Lalo Delgado, activist and poet, was considered the grandfather of the Chicano literary movement as well as a key figure in the Chicano Civil Rights Movement.
Corky grew up in Denver, started his career as a boxer and moved into his role as an political organizer, activist poet and writer who spent his life in support of the voices and rights of Mexican-Americans.
Ellen Ochoa is an astronaut and administrator who was the first Hispanic woman to travel into space, and the first Hispanic director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (2013–18).
Manuel Ramos was a civil rights and poverty law attorney in Colorado before retiring and picking up the pen.
Tomás Rivera was born into a migrant farm working family who followed the crops between the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Michigan. Rivera was an educator, active author, poet, and artist, and often wrote about Chicano themes and struggles, especially those of the migrant farmworkers.
Lalo Delgado, activist and poet, was considered the grandfather of the Chicano literary movement as well as a key figure in the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. His writings reflect a commitment to social justice, Latino heritage, and struggles. Delgado authored 14 books, most of them self-published under Barrio Books with the goal of making his works accessible to all. One of his books, Chicano: 25 Pieces of a Chicano Mind sold for $1.50. Still there were some who couldn’t pay. Delgado once recalled in an interview with Lisa Olken of Rocky Mountain PBS Television, about a particular gentleman who approached him following a public poetry reading. “The man said, ‘Ay, amigo, I want to read your book, but I don’t have $2.00. Will you accept two food stamps?’ Delgado took the food stamps, framed them, hung them in his office and under the frame, put a handwritten sign that read “Poetry is Food.” (Here Lies Lalo).
(Available as an ebook only and can be obtained through interlibrary loan in print.) 
Corky was the youngest of 7 children. Growing up during the depression, the family managed by picking sugar beets in the Colorado fields during the spring and summer. Corky graduated from high school with a B average and briefly went to the University of Denver where he wanted to study engineering. After one quarter, he left due to the high tuition rates. In 1944 he trained as a featherweight boxer at the Epworth Boxing Club in Denver, where he won the Diamond and Golden Gloves Tournaments. Gonzales also won the Colorado Regional Amateur Flyweight and the National Amateur Athletic Union Bantamweight Championships in 1946 and 1947. In the late 40’s he married, had children, and started his own businesses. He also started to dabble in politics and ran several unsuccessful campaigns for Denver city council, Denver Mayor, State legislature and State Senator. In the mid 60’s he broke with the Democratic party stating the party did not do enough for the Chicano people and he subsequently resigned from his position with the President Johnson’s War on Poverty program. In 1966 he founded the Crusade for Justice Center. The center was a grassroots cultural and civil rights organization. He published the epic poem Yo Soy Joaquín (I am Joaquin) in 1967. The poem tells the story of Joaquin, who travels through history, beginning as an Aztec, then as a Mexican, and finally as a Chicano in the United States. He was one of the activist poets who invoked Aztec myth to promote self-determination among Mexican Americans. In 1969 the Center founded the Escuala Tlatelolco, a bilingual school promoting cultural pride and empowerment. There, Gonzales’s text the “Spiritual Plan of Aztlán” (El Plan de Aztlán) was produced and adopted as the manifesto of the Chicano Movement. El Plan, outlined an ideology of Chicano self-determination and cultural liberation and encouraged Chicanos to participate in their communities for the betterment of their communities.
Available online and in print from the CMC libraries in Leadville and Steamboat.
Dr. Ellen Ochoa, a veteran astronaut, was the 11th director of the Johnson Space Center. She was JSC's first Hispanic director, and its second female director. Her previous management roles include Deputy Center Director and Director of Flight Crew Operations.
Ochoa joined NASA in 1988 as a research engineer at Ames Research Center and moved to Johnson Space Center in 1990 when she was selected as an astronaut. She became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on the nine-day STS-56 mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1993. She has flown in space four times, including STS-66, STS-96 and STS-110, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit.
Born in California, Ochoa earned a bachelor's degree in physics from San Diego State University and a master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. As a research engineer at Sandia National Laboratories and NASA Ames Research Center, Ochoa investigated optical systems for performing information processing. She is a co-inventor on three patents and author of several technical papers.
Ochoa has been recognized with NASA's highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award for senior executives in the federal government. She has received many other awards and is especially honored to have six schools named for her. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), serves on several boards, and chairs the Nomination Evaluation Committee for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
She is married to Coe Miles, an intellectual property attorney. They have two sons.
(Biography accessed on September 14, 2023 from https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/about/people/orgs/bios/ochoa.html)
Manuel Ramos was a civil rights and poverty law attorney in Colorado before retiring and picking up the pen. His debut novel, Ballad of Rocky Ruiz (1993), was a finalist for the Edgar award. In 2010 he published King of the Chicanos. This important novel captures the spirit, energy, and imagination of the 1960s' Chicano movement—a massive and intense struggle across a broad spectrum of political and cultural issues—through the passionate story of the King of the Chicanos, Ramón Hidalgo. Since then, he has received the Colorado Book award (twice) and Chicano/Latino Literacy award. His current series, Mile High Noir features the life and times of P.I. Gus Corral. The series is considered one of the primer examples of the noir writing movement in Denver. He is a regular contributor to La Bloga an internet magazine, dedicated Latino literature, culture, news and opinion. Thus far he has published 11 novels and a short story collection.
Available online and in print at CMC libraries in Leadville, Quigley, and Steamboat.
Tomás Rivera was born into a migrant farmworking family who followed the crops between the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Michigan. He was one of 11 children and one of the only ones that continued their education post-secondary. His childhood inspired the book Tomás and the library lady by Pat Mora, a delightful children’s book about Tomás visiting the library while his family worked in the fields (he was too little to work). After Tomás graduated high school, he started his academic career at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) where he received B.S. and M.Ed. degrees in English and administration, and the University of Oklahoma, where he earned his M.A. in Spanish literature and a Ph.D. in romance language and literature. He taught at the local high school and then at Sam Houston State University. His career in higher education included UT San Antonio, UT El Paso, and in 1979, Chancellor at UC Riverside. As an administrator he often championed first generation students. Rivera was an active author, poet, and artist, and often wrote about Chicano themes and struggles, especially those of the migrant farmworkers. In 1971 he wrote Y no se lo tragó la tierra which is often translated as And the earth didn’t swallow him or And the earth didn’t devour him. Y no se lo tragó la tierra is considered semi-autobiographical and captures the life and struggles of migrant farmworkers.
Check out Y no se lo tragó la tierra
Check out the Hispanic Heritage displays at our libraries!
Pinnacle Library at the Leadville campus
Quigley Library at the Spring Valley campus
Vail Valley/Edwards campus is hosting the Adelante display
In addition to the many other library resources, these resources have specific resources for Hispanic heritage:
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