Seven trailblazers – including 2 posthumously – honored by southeast Fresno group

I enjoy writing stories about how Latinos overcame obstacles to get to where they are today.

There’s the kid from the mean streets of East Bakersfield who was sent to safer territory with his grandmother and is now Fresno’s deputy police chief.

There’s the girl from Mendota who refused her father’s demand that she not go to college and is now a news anchor at Fresno’s most powerful television station.

There’s the girl from South Dos Palos who slept on the floor until she got her own bed to sleep on at age 16. She is now the first Latina judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Those three – Mark Salazar, Graciela Moreno, and Ana de Alba – were among five “trailblazers” honored Wednesday by the Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association (SEFCEDA).

Ever since Mr. Gary Girard handed me a reporter’s notebook and pen – and later a camera – during my sophomore year at Delano High School, I have always been interested in other people’s stories. Especially when those stories are rarely written about.

Salazar avoided neighborhood gangs and is now a 26-year Fresno police veteran who is in charge of the investigations division.

Moreno was the lead anchor for KFTV Channel 21 Univision before jumping to KFSN Channel 30 where she has won three Emmy Awards.

De Alba, the daughter of Mexican immigrant farmworkers, was appointed to Fresno County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018. President Joe Biden picked her for the federal court, and she sailed through Senate confirmation hearings.

Also honored was retiring Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Jim Yovino for championing children’s education. Honored posthumously were the late Sunnyside High School Principal Tim Liles and Mónica Cuevas, who was the popular dean of students at Fresno City College.

All of them have given back to the community.

Salazar has built strong rapport with communities throughout Fresno, especially in the impoverished areas. “The kid that lives in the 400 block of West Strother should feel as safe as the kid that lives at Champlain and Perrin,” he says.

Moreno produces and hosts ‘Latino Life,’ a half-hour weekly program that focuses on the issues and people making an impact in the Latino community. She is also a frequent emcee at community events.

De Alba will happily go to schools and tell students that “it’s not important where you start.” And, she will take a photo of the house she grew up in as proof that her start in life wasn’t on Easy Street.

Liles enjoyed performing in the now-defunct High School Principals Lip Sync Contest, where he would mouth the words to Spanish-language music while Latino students danced and acted out the presentation.

Cuevas, who began Mexican folkloric dancing at Roosevelt High, got back to it with Teocalli. Her dream was to become a college president.

Yovino, who started as a classroom teacher, is retiring next month. But I suspect he will be supporting Halo Café, a non-profit his wife started to provide dog food for those who have fallen on hard times.

These are the types of stories that must be told about our community. These award winners’ stories are part of the hundreds that Vida en el Valle has written in 32 years. We’ll continue writing them as long as future Salazars, Morenos and de Albas blaze their own trails.

By the way, I was among those honored by SEFCEDA, which is trying to build a better southeast Fresno through business development and job training. I am humbled by the award.