December 10, 1940 - June 7, 2015
Sal was one of the founding members of Amigos Anonymous having been a member of the groups that worked in Zinapecuaro in 1962 and in Jesus del Monte in 1963. In the summer of 1964 Sal worked for several weeks helping oversee Amigos' projects in Mexico, and returned again the following summer providing immensely helpful oversight for the' projects which were operating in 14 villages that summer. From 1966 through 1968 Sal continued to work with Amigos Anonymous as an elder adviser and supporter.
Sal passed away on June 7, 2015 at his family home in San Jose, CA after suffering from a long, debilitating illness. He is survived by wife, Sylvia, 4 children and 9 grandchildren, whom he lovingly referred to as the 49ers.
Sal was born in Santa Maria, CA. His parents were immigrant farmworkers from Mexico who later moved the family to Mountain View and then to San Jose. Sal graduated from James Lick High School in 1958 and then from San Jose State College in 1963 where he was one of only five Mexican-American students. He met his wife, Sylvia, in 1965 at San Jose State; they married in 1966. He and Sylvia first lived near UC Berkeley while he earned his M.S.W. and later worked on a doctorate in social work.
At 30 years old, Sal became one of the youngest professors in California, co-founding the Graduate School of Social Work at San Jose State with the mission to build community development, and later taught Multi-Cultural education at UC Santa Cruz.
Throughout his life, Sal dedicated himself to social justice causes. From 1967 to 1969, Sal worked for the US Catholic Conference of Bishops as the Executive Director of the Bishops' Committee for the Spanish speaking where he established offices in Stockton, San Francisco, and San Jose to address the spiritual needs of the Spanish speaking. It was during this time that Sal met Cesar Chavez who asked for help from the Church. Sal worked with then Monsignor Roger Mahony to assign a priest to work with the United Farm Workers (UFW).
In the summer of 1970, Sal volunteered with the UFW at its "Forty Acres" headquarters in Delano where he was assigned to work for El Malcriado. This was the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the Farm Labor Movement.
From 1972 to 1977, Sal was a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley while working as an Assistant Professor at UC Santa Cruz. In 1975, Sal realized his dream of working for the UFW. He first joined as a researcher studying the mechanization of the lettuce fields. He was later assigned as a legislative aid to Dolores Huerta where he worked on protecting the Agricultural Labor Relation Board and legislation for farmworkers such as the abolition of the short handle hoe, establishing workers' compensation, and the regulation of pesticides. Sal worked closely with Dolores Huerta for decades and she is credited with teaching him the practical side of lobbying and politics.
In 1979, Sal was ordained a Permanent Deacon i the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Archbishop John Quinn and continued his work as a social justice leader in the Catholic Church and Interfaith Community while working for the UFW. He co-founded the Santa Clara County Interfaith Council and served as a special liaison on social concerns to Bishop Patrick J. McGrath for a decade until the Bishop's passing.
In 1984, Sal was assigned to represent the UFW as their lobbyist in Washington, D.C., working on immigration reform as farmworkers had not been considered in the original legislation. He spent the next two years forging critical relationships with key Congressmen and with Senator Alan Simpson who would eventually advocate for provisions inclusive of seasonal agricultural workers in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which helped legalize 1.4 million workers.
For 50 years, Sal distinguished himself as a Chicano, faith-based, civil rights leader during which time he represented the National League of United American Citizens, served as Vice President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and served as a permanent Deacon for the Diocese of San Jose for 36 of those years.
Sal dedicated himself to the cause of peace, traveling to 20 countries on peace delegations including the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. He was a distinguished social policy analyst and instrumental in the protection of the Agricultural labor Relations Act and passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. He was a significant national strategist for the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which he took pride in especially for its expansion of the Mental Health and Addictions Equity Act of 2008.
In 1996, Sal founded the Institute for Non-Violence and served as Executive Director until his passing, developing the capacity of Latino youth and families to resolve conflicts and live in peace, applying tenets he embraced from 12 Step Recovery Programs. He served as Chair of the Mayor's Committee to honor Cesar Chavez from 2007 until his passing. He devoted the final years of his life to developing consensus for transformative systems change to eliminate the pipeline of Latinos going from public schools and child welfare programs to the California prison system.
Sal was acknowledged by the U.S. National Park Service as a national expert on the history of the Farm Labor Movement, and was instrumental to the national recognition of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Chapel and its seminal role in the spirituality and development of the Farm Labor Movement within the United States of America.
In 2011, Sal was bestowed with the Cross of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.
Sal loved living on the 4 acres of land in the Evergreen area of East San Jose where he and Sylvia settled in 1968 with Sal's parents. They lovingly called this, "El Ranchito". He particularly loved the apricot orchard and the barn he and his children built there. Sal loved Christmas, and waking his family on birthdays by loudly playing Las Mananitas. He love La Virgen de Guadalupe, praying the rosary, the 49ers, eating frijolitos prepared by Sylvia, and shopping in thrift stores. He loved reading the newspaper - any newspaper. He loved collecting books, and antique furniture. He loved to travel up and down the state of California, across the country and around the world. He loved his "troquita" (1970 Ford pickup), and treasured time with family - camping in Calaveras. He loved his family and all of his extended family, and was deeply grateful for the love and care that Sylvia gave him during his illness and for their 48 years of marriage.
