In the 1960s and 70s, a group of young idealists-activists came together to work on a community newspaper called La Raza that became the voice for the Chicano Movement. With only the barest resources, but a generous amount of dedication, these young men and women changed their world and produced an archive of over 25,000 photographs. Hear their thoughts on the times and its relevance today, while perusing through some photographs not seen in public for decades in this series of narrated slideshows.
Click right or left to look through the images from the 1960s and 70s. Hit the play button on the bottom right corner to listen to the audio.
1/12 Maria Marquez Sanchez taking photos on top of a traffic light post at an anti-Vietnam War demonstration | La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
2/12 Protesters marching down Wilshire Boulevard at an anti-Vietnam War demonstration | La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
3/12 People attend government-sponsored demonstration for workers in support of President Luis Echeverria in Mexico City | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
4/12 Man and woman at a government-sponsored demonstration for workers in support of President Luis Echeverria in Mexico City | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
5/12 People attend government-sponsored demonstration for workers in support of President Luis Echeverria in Mexico City | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
6/12 People attend government-sponsored demonstration for workers in support of President Luis Echeverria in Mexico City | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
7/12 Brown Berets on Catalina Island | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
8/12 Brown Berets on Catalina Island | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
9/12 Brown Berets on Catalina Island | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
10/12 Protesters at Franklin D. Roosevelt Park rally | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
11/12 Protesters at Franklin D. Roosevelt Park rally | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
12/12 Protesters demonstrate against President Richard Nixon in the "Dump Nixon" march from Echo Park to MacArthur Park | Maria Marquez Sanchez, La Raza photograph collection. Courtesy of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Narrated Photo Essay: The Two Sides of Maria's Activism
Maria Marquez Sanchez
It was kind of a conflict for me because I wanted to be part of the demonstration. I wanted to be in the demonstration. I wanted to be demonstrating with everyone else, with the collective energy, all of us wanting a change. I loved being with everyone marching. ¡Que viva, la raza! ¡Que viva, la causa! ¡Que viva, la familia. ¡Que viva! I really wanted to be part of it, but I also enjoyed taking the pictures as well.
