Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ramon ``Chunky'' Sanchez, an exceptional musician and activist for the community of San Diego. Chunky Sanchez passed away on Friday, October 28, 2016, a few days before his 65th birthday. Chunky Sanchez was born in 1951, in Blythe, California, to Mexican immigrant parents. He was a talented musician who was taught traditional Mexican music by his mother and his uncles. Chunky Sanchez quickly learned how to sing, play 10 different instruments, and compose his own music. In 1969, he attended San Diego State University on a scholarship and began performing with La Rondalla Amerindia de Aztlan, a noted musical group composed of students and professors. Later, Chunky Sanchez became a vocalist for the folklore group Los Alacranes, the Scorpions, which he co-founded along with his brother, Ricardo. They recorded their first album in 1977. Through his music, he would tell the story of the Chicano movement and of the Mexican American bicultural experience. Chunky Sanchez was so well received that labor leader Cesar Chavez would often invite him to play at his union rallies. Chunky Sanchez was also an incredibly active member of the San Diego community. In his song ``Rising Souls,'' he sang that he needed and we needed ``to educate, not incarcerate, so that humanity will shine.'' During his lifetime, he embodied these lyrics as he worked with local youth as a coach, an educator, a youth center director, and a gang intervention counselor.…”