One of the Chicano leaders, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, was very influential in other ways to the Chicano movement. Gonzales’ primary message was that the Mexican-American culture was a valid one. It was a culture to be proud of, not to make excuses for. Instead of trying to assimilate, and being ashamed of their heritage Gonzales encouraged Chicanos instead to embrace where they came from, and to explore their identity. Nothing epitomized this message more than Gonzales’ epic poem I Am Joaquín. His poem sparked hope in the movement as he describes the Chicanos’ struggle at being neither Indian nor European, nor Mexican, nor American, but rather being a combination of all these entities, a combination that made them inherently different. Following Gonzales’ poem, a slew of other artists began to publish their works. Poems, books, paintings, drawings, art took on an important role in the movement as Chicanos moved to celebrate themselves as a new people; a people proud of who they were.
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