Sal was one of the founding members of Amigos Anonymous having been a member of the groups that worked in Zinapecuaro in 1962 and in Jesus del Monte in 1963. In the summer of 1964 Sal worked for several weeks helping oversee Amigos' projects in Mexico, and returned again the following summer providing immensely helpful oversight for the' projects which were operating in 14 villages that summer. From 1966 through 1968 Sal continued to work with Amigos Anonymous as an elder adviser and supporter.
Sal passed away on June 7, 2015 at his family home in San Jose, CA after suffering from a long, debilitating illness. He is survived by wife, Sylvia, 4 children and 9 grandchildren, whom he lovingly referred to as the 49ers.
Sal was born in Santa Maria, CA. His parents were immigrant farmworkers from Mexico who later moved the family to Mountain View and then to San Jose. Sal graduated from James Lick High School in 1958 and then from San Jose State College in 1963 where he was one of only five Mexican-American students. He met his wife, Sylvia, in 1965 at San Jose State; they married in 1966. He and Sylvia first lived near UC Berkeley while he earned his M.S.W. and later worked on a doctorate in social work.
At 30 years old, Sal became one of the youngest professors in California, co-founding the Graduate School of Social Work at San Jose State with the mission to build community development, and later taught Multi-Cultural education at UC Santa Cruz.
Throughout his life, Sal dedicated himself to social justice causes. From 1967 to 1969, Sal worked for the US Catholic Conference of Bishops as the Executive Director of the Bishops' Committee for the Spanish speaking where he established offices in Stockton, San Francisco, and San Jose to address the spiritual needs of the Spanish speaking. It was during this time that Sal met Cesar Chavez who asked for help from the Church. Sal worked with then Monsignor Roger Mahony to assign a priest to work with the United Farm Workers (UFW).
In the summer of 1970, Sal volunteered with the UFW at its "Forty Acres" headquarters in Delano where he was assigned to work for El Malcriado. This was the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the Farm Labor Movement.
From 1972 to 1977, Sal was a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley while working as an Assistant Professor at UC Santa Cruz. In 1975, Sal realized his dream of working for the UFW. He first joined as a researcher studying the mechanization of the lettuce fields. He was later assigned as a legislative aid to Dolores Huerta where he worked on protecting the Agricultural Labor Relation Board and legislation for farmworkers such as the abolition of the short handle hoe, establishing workers' compensation, and the regulation of pesticides. Sal worked closely with Dolores Huerta for decades and she is credited with teaching him the practical side of lobbying and politics.
In 1979, Sal was ordained a Permanent Deacon i the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Archbishop John Quinn and continued his work as a social justice leader in the Catholic Church and Interfaith Community while working for the UFW. He co-founded the Santa Clara County Interfaith Council and served as a special liaison on social concerns to Bishop Patrick J. McGrath for a decade until the Bishop's passing.
In 1984, Sal was assigned to represent the UFW as their lobbyist in Washington, D.C., working on immigration reform as farmworkers had not been considered in the original legislation. He spent the next two years forging critical relationships with key Congressmen and with Senator Alan Simpson who would eventually advocate for provisions inclusive of seasonal agricultural workers in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which helped legalize 1.4 million workers.
For 50 years, Sal distinguished himself as a Chicano, faith-based, civil rights leader during which time he represented the National League of United American Citizens, served as Vice President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and served as a permanent Deacon for the Diocese of San Jose for 36 of those years.
Sal dedicated himself to the cause of peace, traveling to 20 countries on peace delegations including the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. He was a distinguished social policy analyst and instrumental in the protection of the Agricultural labor Relations Act and passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. He was a significant national strategist for the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which he took pride in especially for its expansion of the Mental Health and Addictions Equity Act of 2008.
In 1996, Sal founded the Institute for Non-Violence and served as Executive Director until his passing, developing the capacity of Latino youth and families to resolve conflicts and live in peace, applying tenets he embraced from 12 Step Recovery Programs. He served as Chair of the Mayor's Committee to honor Cesar Chavez from 2007 until his passing. He devoted the final years of his life to developing consensus for transformative systems change to eliminate the pipeline of Latinos going from public schools and child welfare programs to the California prison system.
Sal was acknowledged by the U.S. National Park Service as a national expert on the history of the Farm Labor Movement, and was instrumental to the national recognition of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Chapel and its seminal role in the spirituality and development of the Farm Labor Movement within the United States of America.
In 2011, Sal was bestowed with the Cross of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.
Sal loved living on the 4 acres of land in the Evergreen area of East San Jose where he and Sylvia settled in 1968 with Sal's parents. They lovingly called this, "El Ranchito". He particularly loved the apricot orchard and the barn he and his children built there. Sal loved Christmas, and waking his family on birthdays by loudly playing Las Mananitas. He love La Virgen de Guadalupe, praying the rosary, the 49ers, eating frijolitos prepared by Sylvia, and shopping in thrift stores. He loved reading the newspaper - any newspaper. He loved collecting books, and antique furniture. He loved to travel up and down the state of California, across the country and around the world. He loved his "troquita" (1970 Ford pickup), and treasured time with family - camping in Calaveras. He loved his family and all of his extended family, and was deeply grateful for the love and care that Sylvia gave him during his illness and for their 48 years of marriage.