Old name stirs dispute

'Aztlan' a symbol of pride, not takeover, Chicano activists say

By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
December 6, 2005

It's an ancient name with contemporary - and controversial - significance.

According to legend, Aztlan was the ancestral homeland of the Aztec people, a place believed by many to be located somewhere in the southwestern United States.

In Chicano folklore, the name was used to describe the part of Mexico taken over by the U.S. after the Mexican-American War of 1846. During the Chicano civil rights movement of the 1960s and '70s, Aztlan became a symbol of political nationalism and ethnic pride.

Today, Aztlan is still a word that evokes pride among Mexican-Americans. "Aztlan is a state of mind. It's a spiritual concept that was designed to give people a sense of belonging at a time when brown kids and other minorities were told they didn't belong," said David Marquez, a Chicano studies professor at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

But immigration reformers, both moderate and extreme, see a much darker meaning in the term. To them, Aztlan represents an insidious movement of radical Chicano nationalists and Mexicans seeking to reclaim much of the Southwest, including Colorado, for Mexico.

"Demographically, socially, and culturally, the reconquista (re-conquest) of the southwest United States is well under way," said Yeh Ling-Ling, executive director of the Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America, a group that focuses on population control. She testified at an immigration hearing organized by the Republican Committee of Colorado at the state Capitol on Nov. 17.

In October, Rep. Jim Welker, R-Loveland, joined two state House colleagues on a trip to Arizona in preparation for a push in the upcoming Colorado legislative session to cut off state services to illegal immigrants. At a hearing with Arizona legislators he warned of "groups of people planning and having their own separate nation of Aztlan."

And on several immigration reform Web sites, Aztlan supporters are called a threat to the tighter-border campaign and even national security.

Americanpatrol.com says, "Those who scoff at the idea of a Mexican takeover of the southwestern United States don't understand history and they underestimate Mexicans."

But those speaking out against Aztlan are the ones who have misinterpreted history and distorted the meaning of the term, say Chicano activists and academics.

Aztlan re-emerged in the 1960s when one of the founders of the Chicano civil rights movement, Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales of Denver, led a Chicano contingent in the Poor People's March on Washington, D.C.

There, he issued his "Plan of the Barrio," which called for better housing, education and business opportunities. He also proposed forming a Congress of Aztlan to achieve these goals.

The term Aztlan soon proliferated in Chicano culture, from Mexican folkloric dance groups to student organizations.

In March 1969, the Crusade for Justice, led by Gonzales, hosted the first National Chicano Liberation Youth Conference in Denver. The resolutions adopted by the conference were assembled in a document titled El Plan de Aztlan.

"It was a beautifully written proclamation of our identity and our worth as brown human beings," said Nita Gonzales, daughter of the late civil rights leader. "The actual plan talked about our need to create our own political foundation of power. We talked about housing and employment; combating the racism and discrimination that existed at that time."

The following month, the Chicano Coordinating Council on Higher Education held a conference at the University of California-Santa Barbara. The result was a master plan for the creation of a Chicano studies curriculum and related services to help Chicano students enroll in college.

That year, M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan or Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan) was born. The student groups can now be found on almost every major high school, college and university campus throughout the western and southwestern United States.

According to the M.E.Ch.A. bylaws, it is "a multifunctional Chicana/o nationalist organization that concentrates on political, social, educational, and cultural issues that pertain to the Chicana/o community."

The organization assists in "the consciousness raising of our people and the retention of our culture to help give our on-campus community empowerment through awareness. On an individual level, M.E.Ch.A. fosters leadership skills, self and group respect, and more friendships with Raza (Chicano) students."

Those who denounce Aztlan as a separatist movement claim that they recruit their members from organizations such as M.E.Ch.A.

"M.E.Ch.A. is a Latino neo-Marxist organization with chapters supported by tax dollars and student funds," according to the Web site, FrontPageMagazine.com.

"They have been active in fighting the (1994 anti-immigrant measure) California referendum Prop 187, as well as seeking the abolition of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly INS), and eliminating the border with Mexico entirely," the Web site claims.

Mikiel Ghelieh, a 22-year-old English major at CSU-Pueblo and a leader of the M.E.Ch.A chapter there, said his group stresses community involvement, not the takeover of the Southwest.

"We go to different schools and try to give young people a taste of student activism. We want to introduce them to the idea of getting involved and making a difference in their community," said Ghelieh.

This past semester, the Pueblo chapter focused most of its attention on a faculty member whose racially charged lecture last March on illegal immigration led some to call for his resignation.

"As for the 'threat' of Aztlan, it's the same thing it's always been: using fear to stir people up," he said.

Gonzales agrees.

"In the '60s and '70s, we absolutely talked about Aztlan as our own place. We were battling discrimination and being thought of as second-class citizens. M.E.Ch.A. and other organizations have been instrumental in maintaining that spirit of Aztlan," she said. "The way people are turning the meaning of Aztlan around to spread fear and hatred is wrong."

Vincent C. de Baca, chairman of the Chicano Studies Department at Metropolitan State College of Denver, calls Aztlan "a flame flickering in our hearts."

"As a symbol of political nationalism - that idea died on delivery, except for a few fringe elements that continue pushing their agenda," he said. "As a cultural symbol, it's alive and well, manifested in our dance, our music, our poetry and literature."

The true meaning of Aztlan will continue to play an important role for Chicanos coming of age. But it also remains a contentious concept in the debate over illegal immigration.

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