In the Indoor Theatre at Bakersfield College, Ignacio Garcia spoke about his life during his youth with his speech being titled “Becoming Brown in America: Remembering the Chicano Movement.”

Part of the Distinguished Speakers Series at BC, Garcia was introduced by Matthew Garrett who was the faculty coordinator of the event.

Garcia starts off his speech recalling when he was in high school going to a football game in San Antonio.

He described the football game as not being an important match for the season.

The team that his school was facing off was from a rural part of San Antonio, Garcia describes. The team was undefeated and went on to go win the championship.

The high school that Garcia was a part of was expected to not have a chance against this team, but there was an upset; his high school won.

Garcia said, “We Mexican- Americans have been fighting all our lives. We are often times losing and they have been winning all the time and rarely losing.”

As soon as the winning play ends and along with the time of the game, Garcia says, “All of the sudden my side [of the football field] just euphorically scream out there ‘wow.’”

Then Garcia says that he hears someone yell that the other side is coming with flag sticks and any other objects that they could grab.

Garcia explains how angry mob of high schoolers were shouting names at them as they were running and would not repeat what they were shouting.

Garcia went on to describe how he and his friends would go to one of the three Spanish movie theaters in San Antonio as a means of escapism from the culture around him.

He said, “… the movies were like temporary exits from out daily struggle of being Mexican in one of the most bicultural cities in the country.”

The Brigham Young University professor also talked about his hardships when he went to serve in the Vietnam War.

The Distinguished Speakers Series is an ongoing event at BC and more information, such as dates for future speeches, can be found at www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/studentevents/dss.