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He’s had the responsibility of guarding four presidents, two ex-presidents, and a vice-president, along with various international figures.  Through 22 years in the ranks of the Secret Service, Anthony M. Chapa, better known as Tony Chapa, is retiring with the honor of being the highest-ranking Latino agent in the history of one of the oldest and most prestigious federal agencies in the United States.

“I feel very proud and honored for having belonged to the Secret Service,” he admits with nostalgia.

For more than two decades, Chapa was a real-life super secret agent.  In an interview with Expediente Rojo before leaving the service, he commented, “Our discretion is due in part that there are many people in certain places of the world or in prisons that would like to everything about us, our identities, and where our families are located. For that reason, we try to be as reserved as possible, although we can’t always be completely secret,” he explains.

The Secret Service veteran began as a police officer in San Antonio, Texas, where he is originally from.  For five years he was in direct contact with the people, particularly in high-risk Latino areas.  ”Since then I learned that the ability to communicate is more effective than a fire arm,” he said, remembering his early days.

“I feel very proud to be Latino, especially Mexican like my father and grandfather who were already in Texas way before the state became U.S. territory,” he recognizes.  ”I remember that my grandparents would say that they never came to the United States, rather that the United States went to them.  That was my first contact with the Latino world.  I didn’t speak Spanish very well but it was just a matter of time and interest.  Soon after I realized that speaking two languages would be an enormous advantage.”

Risk and Opportunity

For Tony Chapa, there was always risk and opportunity in his work. “As a Latino I always looked for and took opportunities that presented themselves to me. I took advantage of the language and my proximity to the culture.  Today I can say with pride that I feel honored to have had the opportunity to visit and work in Latin American countries and to get to know my roots better, to have a broader vision of of the world, who I am and where I come from.”

He also recognizes that his work could be “extremely dangerous”.  He explained, “When we found ourselves providing protection, we were always at risk. Your body, your mind, and your actions must always be alert. We were always the last link in the line of defense.”

Chapa was the special agent commissioned to coordinate the funeral proceedings for ex-President Ronald Reagan.  This was the first state funeral in years.  The last one he had memory of was Lyndon B. Johnson.  He remembers that no one else in the agency had the experience of managing an event of such magnitude. “We knew that the ex-president was very ill and for months we prepared and coordinated with diverse agencies, which made us able to receive dignitaries and personalities from all parts of the world without problems”.

Tony Chapa doesn’t feel nor consider himself a hero.  Although he did explain to Expediente Rojo that, “the people who worked with me day-to-day are the heroes.  They confront a risk each moment considering they’re not in U.S. territory, rather abroad, in whatever part of the world without protection”.

Very humble and always discreet, Chapa seems to admit that in certain moments in his life he could have been close to being called a hero in the streets, combating crime. In this way, he does think that he could be considered an example for other Latinos that are trying to reach their goals.

“We can’t say the exact number of Latinos in the Secret Service. But it’s almost at 5%. That’s very good. But not enough. Now we are unveiling the face of the Secret Service to invite Latinos to join the agency,” he noted.

Tony Chapa was in charge of special missions and protecting dignitaries and international figures, as well as ex-presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and then president-elect George W. Bush.  The Secret Service has also recognized Tony Chapa with various honors and awards, as have other foreign governments such as Columbia, for his efforts as a Special Agent.

Ruben Hernandez is an inspiring example for those around him, with or without physical limitations, who know full well that the struggle for a better world is worthwhile. A bullet in the head snatched his sight from him leading him to start a crusade for peace 35 years ago.

“My blindness led me down this path where in myself I see many young people reflected who have also lost their vision, arms, or legs, all victims of violence in the streets,” Ruben said in talks with Expediente Rojo.

“My commitment is to serve God, serve my family and serve my community, all of which have guided me though the years in that order. I don’t need anything else. I am pleased with what has been achieved. I have balance and harmony in my life,” says this 60 year old man and cancer survivor.

Thirty-five years ago, only three years after he was left blind, he decided to found the Unification of Disabled Latin Americans (UDLA), a non-profit organization which has helped hundreds of disabled men and women of Latin American origin, with or without documents, receive the necessary tools to integrate into society.

The accident changed his life

Ruben enrolled at Dance Institute where he was taught to read and write and live with his limitations, then decided to enroll at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and leading him down his current path.

The recent anniversary of UDLA fills him with joy and satisfaction. Diplomas, awards and photos with public figures, recognition from the White House, as well as from several other countries, hang from the walls of his office in Los Angeles.

