Albert Gurule

Albert Gurule (born 1944) is a Chicano activist from Pueblo, Colorado. He was part of La Raza Unida Party and ran for Colorado governor in 1970.

Biography Gurule grew up in Trinidad, Colorado, where he was the fifth of seven children. His father was Euberto Gurule.

By the age of nine, Gurule was working ten hours a day in the potato fields. He experienced discrimination for speaking Spanish and coming from poverty.

Gurule met his wife Theresa at The Strand, a movie theatre where they both worked. They had 2 sons together. Theresa Gurule died of cancer in 1995.

In 1970, Gurule and other Chicano leaders from Colorado traveled to Los Angeles for the Chicano Moratorium. Gurule was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. The charges were eventually dropped.

Gurule received retaliation for his involvement with activist issues. He organized a recall of District Attorney Joe Losavio, and in 1977 one of Losavio's investigators attempted to plant heroin in Gurule's car.

Gurule ran for Colorado Governor in 1970 with the Raza Unida Party. The Colorado Democratic Party tried to have Gurule and all Raza Unida candidates disqualified; Gurule was only 27 and the minimum age to become governor was 30.

In 1971, LRU held the national conference in Pueblo, CO. Gurule and Martin Serna were keynote speakers.

They began La Raza Unida Service Agency in 1971, which incorporated elected officials into the community as a gathering place.

In the 1980's and 90's, Gurule focused on local issues in Pueblo rather than state-wide or national. In 1994, Gurule was appointed then elected to Pueblo city council district 2. In 1996, he ran for Congress as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Scott McInnis, and lost.

Gurule was later elected to the Pueblo city council, and was its president for one year.