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Mexican Hometown Association Oral Histories

Juan Rojas Valdez

This page is referenced by:

Juan Rojas Valdez Durango Unido en Chicago and Club Santiaguero del Río Abajo, Durango

Oral History Transcription

Oral History Audio

Name of Interviewer: Enrique Alvear
Date of Interview: June 7, 2016
Location: Chicago, IL
Interview Language: Spanish

Originally from “El Tambor”, Durango, Mexico, Juan Rojas arrived in Chicago in 1969 as an undocumented immigrant and returned to Mexico after a few years and settled temporarily in Tijuana. In 1975, Juan Rojas and his wife came back to Chicago as a way of getting a healthy place to live after the birth of their fourth child. After their son was born in Tijuana, Juan’s wife went back to Durango to take care of their other children and Juan came to the U.S. to find a job. In Chicago, he worked for a long time as a laborer in a factory and then he studied English as a Second Language in Loop College, now Harold Washington Community College. After that, Juan Rojas started to work as an Associate Director of the Regional Office of Catholic Bishops for the Midwest, in Michigan, Indiana. At that time, he was also director of religious education for the Archdiocese of Chicago at a Catholic parish close to Midway airport, in Chicago. The hometown clubs federation Durango Unido" was founded in April of 1997 as a result of a meeting of ‘duranguenses’ in Chicago. Juan Rojas participated in this meeting and was a cofounder of this federation. The federation of clubs was initially established with the intention of developing social programs as a way of dealing with the local government’s abandonment of social issues in Durango. After the foundation of the Durango Unido en Chicago, Juan Rojas also created the “Club Santiaguero del Rio Abajo”. The club initiated as a response to several people’s needs in the community of Santiaguero del Rio Abajo, Durango. Durango Unido was also an affiliate of the Confederación de Federaciones Mexicanas en el Medio Oeste, becoming engaged with immigration issues of Latinos in the U.S. and in Latin America.