Photo credit: Tri-Cities LULAC Council Facebook page.
“An informed community is a prepared community,” said Gabriel Portugal, a member of the original Leadership Tri-Cities class founded in 1994.
Born in Mexico, Gabriel is the founder and president of the Tri-Cities Washington LULAC chapter, and has been a fixture of community action in the Tri-Cities for decades. His experiences as a teenager in Mexico and a young adult in the United States shaped his activism.
“I left Mexico in ‘68 because of the government’s reaction to student protests.”
In 1968, students’ groups around Mexico protested the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who had held power in Mexico for over 40 years. The students were advocating for greater political freedoms, democratic reforms, and an end to the repressive tactics used by the government. But, the government’s reaction to the protests were severe — a closure of schools across the country, and violence that culminated in the armed forces opening fire on a group of unarmed civilians at the Plaza de Las Tres Cultrals in Mexico City — killing hundreds of people in an event called the Tlatelolco Massacre.
“My family was worried…We thought we would only leave for a short time, but in 1971 another massacre (El Halconazo) was inflicted on students protests and I decided to stay and study in the United States.”
On a student visa, Gabriel studied at Washington State University and earned a degree in education. It was at WSU where he started to become active in community organizations, “At Pullman, I founded a theater — a music and dancing group — we performed in several places, like the Walla Walla penitentiary.”
During this time, he also worked on inviting high school Latino students’ groups to visit universities, so that they could see themselves as college students and open themselves to new ideas, career pathways, and economic opportunity.
“I was born into a critical situation as far as finances and having enough to survive. So, I was able to see that the two ways of living with the real poor and real wealthy.”
As a teacher, and later a principal, he soon found that the curriculum did not dedicate any substantial part of the curriculum to Latino or Chicano studies.
“This is a problem, particularly in times of crisis. To solve problems, people have to understand each other and their cultures.”
He became an original organizer of the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Pasco as a way to bring people together and educate the community.
In 1992, Gabriel started to host a weekly one-hour live radio show called Nuestro Pueblo at four Spanish Radio Stations in Tri-Cities, Granger, and Prosser. One segment would include a discussion with a local law enforcement official who would take questions from the Spanish-speaking public. Gabriel explained that for many Latinos their experience with law enforcement would cause anxiety and apprehension when approached by someone in uniform.
Photo credit: Tri-Cities LULAC Council Facebook page.
In 2015, Gabriel established the Tri-Cities Washington LULAC chapter as a way to proactively improve the community through economic empowerment and civic engagement. The Tri-Cities chapter is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) organization that works to empower the Latino community.
On January 5, 2024, Gabriel will present at the Leadership Tri-Cities First Friday event.
“I enjoyed my time with Leadership Tri-Cities and I am excited to be able to talk with the alumni and the public.”
Gabriel’s talk will cover how to empathetically understand cultural labels. “Often when you meet someone from another culture, you ask them to label themselves – Latino, Mexican, Chicano, Hispanic. But with that question, you are fragmenting a community.”
You can save your spot for Gabriel’s talk at the following link.
Bio of Gabriel Portugal
Gabriel Portugal is a retired schoolteacher/principal. Mr. Portugal believes an informed community is a prepared community. Bringing information and resources to the Spanish speaking community is omnipresent in all of Mr. Portugal’s endeavors. He strives to empower members of the Latino community to advocate for themselves and their families politically, economically, and educationally.
These are some of Mr. Portugal’s community involvement activities:
- Appointed and served two terms as Commissioner of The Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs; 2003-2009.
- One of the founders of the Washington State HLLO Hispanic Latino Legislative Organization known today as Latino Civic Alliance —LCA
- Elected President of Community Health Center “La Clinica”; 1998-2000.
- Elected President of Tri-Cities Cinco de Mayo Committee 1999-2006.
- Appointed to the Pasco Police Advisory Committee 1996-Present
- Elected Vice President of the Washington Association for Bilingual Ed. —WABE 1994-96
- Leadership Tri-Cities 1994 Class I Graduate
- Radio Host Volunteer; conducted a weekly one-hour live show in Spanish “Nuestro Pueblo” (1992-2010) at four Spanish Radio Stations in Tri-Cities, Granger, and Prosser Washington
- Elected President of the Tri-Cities League of United Latin American Citizens LULAC Council #47014, 2016-Present
- Appointed to serve as Commissioner on the City of Pasco Planning Commission Position No. 9, 2015-2018
- Elected President of the Downtown Pasco Development Authority January 2019 -2022
- Elected President of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce December 2019-2021
- Elected President of the Colima-Pasco Cooperation and Friendship Agreement (COPA) January 2020 -Present
- Elected LULAC State Director, Washington State League of United Latin American Citizens, October 2022 – Present