Enriqueta Longeaux y Vásquez Quotes

Child care is one of the most difficult problems for a woman to have to face alone. Not only is she tormented with having to leave the raising of her children to someone else, but she wants the best of care for them. For the amount of money that she may be able to pay from her meager wages, it is likely that she will be lucky to find anyone at all to take care of the children.

When we speak of Gringo, we do not particularly hate all white people, but we refer to their social system as ‘Gringo.’ That is what we don’t like.

Then you will find the Chicana with a husband who was not able to fare so very well in the Society and perhaps has had to face defeat. She is the woman that really suffers. Quite often the man will not fight the real source of his problems, be it discrimination or whatever, but will instead come home and take it out on his family. As this continues, his Chicana becomes the victim of his machismo and woeful are the trials and tribulations of that household.

I learned to listen, not only to words, but to the hearts of people; thus capturing the passion, anger, outrage, and indignation when discussing racism, greed, repression and exploitation. These sentiments became an eruption of hundreds of years of repressed thought now set free.

We want an abundant society with a different kind of man, the Cubans said. In other words, people will not work for money-they will not have to sell their hard work to somebody else. They will work for the good of the land, for the good of all the people. (1969, about Cuba)

I certainly embrace socialism. I can’t see any other solutions. This country (the United States) could feed the world if it wanted to.

Of all of my writings probably the article that created the biggest whoooraah turned out to be The Woman of La Raza. This lost me friends and made me a target for the renowned Malinche label. But, like so many of my writings, the rewards were many and this article opened centuries-old flood gates that poured forth in women's words and thoughts. I knew This is very important, and from this article came a whole women's history book, The Women of La Raza, hopefully to be published soon. This women's book begins to define the side of that mestizo face medallion we wore so proudly, La India.

How can one guarantee complete non-violence when one lives in a completely VIOLENT country?

Protesting this war, Chicano/as rose to condemn the killing fields with the slogan "Raza Si, Guerra No,” we wanted our young men here fighting for justice instead of in a faraway war.

It seems that before the Europeans came to the Americas, our highly cultured Indian woman usually held an honored position in the "primitive" society in which she lived. She was mistress of the home and took full part in tribal elections. The position of the woman was not only free, but honorable. She was a strong laborer, a good mechanic, a good craftsman, a trapper, a doctor, a preacher and, if need be, a leader. It seems that among the so-called SAVAGE people of this continent, women held a degree of political influence never equaled in any CIVILIZED nation.

The family must come up together. The Raza movement is based on Brotherhood. ¿Qué no? We must look at each other as one large family. We must look at all of the children as belonging to all of us. We must strive for the fulfillment of all as equals with the full capability and right to develop as humans. When the man can look upon "his" woman as HUMAN and with the love of BROTHERHOOD and EQUALITY, then and only then, can he feel the true meaning of liberation and equality himself. When we talk of equality within the Mexican-American movement we better be talking about TOTAL equality beginning right where it all starts. AT HOME...

When she tries to speak of Machismo, she is immediately put down and told "We know all about it, there are many many books written on the subject." She receives nothing but censorship again. She tries so hard to say, "Yes, there is much on Machismo, but can't you Machos look at the women and children who are the VICTIMS of your Machismo?" She tries so much to speak up and instead finds herself speaking to deaf ears and a completely closed mind.

As I look back I remember, To think that at one time even my mother accused me of being a communist and threatened to report me to the government as such. I always respected her and had never answered her, but this time I answered: Go ahead, I will call the FBI for you and you can turn me in. Who do you think I learned to be a revolutionary from? Remember when you would say: 'Si yo supiera hablar inglés, ¿ya me hubieran echado a la prisión?' Pues yo sí sé inglés, y ahora, justed me acusa de ser comunista? Ándele, entrégueme.Her little eyes blinked and after a long silence we both laughed, hugged and cried as she said, Hija de tu nana, me ganaste. I thought, Of course, I won, what do you expect from the daughter of the Mexican Revolution? Later, in 1968, I brought her to visit me in New Mexico and took her to hear Reies Tijerina when he spoke at Española High School. I will never forget the incredible look that came over her face as she drank up every word. After he finished, my mother walked right over to Reies, talked to him and hugged him, tearfully saying, Nunca crei que oyera en este país las palabras y verdades que ha dicho usted. After we left, I smilingly hugged her and reminded her that now, she too was a communist. ¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN, SIEMPRE!

I spent much thought getting things to sound right and inoffensive. I am of the belief that a universal stream of consciousness envelopes the planet and people in many places can get the same ideas at relatively the same time. Who knows, there may be women in China, India, Iraq, or Africa doing a project just like this. I hope so.

Let's start thinking in terms of feeding ourselves instead of feeding the grocery stores. Cooperatives are certainly a big answer for the people. Let's go back to being more self-sufficient. Why do we have to support Mr. Safeway, whoever or wherever he may be?