Hector probably doesn't know how much he's influenced me. Why would he? I never told him. In fact, I think I only had a handful of one-on-one conversations with him that weren't simply small talk. Hector wasn't the kind of person who asked you about the weather and if you liked your classes or not. He was always much more serious. Perhaps, that's why I was scared of him at first.

I learned a great deal from Hector. He was the first Chicano male I met who was in a PhD program. He was studying in the Urban Schooling program. He was also and old school Mechista who looked the part with his long hair and commanding physical presence.

I sat down one day with Hector for a meeting about Chicana/o Studies. The meeting was more about our physical presence at the university than ethnic studies. He explained to me, a quiet 3rd year, that we had to be much more forceful in our presence. He pointed out the white kids at the school. "Look, they act like they belong here and own this place." He was right. Their body language was much more self-assured. I noticed my peers doubting whether they belonged at a place like UCLA in our words and actions. Even our walks gave us away.

I can't say I changed overnight after that talk, but it still stays with me. That year was a really important one for me in terms of finding my leadership potential and where I belonged. I started walking around like I owned the place.

That year (00-01) was also the year Hector kept ragging on the us - the undergrads in MEChA - about how we didn't read enough. We just waited for some guy in a suit to tell us our history and what our people were like rather than going to look for it ourself. I joined a reading group Ralph and Hector started up. Our first book was a classic, Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth. I read it all, even though I had a stack two feet high of books and articles to read for class. We got together on a Friday evening for dinner to discuss what Fanon meant when he wrote things like "violence is a cleansing force" and how it applied to the Chicana/o community.

I still don't read enough, but if it wasn't for Hector, I wouldn't even be challenging myself to tackle certain books.

Last, he told me that whatever I did, I had to make sure that I was the best ________ I could be because my community was couting on me. All the training I got in school was all to serve others.

I ran into Hector for the first time in about 3 years yesterday afternoon as I sat outside my office. I interrupted one of my students (we were just having a casual conversation) to catch up with Hector for a couple of minutes.

I told him I'd soon be at Moore too in the school of education. He smiled and said, "you'll do great."

Me siento: slightly sunburnt
Escuchando: nada

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s