Patricia Marin 1952-1995:

Editor's Note - On the evening of December 18, 1995, Patricia Marin passed away in her sleep. Patricia was a leading member of Unión del Barrio, the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project, Unión del Barrio Women's Commission, the Raza Rights Coalition, and participated in many other ways in the struggle for Mexicano Liberation. The following is a brief synopsis of her life and what she meant to Unión del Barrio and our gente's struggle for freedom. We proudly dedicate this issue of ¡LA VERDAD! in her honor.From the Oct - Dec 1995 issue of ¡LA VERDAD!

We first came into contact with Compañera Patricia Marin in 1986, while she was attending Rancho Santiago College in Orange County, California, during which time she was working with the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán. Patricia served as M.E.Ch.A. advisor during the years 1988 and 1989 - and it was during this period that she began to work more closely with Unión del Barrio. In 1990 the Orange County Moratorium Committee was formed in which Patricia served as the National Chicano Moratorium Committee Representative. It was from that point in time - a period of reconstruction of a national Chicano Mexicano Movement - that Patricia Marin integrated herself into our peoples liberation movement with a level of dedication and sacrifice that few will be able to match.

Six years have passed since that period of general unity building for our Movimiento. During those last six years our organization and the Movimiento in general has seen many people come and go. But at the same time, throughout those years of building and growth, extraordinary persons have arisen, forged from the gains and setbacks of daily struggle. Patricia Marin shines as the greatest example of those extraordinary comrades.

Patricia was one of those people who was liked immediately, for her simplicity, her honesty, her character, her naturalness, her selflessness, her understanding, and her general comradely attitude. Many of us had the pleasure and honor of knowing her in a personal way - but these traits in her personality were the first and most apparent of her qualities, even to those who knew her only in passing. What must be recognized is that Patricia was so much more than just a beautiful individual - these wonderful characteristics she expressed were only a foundation upon which was built one of the greatest revolutionaries the Chicano Mexicano liberation struggle has ever produced. It is only by recognizing this can we express fully what Compañera Patricia Marin truly represented to us, Unión del Barrio, and to the revolutionary liberation struggle she died fighting for.

Patricia was a mature woman of forty three years of age. We raise this in order for all to understand that she entered the struggle not led by the idealism of youth nor as a half-hearted, self-serving pseudo-revolutionary. Over time she had come to identify clearly the true nature of the vendido, hispanic, poverty pimp agency mentality and said "chale." She then integrated herself totally into the liberation struggle of La Raza.

Patricia participated in liberation struggle as a woman with an abundance of individual experience and maturity and it was this experience that moved her to action. Before the Movimiento, her life was one of sacrifice and struggle surviving as a single mother with all the contradictions of a colonial society on her back. The well-being of her family was always on her mind, and her activism was forever dedicated towards her children. In other words, Patricia had many years of life experience and also a family to care for - for many other people these things are enough to convince them to give up struggle. For Patricia it had the opposite effect: she not only dedicated the rest of her life to struggle, she did so in the name of her children and because of her life experience.

Even during those first days with M.E.Ch.A. her experience and clear vision placed her in a position of respect during which time the friendship and warm feelings we have for her were ever increasing. It was this life experience that gave her a true vision of colonialism, and in the last years of her life armed her as an anti-imperialist fighter. This profound spirit of struggle and contempt for imperialism gave her what many of those around her lacked - the hindsight, the courage, and the vision to not only join in the building of liberation struggle but to become a leader in every sense of the word.

A person like Patricia did not require elaborate arguments. It was sufficient for her to know that her people existed in a state of perpetual oppression and that there was an organization that was inspired by genuine revolutionary and patriotic ideals. That was more than enough for Patricia to make her people's struggle her own.

There are countless examples that we could recite that represent the extremely high level of commitment and dedication this Compañera maintained. All of us that knew her also knew how she was always willing to sacrifice to whatever level was necessary for the benefit of the group. If Patricia had a dollar in her pocket she would donate seventy-five cents - and keep the quarter for the sole purpose of avoiding criticism for being over-generous. She was well known for her habit of volunteering for the most tedious and difficult of tasks while at the same time never demanding recognition. Patricia was never one to seek recognition and she had no interest in titles. Her activism was truly led by a deep internal drive to better the condition of La Raza.

