“And Now The Rest Of The Story” Mom and Dad's bio
October 26, 2011
Osvaldo y Guadalupe Hinojosa, Co-founders of Centro Culutral; were born in Matamoros , Tamaulipas , Mexico . They migrated to the US , to Harlingen , Texas in 1952. They joined the migrant mainstream, in 1960, traveling from Texas to Washington and Oregon states, along with their children Joe, Robert, Hector, and twins Nelda and Hilda. They harvested, pruned, and irrigated: cotton, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, grapes, figs, plums, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, cucumbers, pole-beans, walnuts, filberts, holly, tomatoes, potatoes, and beats. They finally settled in Hillsboro , in 1961. In 1964 they bought a home in Hillsboro . They were actively involved with the local catholic church and the Archdiocese, in Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro , Woodburn, Salem , Mt Angel, Portland , and Sheridan . They promoted, and participated, in several religious groups like Marriage Encounter, Cursillistas (Crusaders for Christ), Youth Ministry. They were also members of the church council, the Guadalupanas, and exercised their ministry in community outreach, for the sick, family intervention, and domestic violence intervention. They were also co-founders of the Club de los Amigos, (An emergency assistance and loans network), Centro Petra Perez (A Senior Citizen Organization for Hispanics), Centro Cultural, (A Community Resource Center), Virginia Garcia Memorial Heath Center , and the Exxon Service Station Coop (owned by the familias de Washington County). Mr. and Mrs. Hinojosa actively participated in the activities of Centro Cultural, including fundraising, cooking, serving, up keeping the building and the yard, and served on the Board of Directors. For the early founding families, Centro Cultural was a daily way of life. The Centro served as the center for fellow-shipping, organizing activities, celebrating and honoring cultural arts and music. The community center served as a resource center, as classroom for English as a Second Language Classes, for US Citizenship Classes, Adult Basic Education, GED, and served as a Senior Center , and a facility to have cultural and religious celebrations. Centro has served as a portal of diversity for both the dominant culture and the Hispanic community. Offering information and referral services, in health care, emergency assistance, housing, advocacy services, drug and alcohol programs, employment and training and served as a great platform for professionals, practitioners, and the community at-large to obtain culturally and linguistically appropriate awareness, cultural encounters, obtain cross-cultural skills, and obtain cultural knowledge to develop individual cultural competencies. I remember my parents, even though limited English speakers, participating in mediation meetings, between the Chief of Police, the State Mediation Services, and the Hispanic community members, on racial profiling, in Washington County . Because of Centro, there is a vehicle for access to actively participate in the process of the American Dream, for my family and many other Hispanic citizens in Washington County, we have been afford the infrastructure to aid in eliminating disparities between the Hispanic community and our larger community. Hector Hinojosa