Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California

Contents

Introduction
Mexican War
Post-Conquest
1900-1940
World War II
Chicano Movement
Future

Historic Sites
Selected References

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Regeneracion Site
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

Regeneracion: Semanal Revolucionario is a particularly significant manifestation of the historical, political, linguistic, and cultural links between Mexicans in the United States and Mexico, and of the relationship between the governments of the two countries.

The official organ of the socialist-oriented "Partido Liberal Mexicano," Regeneracion was published in exile in Los Angeles from September 1910 to March 1918. Published by Ricardo Flores Magon and Anselmo Figueroa, two of the major figures of the Partido Liberal, Regeneracion was the major source of information and analysis in Spanish about the Mexican Revolution and also provided news about the rest of the Hispanic world. Distributed in Mexican communities throughout the United States, Regeneracion was further used in these communities as a test for literacy lessons; people had little access to books printed in Spanish or money with which to buy those that were available. Passed around from friend to friend or family to family, this newspaper was read and re-read for the eight years of its life.

Directing their efforts toward fomenting political consciousness and solidarity between Mexican and other working classes, the Partido Liberal Mexicano had bases and working groups in Mexican communities throughout the Southwest. Composed of recent immigrants as well as of U.S. citizens of Mexican ancestry, these groups reflected an abiding identification with Mexico and its people, culture, and politics.

The fact that Regeneracion was socialist oriented and that its editorials and analysis of national and international news were highly critical of the governments of Mexico and the United States led to continued political persecution of the publishers. It also led to cooperation between the governments of the two countries and resulted in criminal charges being brought in the United States Federal Court against the Flores Magon brothers and other members of the Partido Liberal. Imprisoned in Leavenworth, Kansas, then in McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, Washington, Ricardo Flores Magon died at McNeil shortly before he was to be released.

Regeneracion and its publishers represent an important contribution to journalism, to the Spanish-language press in California and the rest of the United States, and to Mexican communities during a particularly critical period of the Mexican Revolution.

The original offices of the Regeneracion no longer exist. The site of the offices along 4th Street in Los Angeles has been developed for a mercantile import/export business.

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Last Modified: Wed, Nov 17 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT
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