In an emotional and insightful evening on Feb. 25, Corazón Healdsburg welcomed expectants to hear Chicano director Luis Valdez speak alongside Corazón’s own strategic plan announcement. With several personal statements and analogies to better describe the plans, Corazón staff members explained what the organization’s future goals are and how it plans to deliver them.
Corazón looks forward
According to Corazón Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement Holly Fox, a recent round of about 250 surveys were completed where Healdsburg residents said they felt they did not belong.
“Their job options are limited, their kids are struggling to be seen in school and the idea of owning a home here — well, that feels impossible. And then there’s the racism,” Fox said.
Fox reminded the audience of the importance of community, of neighbors — the first person people go to if they’re in need of something like sugar.
A video of a colleague was shown where she talked about being profiled and put down while walking near the plaza. She was wearing a Columbia University hoodie and heard someone comment about it.
“Wow, I guess they just let anyone in these days,” she heard a man say.
“And in that moment, all these achievements and all these goals and things that I’ve attained, that I have worked so hard for made me feel like were invalid. (They) made me feel like I didn’t earn my spot at this university, that one little comment would send me down a toxic rabbit hole of self-doubt,” the colleague said in the video.
Fox explained the importance of collective empowerment for individuals experiencing difficult situations to be able to overcome them. She stressed how as she had mentioned neighbors earlier, they’re almost all from the same ethnic and economic backgrounds.
“We live in, unofficially, but effectively segregated neighborhoods, and have limited cross-ethnic relationships. Not knowing each other well makes it that much harder for me to see you as my other. And this ignorance, it feeds the injustices we want to fight against. We must strengthen our community by bringing individuals and families with different backgrounds together to cultivate relationships,” Fox said.
The goal is to achieve all of these through professional development alongside an operations planning team.
Corazón Director of Community Services Jesús Guzmán talked about his life and how his mother was always working to provide for him and his siblings. He mentioned how he and his sister would often have to translate to his mother, even when they did not know the words.
“We did the best we could with what we knew and what we had at the time. And when I reflect on those experiences, I think about the many other immigrant kids like me, who had those experiences, and it’s why I’m so grateful for our team of family advisors, who step up every day, to help families with something as simple as translating a document to something much more complicated, like helping them secure and access, secure, safe and affordable housing,” Guzmán said.
A video of a mother of two, Tanya Escobar, was shown to tell her story. Escobar is a dedicated volunteer and is a consultant for Corazón and sits on the board for Alliance Medical Center.
“They have given me the proper tools to create a proper self. I want my daughters to see in me that there are no barriers,” Escobar said in the video, referring to Corazón.
“I believe union makes the force and Corazón always has its doors open for everyone,” she said. Escobar emphasized the importance of volunteering and creating a sense of community.
“To build a more compassionate and just community. We are powering those and families to become self-sustainable and self-reliant. We will advocate against the justices and transform unjust systems. And we will bring everybody together to celebrate the diversity that enriches our community,” Corazón CEO Glaydon De Freitas said.
Valdez’s view
Valdez, known for his play “Zoot Suit” and his movie “La Bamba,” shared a story about him wanting to participate in a school play when he was in elementary. Two monkeys were needed and he had gotten one of the parts. But then one day when he came back from school, Valdez learned he would not be able to do the play.
“My debut before the world, here I was. But then the week of the show my mom said ‘we’re leaving tomorrow’” he said. The show was on Friday but his family was being evicted. Valdez later on became the founder of Teatro Campesino. The company created and performed “actos” or short skits on flatbed trucks and in union halls. Taking the “actos” on tour to dramatize the plight and cause of the farmworkers.Valdez had involvement with Cesar Chavez and highly supported the Chicano movement.
In the audience, several guests attended the event solely because Valdez was speaking. Some had never heard of Corazón and were finally introduced to it.
Fulton resident Daniel Villalva was a member of Teatro Campesino from 1974 to 1976. “It was great to be able to find out about Corazón Healdsburg. I knew nothing about this organization. It sounds like they’re really well on their way to becoming a very strong organization for this community,” he said.
“I think that Luis is a very powerful speaker, and he’s going to ring for a while,” Villalva said.
Gene Calhoun, from Forestville, attended to see Valdez speak as well. Valdez was a mentor of his.
“I was a student of his at UC Santa Cruz. And so he invited me to be part of this summer workshop,” Calhoun said.“We had actors from Africa, Japan, France, England, it is like this multicultural theater experiment. That incredibly powerful change changed my life, you know, that summer has had an impact on my life ever since.”
Calhoun opened the newspaper that day and saw Valdez was in town. He then realized he could not miss it.
“I knew nothing about Corazón. But I like the essence, you know, those principles. I want to find out more about Corazón and see if there are any ways that I can be of use or connect other people to it. I was just blown away by the concept and the mission,” he said.
