Ezequiel Banda
Oral History Transcript
Oral History Audio
Name of interviewer: Enrique Alvear
Date of Interview: July 14, 2016
Location: Chicago, IL
Interview Language: Spanish
Originally from the agricultural community called ‘El Tepozán’ in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Ezequiel Banda arrived in California in 1968 as the son of a ‘bracero’ Mexican immigrant. There he finished middle school while he worked as a farmer with his father. The following year, he moved with an aunt to Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, he was a political columnist for the Spanish language newspaper called “La Raza” while working as an operator in a General Electric factory. Ezequiel got his General Educational Diploma (GED) and also took some courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He later became the director of Spanish language news at the WOJO radio station as is the publisher of the “Nuevo Siglo” newspaper. Ezequiel Banda is a founding member of the hometown club “Sociedad Cívica Potosina” and participated in the creation of the “Asociación de Clubes y Organizaciones Potosinas de Illinois” (ACOPIL). ACOPIL became the third organization of native people from San Luis Potosí in Chicago. ACOPIL emerged as a federation of hometown clubs for implementing social programs in San Luis Potosí independently from the Mexican Consulate. Both ACOPIL and “Sociedad Cívica Potosina” have worked in the promotion of development projects in order to deal with social, cultural, and economic needs in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
