Valdemar Pérez is an Army veteran and accounting graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. It was at UT Austin where Mr. Pérez met Juan Patlán, the longtime leader of the Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC) in San Antonio, Texas. As MAUC began to grow their financial independence, Patlán tapped Mr. Pérez to work for MAUC as a [blank] in 1982. Mr. Pérez would stay with MAUC until about 1996. He continued working within Latino Community Development Corporations (CDC) under The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) until 2015.
Interview Summary
In this interview, Valdemar reflects on his experiences growing up as a latino in San Antonio, his educational background, his early career, and how he came into his position at MAUC. Valdemar talks on how MAUC developed an asset building model of community development. Valdemar Pérez also gives us some insight into the growing rift within MAUC in the late 1980s and the resignation of Juan Patlán. Through Mr. Pérez’s experiences, we also learn a bit about the relationship MAUC held with other Latino CDCs in the United States.
Key Terms
Mexican American Unity Council, development, Texas, San Antonio, Westside, property, economic development
Date: September 11, 2020
Interviewers: Dr. Gerald Poyo and Victoria Villaseñor
