the following are comments I made on the occasion of the memorial tribute to Ruben Salazar at the unveiling of a plaque, celebrated on August 29, 2014 - the 44th anniversary of his death held at the park which bears his name.
Buenos dias. my name is Sal Valdez. About eight months ago I took the bus to Ruben Salazar Park because I wanted to learn more about his life and legacy. To my great disappointment there was nothing at the park about him except his name. That was wrong. So I got together with a few other East LA activists and we began meeting with the county and parks department. In the end they agreed to fund the construction of an elevated, bronze plaque about Ruben with a photo of him and a brief narration. Today we unveil that plaque. Now people of all ages can come to the park and learn about his life and lasting legacy from this day forward. His life's work inspires us to exhibit the same courage to do the right thing in the face of seemingly insurmountable hardships as we build a better world for ourselves, our children and our children's children. Thank you.
