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Dispute Over Club Name Results in History Lesson: Dual Definitions Caused Uproar at Delta College

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Vicki Adame, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Mar. 16--STOCKTON - The meanings of some Spanish words differ from one Latin American country to another and take on definitions that range from the controversial to the vulgar.

Some definitional differences have crept north of the U.S. border, and a furor has erupted around the name of San Joaquin Delta College's Caudillos Fuerza Unida, a student organization that seeks to help Latino students find scholarships and services available to them.

Caudillos, which is defined by HarperCollins Spanish Concise Dictionary as a leader or chief, is also used to denote a military dictator, so the Delta organization has been criticized by another Latino student organization for using the word in its name.

In October, Daniela Montejano, president of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), called it "unacceptable for a student group to call themselves 'caudillos,' " since, he said, "caudillos are known for tyranny."

So, Ivan Sierra, consul with the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, visited Delta recently and presented a history of Mexican caudillos.

"When we heard the allegations and were being told we were the same as Nazis or the KKK, it was a shock to us," said Maria Teresa Duarte, president of Caudillos Fuerza Unidos. "We never thought having the name 'caudillos' was a bad thing."

The majority of the students who belong to the club were not born in the United States and feel more comfortable speaking Spanish. Despite the criticism, Duarte said the group never considered changing its name, since it was chosen to honor those who fought for Mexico's independence.

"We wanted to give recognition to people who made a big change for the whole country of Mexico," Duarte said.

Sierra - who insisted he was not giving the presentation as a representative of the Mexican government - gave a historical look based on years of reading and personal research.

"The way I see it, people who are at the forefront of a group are caudillos," Sierra said.

Caudillos, in relation to Mexicans, have always been the people who fought for Mexico's independence including Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende, Sierra said.

"Our caudillos were generous people who gave their lives," Sierra said.

He acknowledged that words can be great, but they also can be nasty.

He recalled his reaction when, as a young man traveling in Spain, he came across a coin bearing the image of Franco and the words "Caudillo de Espana por Gracia de Dios," or "Caudillo of Spain by the Grace of God."

"I just remember how shocking that was," Sierra said.

That sparked his interest in finding out how other countries besides Mexico used the word.

"Context is what makes a word bad," Sierra said.

Contact Vicki Adame at (209) 546-8564 or vadame@vidaenelvalle.com

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Source: The Record

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