Los Angeles, CA – A full auditorium at East LA Garfield High School (GHS) greeted Los Lobos for their 50th anniversary concert celebration. The legendary East LA band gave a tremendous concert to the packed auditorium in the new auditorium. Band members include David Hidalgo on accordion and lead guitar, Cesar Rosas vocals and guitar, Louie Perez guitar and Conrado Terrazas on bass. Los Lobos are GHS alumni.

Chicago, IL – Celebrating 50 years since it was founded in Chicago, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), gathered here again, November 3-5.

The National Alliance is new wine in an old wine skin. Executive Director Frank Chapman, the legendary Angela Davis, and a small band of movement veterans from the 1970s and 1980s were surrounded mainly by a sea of college and even high school students, young workers, Gen Z and Millennials. Most of the conference attendees were Black, Latino, Arab, Asian and Pacific Islanders.

By Sol Marquez and Avery Raimondo

Los Angeles, CA – On Friday, October 20, Judge Michael E. Pastor rejected the plea bargain that killer and ex-sheriff Remin Pineda had agreed to for the 2021 murder of Chicano David Ordaz Jr. in East Los Angeles. This marks a rare victory in the midst of historical oppression by killer sheriffs.

Arlington TX – On October 4, the Progressive Student Union (PSU) at University of Texas-Arlington hosted the longtime Chicano activist and co-founder of the Brown Berets, Carlos Montes. He arrived the day before as part of his speaking tour across Texas. Montes spoke to local organizers and activists about the Chicano national movement and how to build mass struggle.

Dallas, TX – On October 5 at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center in Dallas, Carlos Montes gave a lively talk to a rapt audience of 32 people. A cofounder of the Brown Berets and organizer of the Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, Montes’ experiences are a rich resource to today’s organizers. The historically Chicano neighborhood of Oak Cliff was a fitting setting for a talk that spanned Montes’ organizing, the origin of the Chicano nation and its right to self-determination, Black/brown unity, and the need for revolutionary organization.

San Jose, CA – On August 29, the San Jose Freedom Road Socialist Organization and other groups held a commemoration for the 53rd anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium, with veteran activist Carlos Montes as a guest speaker.

East Los Angeles, CA – On Saturday, August 26, over 300 people, mostly Chicano, gathered at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles for the 53rd Chicano Moratorium. Led by Centro CSO and other allied organizations, speakers both commemorated the 53rd anniversary of the protest that took place at the same location on August 29, 1970 and highlighted the ongoing struggle for Chicano self-determination. Demands included legalization for all of the undocumented, community control of the sheriffs, no U.S./NATO wars, and protection of public education.

Los Angeles , CA – Organizers of the event commemorating the 53rd anniversary of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium will be holding a cultural, political teatro and music, free event for the public. This year’s event will take place Saturday, August 26 at Ruben Salazar Park in East Los Angeles. It will begin at 4 p.m. and end at about 6 p.m. All participants are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair or blankets to enjoy the program.

Los Angeles, CA – On August 9, Centro CSO, along with the Chicano Moratorium organizing committee, staged an action outside of the U.S. Marines recruitment office in East Los Angeles and joined a national call to action in solidarity with the Tampa 5. Joined with cities nationwide, 30 people gathered to protest the injustices faced by the Tampa 5, and to demand the U.S. stop funding wars overseas like in Ukraine and for Israel.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) is proud to announce that longtime Chicano revolutionary Carlos Montes was elected to co-chair the Chicano Latino and Other Oppressed Nationalities Commission, newly formed this July 2023. This followed his re-election to the Central Committee at our Congress held in May 2022. The Chicano, Latino, and Other Oppressed Nationalities Commission will help build Chicano power and develop theory. It will also work to forge alliances with Native American people in the Southwest. Carlos self-recruited to FRSO in the mid-1990s, when he saw the importance of building revolutionary organizations to fight for Chicano liberation and socialism.