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Juan "Freddie Freak" Trujillo

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Biography
Juan "Freddie Freak" Trujillo was an activist born in Pueblo, CO. After experiencing racism and sexism through his work in Boulder, CO, he turned his attention to the Chicano movement. He went as far as California to join the cause before coming back to Colorado where he will dedicate most of his time. Although he was a lithographer by trade, Juan, helped progress the movement by informing the populous of their cause. Such examples include aiding a Chicano Movement group in the University of Colorado-Boulder, the Coors Boycott, and the La Cucaracha Newspaper which was printed in Pueblo, Colorado.

After returning to Colorado in his 30’s, Trujillo, enrolled into the University of Colorado Boulder. On campus he will experience a so called communist group advocating for “Chicano pride”. He became entranced by the ideology and enthusiasm of these people. Little did he know the group was the United Mexican American Students or "UMAS". As a member of “UMAS”, they will come to challenge the issues effecting the Mexican Americans of this region.

In 1966 Freddie Freak along with many other Mexican Americans issued a boycott against the Coors brewing company. There issues included were the hiring practices of the company discriminating by race. An example of the inequality would can be seen in the low percentage of Mexican Americans working at that company. His background as a printer helped their situation as he helped produce the flyers, stickers, etc. in order to advertise the cause.

Some of the problems the Chicano movement faced was lack of publicity. As a result the newspaper known as La Cucaracha was erected to solve it. Freddie Freak will become involved in the newspaper and experience the negative view the other forms of mainstream media had towards it. The paper was a weapon for those that have had no recognition and therefore no voice. The paper became that voice for the Latino population and expressed the stories or grievances of this demographic.

In his old age Juan Trujillo continues to advocate for change. He creates many forms of media and presentations designed to educate the population of his shared cause. Freddie Freak in his efforts to contribute to the growth of the Chicano Movement has helped change Colorado to what we see today.
Chapter 4. La Cucaracha Newspaper
The newspaper known as La Cucaracha was a Chicano newspaper published in Pueblo, Colorado. La Cucaracha was published from May 1976 to September 1983. The paper was started by University of Colorado-Boulder students Juan Espinosa, Deborah Espinosa, and David Martinez. Juan "Freddie Freak" Trujillo soon got involved with the newspaper. Trujillo was a lithographer by trade so he had no clue how to write news articles for the paper but knew how to lay out the paper and print it. With his help the paper was able to cover topics on police brutality, education, healthcare, local, and international news.
Advice

Trujillo dully replied to this question. He explained his thoughts on the movement saying the fight goes on. People become involved one way or another. He explains that it is hard to recruit members at any university, "because of the constant flow of the students. People come in, they graduate, or they drop out, whatever, they split and that."

Trujillo then gives an example, "one day I walked into the UMC (United Methodist Church) by the hostess desk." The person at the desk refused to give him the key to the building and he responded with, "what do you mean you can't give me the key to the office?" I'm the president of UMAS." The man still refuses to give him the key to the building. Then a different person in the building recognizes Trujillo and gives him the key. As he walks to the UMAS office, the man at the desk then says "Well, who the hell are you?" Juan says that "I'm Freddie Freak, man, and this is my building. This is my building." The man then says, "Hey man, I'll let you in. I'm gonna keep an eye on you Chicanos cause I know you guys are shit. You go in there and rob that God damn place blind, man." Trujillo had worked with UMAS for 10 years from 1968 to 1978 and most of the time that office was open and anyone could walk in and do whatever they wanted. The only reason that happened was because of the one person who walked in happened to a Chicano.

During that low moment, when the incident happened. Trujillo would continue with his job in the UMAS office and be able to motivate people. Trujillo was responsible for setting up the entertainment for the organization. This included setting up stuff like in the words of Trujillo, "dancing, teatro, a dance, a good old Chicano dance, that type of stuff." Trujillo feels that his job is trying to turn all of his history and culture into this dance. He feels that his persona is expressed through the dancing and music.

Trujillo's advice here is to find something that speaks to you and to express yourself and rise above all of the negative talk.
Early Life Juan Frederico Miguel Arguello Trujillo or “Freddie Freak” was the son of a Juan Frederico Trujillo and Clorinda Arguello. Before he was born in 1938, his parents migrated to southern Colorado from the New Mexico settlement of Santuario de Chimayo where his father quickly picked up hard labor as a coal miner in Trinidad. Juan’s early life was greatly influenced by the harsh conditions in which his parents were succumbed to. His mother Clorinda was deaf at a young age because of a botched surgery, and his father died just three months before he was born. In his youth Juan Trujillo rapidly developed into street hustler and by the age of sixteen dropped out of school completely. Through the shady side hustle, Juan was able to provide a nice fully furnished house for him and his mother during the 1950’s.