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• 1 2021-04-19T17:25:29+00:00 Florencio (Frank) de Ávila Morales 1 Club Social Potosino, Club Cerritos, Sociedad Cívica Mexicana, Asociación de Clubes y Organizaciones Potosinas de Illinois (ACOPIL) plain 2021-04-19T17:25:29+00:00 Club Social Potosino, Club Cerritos, Sociedad Cívica Mexicana, Asociación de Clubes y Organizaciones Potosinas de Illinois (ACOPIL)
  
  Oral History Transcript
  
  Oral History Audio
  
  Name of interviewer: Xochitl Bada
  Date of Interview:  May 5, 2016
  Location: Oak Park, IL
  Interview Language: Spanish
  
  A native from Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Florencio (Frank) de Ávila Morales legally crossed the US-Mexico border from Piedras Negras to San Antonio, Texas with four of his siblings in 1965. They travelled by bus to Chicago and went to Chicago’s South Side to live with their father and two older siblings. His mother eventually joined the family in Chicago. For the past 30 years, Frank has owned an insurance company in Blue Island, IL. He worked at a factory to pay for college and has a degree in business administration from Roosevelt University. In 1995, he co-founded Club Social Potosino, a hometown association focused on political activism and human rights in Mexico and the U.S.  He also founded the Club Cerritos to support many community development projects in his hometown using the 3X1 program. Mr. de Ávila has been involved in multiple non-profits including the Sociedad Cívica Mexicana, the Organization of American Firefighters, and the South West Community Association. He was elected as an advisor to the Institute for Mexicans Abroad representing Chicago’s consular jurisdiction. In 2012, he ran as a National Action Party (PAN) candidate to state representative for his local district in San Luis Potosí and lost the election. He is a founding member of the Asociación de Clubes y Organizaciones Potosinas de Illinois (ACOPIL).