Horacio Esparza is the Independent Living Coordinator at the Progress Center for Independent Living. The Progress Center serves all of Cook County, Illinois which includes over 130 municipalities. His main responsibility is to overview the IL team as well as providing direct services and giving presentations. He was interviewed in February by Daniel Gutierrez, staff member of Proyecto Visión.

What brought you to the Progress Center?

Our projects assist people with disabilities of all ages, our goal is to increase and maintain independence. Based on my own experience, I recognized that information on the resources available to the disabled community did not exist or were not readily available. Therefore, I decided to give back to the community, teaching Braille, and providing information about the ADA, disabled rights awareness, and outreach in both English and Spanish. I have advocated for the rights of people with disabilities and have been involved with the disability movement my whole life.

How long have you been at the center and what are some of the projects you have worked on?

I have been working at the center for the last two and one-half years. I have been able to give presentations before many audiences, in both English and Spanish. This happened almost immediately after I arrived here. In 1995, Prior to working at the center I established a support group for disabled Latinos, Invidentes Latinos de Illinois, which provides services in Spanish specifically for the Latino community. Currently, the Latino Outreach Project provides services, in Spanish and English, for the Latino population within our Community. Our center is one of 1 of 24 in Illinois that provides services to 450,000 people with disabilities 23% of which are Latino. The mission is to get grants for projects directed specifically for Latinos.

How do you feel about your job?

One benefit of my job is that I get to travel both internationally and nationally. You see, I play the keyboard, I have played in and around Illinois but I never made it further than the surrounding states. I always thought that as a musician I would get to travel. I am fortunate in this and appreciate where this job has taken me. In turn, this has allowed me to establish a network of friends and contacts in many different places.

Where do you come from?

I was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and soon thereafter my family moved to Aguas Calientes. At the age of seven we moved to Guadalahara until I was 14 years old. During the 1960's and early 70's few services existed for blind people in Mexico. In 1973 my family moved to suburban Chicago, where there were better paying jobs. Upon my arrival in America it was evident that there were few Latinos in my Chicago suburb. Furthermore, the population of Spanish speakers in my community was minimal. As a result, there was not much offered in bilingual education or programs. I did not like living in the United States because while in the American school system I felt segregated because I was a Latino and blind. I worked my way through school and at the age of 18 I attended a university in the United States. When I finished school at the age of 23, I returned to Mexico for 12 years. While in Mexico I worked as a teacher, as well helping the disabled community.

What do you think is the cause for the lack of information available to the disabled Latino population here in the USA?

I feel that, not only are there cultural differences that need to be addressed, there are also the language barriers between our cultures that we need to overcome. We need translation, services and programs in our language. I remember being at a doctor's office and listening the doctor trying to give information to a Spanish speaking woman via her 6 year old son. That is what it comes down to, the language barrier. It was interesting to hear what this child's representation of the doctor's words were. Mind you, these were advanced medical terms the doctor was feeding to this child. Another aspect of the problem is the discrimination we as Latinos feel. There will always be discrimination either blatant or latent, it exists and we cannot ignore that.

What advice do you have for other Latinos?

The Mexican culture does not like to beg, we do not insist or persist. We need to learn how to advocate for ourselves and not depend on anyone else. Our culture is not used to fighting, but we need to fight, for ourselves and for our rights. We must also recognize the many different cultures that exist even within the Latino community. There are cases where a child with a disability is born in the United States to an immigrant family. More often than not parents will not seek the information and or the help that they need to properly care for their child. But, if and when they do the information provided is not in Spanish or focused at the Latino community. Collectively we have to make these changes happen for ourselves.

A recent conversation with Horacio Esparza

People say that we identify with who we are through the language we speak. Our form of Spanish is a vestige from many generations of Spanish speaking people. Working with Proyecto Visión I have had the opportunity to speak with many interesting people, both in Spanish and English. As a result, I find myself asking questions on the way we as Latinos identify ourselves through language and the terms we use to respond to questions or inquiries. It is evident that we are predisposed to answer in a very gentle and servile manner.

On a recent conversation with Horacio Esparza we discussed why Latinos had a difficult time advocating for themselves. Our conversation revolved around language and the terms we use as responses to questions or commands. Utterances like mande, si señor, digame, (your name) followed by "para servirle a usted". Respectively these words and phrases mean: command me , tell me what to do and I am here to serve you. These are typical responses one would hear or be taught at home.

With respect to mande, I recognize that this term is quite specific to the Mexican culture. Nonetheless, we are often critized by other Spanish speaking cultures for that term. It seems a little outdated and colonial, but I remember learning it. This brings us to our Spanish dialect, Mexicans are not the only Spanish speaking communities in the United States. It would be interesting to find what terms other Spanish speaking communities use to respond or acknowledge others: Are they as subordinating as the terms used in Mexican Spanish? I understand that this is a reminder of our colonized past.

Furthermore, as the conversation developed the idea that it was these ingrained ideals that could prevent people from speaking for themselves in a strong voice. I think that is the very these subordinating terms that hold many Latinos back from the initial steps for self awareness. If our voice is not loud and strong, we will not be heard. Now the question I ask of you and myself is: What we as a culture can do to change this? This is just the beginning as well as food for thought.

Mucho gusto,
Daniel Gutierrez