Mario Compean is one of the founding members of the Mexican American Unity Council in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Compean was active in the Chicano Movement in San Antonio having helped found the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) as a student at St. Mary’s University. Mario Compean was a Board of Director for MAUC from 1968 to 1975 and continued working as the Manager for Staff Development & Training until about 1978. 

Interview Summary

This interview narrates  his personal experiences as a young Chicano  in the 1950s and 1960s, and how day-to-day inequalities encouraged him to become an activist and advocate. Mr. Compean shares how he and colleagues Juan Patlan and Willie Velasquez worked to transform their cause from direct, radical activism into a structured non-profit organization to serve the Westside community of San Antonio. Compean touches on the evolution of MAUC’s initiatives, how this CDC designed economic and social services to advance Latino communities, and how MAUC engaged in alternative asset building projects to fund these initiatives. Compean also gives insight into the changing political relationship between the MAUC leadership and local and federal officials. Today, Mario Compean is working with Academia America to provide educational services for immigrants to facilitate naturalization. 

Interview audio

Key terms

community, St. Mary’s University, Mexican American, student, campus, teachers, Mexican American Unity Council, organization, economic, Texas

Date: July 28, 2020

Interviewers: Edgar Reynald Velasquez and Victoria Villaseñor