Noe’s Comics Nook: La Voz de M.A.Y.O Rambo

Review

Initially published independently through Kickstarter, La Voz De M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo is a look at the history of the activist group M.A.Y.O. (Mexican, American, Yaqui, and Others) and their victories throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Told through a mixture of historical storytelling and memoir vignettes of author Henry Barajas during the research/creative process, La Voz De M.A.Y.O. brings modern day urgency to this forgotten history. Reading this history in 2021, I can’t help but think how vital knowing about these activists work is for modern day groups – especially knowing what worked and what didn’t.

The bulk of this comic is based on oral histories with Ramon Jaurigue – great-grandfather of Henry Barajas – and through those we learn not just about work protesting a freeway that would have devastated the Yaqui Reservation just outside of Tucson, Arizona. Throughout this oral history we also learn about Jaurigue’s personal life and true to his journalistic roots, Barajas tries to present an honest account, showing not only the great, but the not-so-great. Vital to the comic was J. Gonzo’s unique, colorful artwork that captures the spirit of 1970s southwestern artistic styles – or, as his website puts it, the “Hispanic hues of my grandparents generation.” The inclusion of newsletters, newspaper clippings, and other historical extras at the end of the book is a special treat.

La Voz De M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo is a well-researched, visually stunning, heartfelt correction of the historical record. 

Elements of Story

Plot: Long since forgotten, La Voz De M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo tells the story of Ramon Jaurigue, the activist organization he co-founded (M.A.Y.O.), and their successful efforts to improve living and working conditions for the Pascua Yaqui tribe.

Characters: Ramon Jaurigue, Henry Barajas, Leonor Jaurigue, Rey Fimbres, Morris K. Udall, Don Manuel Alvarez, Teddy Acuna, Rosie Jimenez, Anselmo Valencia, Johnna Lewis, Frank Jaurigue, Velma, Carl Hayden, Father Jackson

Major Settings: Tucson, Arizona, Pascua Yaqui Reservation, San Francisco, Tohono O’odham Nation Reservation

Themes: Family, History, Ownership, Culture, Activism, Progress

Lesson Plan Idea Using Common Core Standards (CCS)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.3 – Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Directions:

La Voz De M.A.Y.O.: Tata Rambo does the work of filling in a gap in the historical record, which has more often than not failed to give due accounting to those working to better the lives of the marginalized. One of the major questions for Barajas throughout the story is why this history has been allowed to disappear, as well how its disappearance has changed the narrative people today are told.

For this assignment, students are tasked with providing plausible answers to these questions using both the comic history itself and the extras printed along with it. These extras include the forward by Frederick Luis Aldama, the epilogue, an interview with Raul Grijalva, and the newsletters that make up the back third of the book. An outline for this paper follows:

1. Overview of the story (2 to 3 paragraphs)
2. What are possible reasons this history has disappeared (3 paragraphs, use examples from text)
3. What is gained by returning this history to modern knowledge (2 paragraphs)
4. Brainstorm: what histories might exist in our city that might benefit from a fresh look (1 paragraph)