Credit: Nuestro Stories
Community, service, and mutual aid are concepts we have heard quite a bit in the past years. From COVID to political uprisings, from inflation costs and scarcity of resources, the idea of people coming together to support each other in times of crisis is a lesson fresh in many of our minds.
However, these concepts are certainly nothing new; just take a look at the hall, The Sociedad Proteccion Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (SPMDTU).
The SPMDTU, originally founded in Antonito, Colorado, was created in part as a curative response to the cultural rifts created after the Mexican American War, which intensified already-existent discrimination against Spanish-speaking communities.
In a recent PBS interview, professor emeritus and 55-year-long SPMDTU member Antonio Esquibel spoke on the SPMDTU’s inception.
This Hall Has Helped Latinos
“The SPMDTU is one of the first Hispanic organizations designed to try to combat discrimination. In those days…you really had to take care of each other,” Esquibel said.
At its peak, the SPMDTU boasted 65 chapters with over 3000 members spread across Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. While some of the buildings still exist, none has been more preserved than the Chama SPMDTU Lodge.
Read more: Why Luisa Moreno’s Contributions to the Labor Movement Matter
Built in 1920, the structure not only housed the SPMDTU but served as a meeting place for the local chapter of the Hispano Labor Union. These workers were integral in the original construction of the traditionally styled, adobe block walls that harkened back to the architectural styles found throughout the Mexican birthplace of many of its original members.
The Chama structure, with little to no alterations, is one of the most well preserved of the SPMDTU halls still left standing.
While clearly a feat of architectural talent and prowess on the part of those who constructed it, its ability to weather any storm, both literal and metaphorical, is also a clear testament to the strength of the Latine people and lends credence to the concept that it does, indeed, take a village.
Fun facts:
- The area in which the hall is located is part of a tract, a long, narrow strip of land that reflects the early settlement of Hispanics in the 1850s.
- SPMDTU members could purchase insurance and receive welfare benefits, but to be a member you had to be a man who believed in a supreme being.
- Some consider the SPMDTU to be the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the United States.
If you go:
Just 20 minutes away, escape to Cielo Vista Ranch which encompasses 83,368 acres with elevations up to 14,000 feet. Lakes, mountains, streams, and creeks make this an ideal getaway.
Location: Chama, Colorado.
Address: County Road 22.3 and County Road L.7, Chama
Google View 360: Check out this iconic building here.
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