroa, 1936–Present

7. The Journey

Elena Mulcahy, 1939–Present

8. Being Mexican Is Who I Am!

Carmen Velásquez, 1939–Present

9. Latina Health Visionary

Aida Luz Maisonet Giachello, 1945–Present

written by Rida D. Hernández

10. Unfinished Business

Ada Nivia López, 1947–Present

11. Chicana Lawyer

Virginia Martínez, 1949–Present

12. Ripples of Advocacy

Luz María B. Solis, 1951–Present

13. Creating a World without Fronteras

Emma Lozano, 1953–Present

written by Emma Lozano, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Luz María Solis, and Rita D. Hernández

14. The Audacity of a Dream

Ana Castillo, 1953–Present

written by Leticia Villarreal Sosa

15. Weaving the Tapestry: Legacies, Intersections, and the Future

Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Elena R. Gutiérrez and Rita D. Hernández

Acknowledgments

Contributors

Index