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Juan Espinosa recalls 1992 Columbus Day Protest
Juan Espinosa talks in 2014 about the first Columbus Day Protest he recalls and the attempted community compromises.
May 12, 2019
Deborah Espinosa and Columbus Day Protest
An excerpt from an interview with Deborah Espinosa in 2014 in which she talked about some of the issues surrounding Columbus Day in Pueblo, some of the resistance and push back against the holiday, and some tensions with Italian Americans in Pueblo. Here she talks about Dia de la Raza and some of the hope around replacing Columbus Day with this.
Eloy and Ray Calderon Quote
“My dad had a tavern . . . on the corner of San Pedro and Roselawn . . . that used to be my Dad’s dance hall and bar. It used to be called the Oasis Café. When I started school, I was living there in 1935. They used to pick me up right there in front of the railroad. There was a railroad that went from Blende through Salt Creek and behind CF&I. Used to go to the zinc smelter over in Blende.”
Photograph of Eloy and Ray Calderon
Eloy and Ray Calderon on San Juan in front of their old family home, where their mother once used the front porch as a neighborhood liquor store
Jimmie Arellano Quote
“There was a railroad track bridge that went over the black water… at that time the mill was going so strong that the water was running real fast. If you fell in there, you were going for a ride.”
Photograph of Jimmie Arellano
Jimmie Arellano at the Templo La Hermosa del CLADIC at 1516 Roselawn Road, where his mother used to spend her days preparing food for weekly gatherings at the church.
Columbus Day Protests
Columbus Day 1998 protests in Pueblo. Leaders at two protests that took place in Pueblo condemn Columbus as a murderer and encourage people to not celebrate the Holiday as Italians and Politicians honor the man. Protest organizer Rita Martinez says it is their responsibility to abolish the holiday considering it started in Pueblo.
Lad and Gerald Flores Quote
“There was always a radio in the house. When we worked in the farm fields, we had a little radio with us. Grandma had a little radio and it was always in Spanish.”
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