Organizers chose Backesto Park in part because of its recently completed mural<\/a>, highlighting people and themes tied to San Jose\u2019s Chicano history. This year\u2019s event will also focus on opposition to a proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility<\/a> just outside Gilroy, which organizers said could affect communities throughout the South Bay, while giving younger generations a chance to learn directly from people who participated in the movement decades ago.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to commemorate international solidarity,\u201d Uriel Magdaleno, chair of Community Service Organization San Jose<\/a>, formerly known as the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt\u2019s not only just a commemoration, it\u2019s an actual Chicano Moratorium over again.\u201d<\/p>\n Magdaleno said the event\u00a0is intended to carry that history forward rather than simply reflecting on the past.\u00a0He wants San Jose residents to understand how immigration enforcement in neighboring cities such as Gilroy<\/a> could impact the broader South Bay. While Santa Clara County has not seen mass immigration enforcement operations, roughly 232 residents have been detained since the start of 2025 to June 2026, according to the Rapid Response Network of Santa Clara County<\/a>.<\/p>\n The original Chicano Moratorium<\/a> took place Aug. 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles, drawing tens of thousands of people to protest the Vietnam War and the disproportionate number of Chicanos killed in the conflict. The demonstration also became a protest against police brutality and discrimination at home.<\/p>\n The demonstration ended in a confrontation with law enforcement, and journalist Ruben Salazar and two Brown Beret members were killed by police. The Brown Berets were a community-based social justice organization that played a prominent role in the Chicano civil rights movement<\/a>, advocating around issues including educational inequality, healthcare, police brutality and wartime casualties. The Chicano Moratorium is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places<\/a>.<\/p>\n Victor Vasquez, co-executive director of SOMOS Mayfair, said many people outside the Chicano community are unfamiliar with the history behind the original protest, making local events like these gathering opportunities to preserve that history and connect it to issues facing residents today.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a reminder to come back and focus on the problems in our communities, instead of promoting war,\u201d Vasquez told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
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