La Voz de Aztlan
Remembering Ruben Salazar
on the 35th Anniversary of his AssassinationAugust 29, 2005
Today marks 35 years since the Los Angeles County Sheriffs shot and killed Los Angeles Times journalist Ruben Salazar at the Silver Dollar Cafe in East Los Angeles. Ruben Salazar's assassination is just one example of how Mexican-Americans have been oppressed by gringos since the defeat of Mexico in 1848 and the loss of the territory that today constitutes the southwest part of the USA. There are diverse ways by which Mexican-Americans are denied justice and equality, but a primary strategy is to intimidate and silence its legitimate leadership and especially journalists that expose USA hypocrisy and the democracy facade. La Voz de Aztlan and its staff knows about the "power of the written word" that expresses the censored truth and about the great efforts that evil people in America exert to suppress it.
On this special day we would like to invite our readership, and especially our young readers of Mexican descent, to visit the following pages concerning the life and writings of Ruben Salazar. The first link below is to our report concerning the excellent book by Professor Mario T. Garcia of the University of California at Santa Barbara titled, "Ruben Salazar : BORDER CORRESPONDENT Selected Writings, 1955-1970". Make sure to click and view the photograph taken by Professor Raul Ruiz in front of the Silver Dollar a few minutes before Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy Tom Wilson fires a projectile hitting Ruben Salazar in the head and killing him instantly. There have been rumors for decades that both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's has special squads of trained "assassins" that are utilized to take out certain Chicano and Black leaders they deem dangerous.
The second link is to our article that was published back on January 31, 2000 as part of our "Heroes of La Raza Series". The article is an excellent description of the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War that took place in East Los Angeles on August 29, 1970 and how Ruben Salazar met his death.
"Ruben Salazar : BORDER CORRESPONDENT Selected Writings, 1955-1970"
