Barrio Boy, it's an autobiography about Ernesto Galarza, and how he grew up in Jalco during the Mexican Revolution, and had to move to Sacramento, California to get away from it.

Barrio BOy

Gina Tyler

1. Author Information

The author of Barrio Boy, is Ernesto Galarza. Ernesto was born in Jalcocotan, Nayarit (which is in Mexico) on August 15, 1905 and died in 1984. During Galarza's early childhood, he lived in a small village of Jalcocotan, all while he learned respect for the things he had. Ernesto came to the United States at a young age, during the Mexian Revolution which happened in the early 1900's.

While Ernesto was growing up, he helped out his family in harvesting their crops. He worked in the harvest crops of Sacramento, California. Working in these conditions inspired his views on the way Mexicans were treated as farmworkers. He soon became concerned about the way that the Mexican agriculture workers were treated poorly, and lived in bad condtions all while being a school boy. During these hard times, a baby died, from drinking the polluted water they were given.

Dr. Jaime Galarza ofrece conferencia a los Nuevos ...

Ernesto at Grafton Cheese Company

Ernesto at the Big Indian #2

When the Mexican people found out about this, they decided to ask Ernesto to lead the village in a protest, because Ernesto had been taught English in school.

Galarza showed his student activism towards Mexian-American in the early 1929's, which was when he vocalized his views on the way that the Mexian-American's were being treated. He finished up high school, and after graduation he continued on with his education. He went to Stanford University, where he was the first Mexican-American to ever be admitted. Mr. Galarza earned his Ph. D. in history and political science at Columbia University.

After World War II, Dr. Ernesto Galarza soon became a labor organizer because of his endorsement of the AFL-CIO, he was also named the National Farm Labor Union's executive secretary. Galarza was deeply committed to the education of young people, and the thought that everyone should...