Patricia had spent the week before her death in San José, assisting and providing direction for the compañeros building Unión del Barrio in that region. With her arrival back in San Diego she was full of positive information - energized and excited by the bright future of our organizing efforts in northern California. If she had lived two weeks longer she would have seen the results of her nomination for the position of Coordinator of the San Diego chapter of Unión del Barrio. Patricia Marin passed away at the pinnacle of her activism and development. There is no doubt in any of our minds that if she had lived she would have easily reached the highest levels of leadership possible in Unión del Barrio - her determination and dedication to La Causa could not have produced any other results.

During her activism in Orange County she was chosen to represent the Orange County Chicano Moratorium at the 1990 Twentieth Commemoration of August 29th. Her presentation at this historic event focused on the building of unity and organization towards the betterment of La Raza. "We must build for Unity. . . " was what she explained during the East Los Angeles event. From that point onward Patricia put her words into action - every year until her passing she served on the national Mesa Directiva of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee. Later, after her move to San Diego, she assumed a leadership role within the Raza Rights Coalition, and at the time of her death she was the Outreach Coordinator for the mobilization against the 1996 Republican Convention.

Patricia joined Unión del Barrio in 1993, and immediately played a central role in several Unión del Barrio projects, most notably the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project (CMPP). In many ways, Patricia was the CMPP - she organized meetings, maintained files on all its membership, corresponded with the prisoners, originally served as Secretary on the Mesa Directiva, represented the CMPP by giving presentations, and wrote articles printed in the CMPP newsletter Las Calles Y La Torcida. Patricia Marin was central to formulating a vision and purpose for the project in general, and at the time of her death she had recently been elected into the position of Coordinator of the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project. Patricia also played a leading role in the founding and building of Unión del Barrio's Women's Commission. Her life experience tremendously enriched this process, and the growth of the Commission is partially due to her commitment and dedication.

Patricia Marin was the best example of what a true cadre is and should be. She molded her personal life around her commitment to liberation struggle. Originally her move to San Diego was for the purpose of expanding her activism and developing herself as a revolutionary fighter by submerging herself in struggle. While in San Diego and maintaining an incredible level of activism, she still found time to study; at the time of her death she had recently been awarded a Master's Degree in Multi-cultural Counseling. She was always quite open about the motives behind her studies - "I'm doing this so I can offer more monetary help to the group." The true revolutionary character Patricia possessed becomes readily apparent - especially since her educational/career goals had become side-noted in her life because, in all honesty, the Movimiento was her life.

Patricia also understood that people have a relative value in history - the idea that movements are not defeated when people fall, that the forward march of history cannot and will not be halted when leaders fall. Her life expresses her faith in people, her faith in ideas, and her faith in examples. Because truly, Patricia Marin was the highest example of a Revolutionary Mexicana. We understand that in real revolutionary struggle one wins or dies. Our sister Patricia left us as a revolutionary - up to her last days we see she spent as a builder of Mexicano liberation, laying the foundation for the birth of a better world. For those of us that knew her, it rests on us that we take up the banner of her example and make it our own - this, and only this, that will give Patricia Marin the honor she deserves. We know she would have it no other way.

We fully appreciate the value of her example. We are absolutely convinced that many people will strive to live up to her example; that people like her will continue to emerge. It is not easy to find a person with all the virtues that were combined in Patricia. It is not easy for a person, spontaneously, to develop a character like hers. We say that she is one of those people who are difficult to match and virtually impossible to surpass. We also understand that it is the example of people like her that contributes to the development of people of the same caliber.

While the organizational posts and organizational work of Patricia Marin have ended with her passing, her importance to Unión del Barrio has not ended. Her physical ties to the group may be gone but it is her status as a revolutionary that will forever keep her within our ranks. There are plans that are now being discussed to rename the Women's Commission in her honor. It has also been suggested that we name the date of her passing - December 19, 1995 - Dia de la Mujer Revolucionaria, in her honor, and that as long as Unión del Barrio exists this day will be commemorated with a political event of some kind; a forum, a conference, etc.

In closing, we wish to remember Patricia Marin as the highest expression of a mother, sister, friend, comrade, and revolutionary. We must uphold her for her magnitude as a woman, her discipline, and her spirit of devotion towards the liberation of our pueblo. She served our revolutionary struggle honorably, and in these moments of remembrance we must lift our spirits high with optimism for the future, for we know that freedom will be ours - and Patricia Marin is part of our final road towards victory! Therefore we say with pride