he Mexican Revolution forced Pedro Garcia Haro in 1910 to leave his hometown of San Martin de Bolaños in the state of Jalisco for the United States. “There was a lot of poverty, a lot of violence in Mexico at that time,” he told his son Jess Haro, a United States Marine Corps veteran and the first Latino elected to serve on the San Diego City Council. Arriving in California from Colorado in 1923, Pedro worked at a farm labor camp in El Monte, California known as Campo Hicks, where he met his wife. They settled in Stockton, raising a blended family of nine children, including five sons who served in the military. The story of the Haro family reflects the mass migration that occurred during the 10-year Mexican Revolution led by Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata in their fight for land and social reform. The war began in 1910 and eventually ended the 34-year dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. Introduction: Jimmy Patiño, Ph.D. – University of Minnesota, Associate Professor Chicano & Latino Studies and UCSD Alumnus T
Chapter 2 Rebuilding Lives, Against All Odds
Mexican American Students of Lemon Grove Grammar School – 1928 (Photo courtesy San Diego History Center)
Pedro Garcia Haro Family – 1935 (Photo courtesy Jess D. Haro family archives)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 2 – Rebuilding Lives, Against All Odds
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