Yvonne Condes
Yvonne Condes is a freelance writer and social media manager living in Los Angeles. She’s also Contributing Editor at Picturing Mexican American, a project that works to uncover the whitewashed history of Mexican Los Angeles, and former editor and co-founder of MomsLA.com. Her articles have appeared in Mom.com, Common Sense Media and CBS Los Angeles.
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When Modesta Avila placed "a heavy fence post" across a set of railroad tracks with a sign that read, "'This land belongs to me. And if the railroad wants to run here, they will have to pay me $10,000," she cemented herself in California culture as a symbol of resistance against the rich and powerful.
Mutual aid societies or mutualistas popped up all over the Southwest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to provide support to Mexican American immigrants. Today, the mutualista spirit is alive and well as individuals and businesses find creative ways to help people who have suffered from hardships especially during the pandemic.