Ramón "Chunky" Sánchez

Los Alacranes Mojados by Memo Cevada, c. 1978. L–R: Ramón "Chunky" Sánchez, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Mario Aguilar, and Ricardo Sánchez. Ramón "Chunky" Moroyoqui Sánchez (October 30, 1951 — October 28, 2016) was a San Diego-based Chicano musician, folklorist, teacher, and activist. During the Chicano Movement, he formed Los Alacranes Mojados, performed and organized for the United Farm Workers, and was a founder of Chicano Park. Following its dissipation, he continued to perform, act on the Chicano Park Steering Committee, and advocate for Mexican-American youth.

Biography Early life and activist start

On October 30, 1951, Sánchez was born in Blythe, California to Mexican farmworkers Ramón Sánchez and Josefina Moroyoqui. His initial interest in music began when he attentively listened to his mother sing boleros. His uncle, José María "Chema", first taught him the guitar. In 1969, he graduated from Palo Verde High School, one year after his sister Virginia, and went to Palo Verde College for a semester before transferring to San Diego State University (SDSU), where he initially pursued physical education.

During the Chicano Movement, he was involved in the United Farm Workers struggle as an organizer and musician, having been repeatedly asked by César Chávez to perform. During this time, he was also a Mexican-American studies major at SDSU. whilst Anita Casavantes Bradford and Alberto Eduardo Morales underscore its message of pride in diversity. However, they still performed traditional son jarocho, huapangos, boleros, rancheras, R&B, rock, and Latin dance music.

In March 1974, he married Isabel Enríquez at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park.

Chicano Park, youth advocacy, and legacy

In 2013, he was endowed with the National Heritage Fellowship and had a King-Chavez Academies auditorium built in his honor. Ill since at least 2014, he died on life support on October 28, 2016. At that point, his family included his wife Isabel Enríquez Sánchez, 6 children, one of whom died in 2010; 15 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. By November 2, $4,400 was raised for funeral expenses. That year, he was also featured in a new mural at Chicano Park with Our Lady of Guadalupe as the central figure; Sánchez was positioned to her right next to Dolores Huerta and Border Angels.