Connections to the Chicano Movement
Since the time the Colorado Territory was annexed into the United States of America, Chicanos have, in a sense, struggled with their identity. In many instances, they have been expected to claim multiple identities at one time; often walking a fine line between their European and indigenous ancestry, which make up their mestizo heritage, and their assimilation to a Euro-American dominated society. For many Chicano citizens of Colorado, this double life was confusing and tiring. The Chicano movement was a time in which Mexican-Americans in Colorado, and around the whole nation, made this double life into one. In this movement, the people claimed their identity as being Chicano, blending together their American nationality and their mestizo heritage. The driving pieces of this movement were the actions that Chicano people took in order to fight against any discrimination toward them. These efforts were seen throughout the 1960's and 19'70s with the United Farm Workers' grape strike and the Coors Boycott.
This fight against discrimination toward Chicano people is also known as El Movmiento. To the Chicano people, the Coors Boycott was not just a fight against one company. It was a fight against the oppression and discrimination that society had imposed on the Chicano people throighout history. For them, it was not just about beer and politics, but it was a movement for the equality and the prosperity of all Chicanos to come.
