Ricardo Falcón

Ricardo Falcón (1945–1972) was a Chicano activist with the United Mexican American Students and was the first martyr of the Chicano movement in Colorado.

Biography Falcón was born on June 2, 1945 in Fort Lupton, Colorado. He was the second of nine children, and his family were laborers in the sugar beet fields. He graduated from high school in May 1963, and attended Lamar Junior College (now Lamar Community College) where he graduated in 1965. The university's Human Rights Commission investigated and found that Falcon was unjustifiably suspended. University administrators pressured the UMAS director Pat Vigil to fire Falcon, and when Vigil refused, the university fired them both and obtained a court order that prevented both men from being on campus.

He worked with Chicano youth in many ways, including classes on the history of Mexican people, founded the middle and high school student organizations Zapatistas, and worked to improve conditions at the Fort Lupton migrant camp.

Falcón's companions went to other local businesses to try and call the police, but were refused service. An ambulance did not arrive for over an hour, but Brunson immediately called the police and they arrived in minutes.

Legacy La Academia Ricardo Falcón was a private, non-profit school that was named in his honor. The school opened in 1973 and was located in Fort Lupton, CO.

Each year, the community comes together to honor Falcón by marching from his birthplace to the cemetery where he was buried. In 2022, the community celebrated his life and commemorated the 50th anniversary of his death.

In 1986, Tony Garcia wrote a play called The Day Ricardo Falcón Died.

Lamar Community College honored Falcon as the 2022 Alumnus of the Year.