Meet the Chicano Legacy of Fresno County Team
Chicano Legacy of Fresno County is a team composed of activists and scholars who not only have an intellectual interest in Chicano oral legacies, but who also have deep roots in the Valley and Fresno County as second, third and even fourth generation Fresno County Chicanos.
Eddie Varela
Project Director
Eddie G. Varela is a resident of the Selma, California area and currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of El Concilio de Fresno, Inc. Varela served as a human resources administrator at California State University, Fresno for over 30 years. His accomplishments include selection as a California State University Fellow. He continues to serve the Chicano/Mexican American community as an advocate promoting positive community development and public policy advocacy.
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Patrick Fontes, PhD
Community Historian/Humanities Expert
Dr. Patrick Fontes is a fourth-generation Chicano Fresnan. His great grandparents crossed over into El Paso during the Mexican Revolution in 1917, then made their journey over to Fresno, building an adobe home around 1920. Dr. Fontes received his PhD in American History from Stanford University. His research interests include Mexican American history, immigration history, 20th century American youth sub-cultures, and the criminalization of Chicano culture. Dr. Fontes currently teaches at Cal State Fresno.
His poetry has appeared in The Más Tequila Review, the Acentos Review, The James Franco Review, Suisun Valley Review, Silver Birch Press, as well the online poetry site La Bloga.
Floricanto Press published Patrick’s first novel, Maria’s Purgatorio in Jan. 2016.
Contact: patrickfontes@csufresno.edu 559.724.1757
Jose Luis Barraza
Curator
José Luis Barraza is a lifetime resident of Fresno California. His life experiences include over 20 years in curating visual, performing arts and lectures, he possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. Jose Luis’s focus has been in developing Chicano Theater, an American art forum. His early beginnings 1972-1980 he performed with Luis Valdez and Teatro Campesino during a short stint in Fresno. Followed with Adrian Verges and Teatro de La Gente a touring company. He was also an active participant in Teatro Nacional de Aztlan, (TENAZ) an annual national theatre festival. He co-founded Centro Bellas Arts, the First Mexican-American Art Center in the San Joaquin Valley from 1984-2000. And served as the Executive Director from 1994-2000. Today he continues playing parts with Agustín Lira and Teatro de la Tierra. (Hispanic Profiles Magazine 8/94)