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Mexican Hometown Association Oral Histories Main Menu

Rubén Chávez

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Rubén Chávez Club Francisco Villa, Michoacán

Oral History Transcription

Oral History Audio

Name of Interviewer: Enrique Alvear
Date of Interview: July 21, 2016
Location: Chicago, IL
Interview Language: Spanish

Rubén Chávez is originally from Francisco Villa, Michoacán, Mexico. Rubén studied elementary, secondary and high school in Michoacán and then went to Morelia to pursue a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. Once he finished his Bachelor’s, Ruben started to work in a Company while he also did graduate coursework in Human Resources. Ruben and his wife came to the U.S. with the purpose of finding new labor opportunities and getting a better future for his family. As his wife was a U.S. citizen, Rubén’s wife and son came legally to the U.S. Rubén instead had to travel as an undocumented immigrant by crossing the US-Mexico border arriving in Laredo, Texas. From Laredo, he directly traveled to Houston and then to Chicago, Illinois. It was in Chicago where Rubén reunified with his wife and son. After that, they traveled to California to live with his wife’s family for 2 year before settling in Chicago. In 1989, Rubén regularized his immigration status through the amnesty offered by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in 1986. In the U.S., he has worked collecting fruits in farms, gardens, and factories. Due to very hard labor conditions, Rubén and his wife went back to Mexico until the possibility of opening his own family business in gardening appeared, enabling them to return to Chicago. In 2003, Rubén Chavez was a co-founder of the “Club Francisco Villa”. The club began as an informal organization of people from this community in order to collect money and solve specific educational needs of this local area in Michoacán. After this initial project, the club has been involved in supporting other development programs in the community of Francisco Villa. It also became affiliated to the Federación de Clubes Michoacanos en Illinois (FEDECMI)”, the federation of clubs integrated by people from this state. Rubén Chávez is a former president of FEDECMI and has also served as coordinator of community development projects for this organization.