Through his organization, Ruben helps get scholarships for those who want to continue with their studies and play sports. UDLA has its own basketball team that participates annually during the Lakers’ season, showing their skills from their wheelchairs. They also participate in the Los Angeles Marathon, the Special Olympics and other international competitions, where they have won several awards.

Fighting violence with a call for peace

Ruben not only supports the disabled, most of whom are victims of violence, but also takes to the streets and confronts violence by calling for peace. “Our neighborhoods are in constant danger, our youth are gang members and victims of gangs. Our duty is to help everyone,” he says.

Ruben began a parallel crusade for the disabled in which he periodically leads whole families on walks through the streets of dangerous L.A. neighborhoods, escorted by dozens of wheelchairs.

“I created a monitoring program on the streets which covers four areas of the city, including some of the most troubled and dangerous. We clean graffiti and talk with young gang members and invite the authorities to a “night out”, which means nothing else but a night with neighbors out on the street, rather than spend life hiding in our homes. ”

“Crime isn’t something that is beat only by police presence in the streets, but also combated on a psychological level for which we have programs that seek to invite and deter youth from picking up bad habits,” explains Ruben.

For example, neighbors immediately erase the graffiti as it appears. “And there begins the psychological battle in which we send the message that we do not want graffiti on our community.” His wife and two daughters were added to the task and together they clean the walls of his neighborhood and, among other things, collect school supplies from residents, authorities and other organizations to donate to needy children in Baja California, Mexico.

“The message arrives but takes time because it is not easy to change from night to day. The challenge is enormous.”

However, he admits that this effort has been worthwhile. “My blindness led me to find solutions for disadvantaged youth. The people who robbed me of my vision were young gang members. I’ve forgiven them and accepted that they needed help and us handicapped people and our families can offer it to people like them.”

Restoring confidence in the community and police

“Trust between the community and the police department is fundamental, so ours is a team effort. We need each other, they come and help us but then they leave and we’re left living in the neighborhood everyday,” says Ruben.

“The police are looking for a healthy society like ours so that the authorities and the community can work together. This is a journey of challenges, no doubt.”

Ruben’s many heroes

“I’m not a hero. I am a friend who gives his unconditional love every day. Without love, this effort could not succeed, this road we have taken,” he emotionally admits.

“I’ve had many heroes in this life journey. My mom and my dad, who are gone, but also some of my teachers and even Don José, the candy seller, who with his wisdom and patience listened and guided many young people like me who were looking for a friend and mentor.”

“I believe that heroes are out there. We just have to identify them and follow their path in order to have a safe and healthy community in which my kids can ride their bikes and my wife can jog in the morning without being scared. So that young people can be safe and not have to worry about stray bullets.”

“I only want one thing special when I pass away, that my tombstone says that I fulfilled my purpose: To serve God, serve my family and serve my community”.

[Photo By Expediente Rojo]

Daniel Hernandez Jr., former Congressional intern, credited with helping save Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords’ life after she was shot last January was elected to a school board in Arizona early last week according to the LA Times.

According to the report, the humble hero and political science major made no mention of the tragic shooting incident during his campaign.  Although Hernandez was recognized by the President for his acts during that fateful day last January, the University of Arizona student has claimed that the incident may have detracted people from his efforts to improve education in his district.

Hernandez will serve the same Tuscon area district in which he graduated high school from in 2008.

[Photo By Pete Souza]

It is not difficult to imagine that Juan Manuel Rodriguez has managed to turn the tide in the lives of many young prisoners in Mexico. He knows well the problems and obstacles that live in and off the streets, from poverty to the need to be accepted and to belong to the “band.”

His passion for literature

Originally from Aguascalientes, Mexico, Juan Manuel is the seventh of 10 siblings. His childhood, he says, was simple. “My childhood was humble, my father was a shoemaker and a drunk. I asked my mom once if my dad was really drunk and she told me that the last [bender] lasted four years. I grew up between the shoes and games with many gaps. ”

Despite these shortcomings, Juan Manuel says he was rich in ideas. His passion for reading and writing changed his life, what started as a hobby became a way of life, a transformation for dozens of people who just need a chance to express their feelings through poetry. And today he runs literary workshops in various jails of Aguascalientes.

“My dad died when I was 6 years old , so I was fatherless. Thereafter my mother marked this every year,” he recalls.

“After the death of my father, my mother took over. My brothers were already a little big, the oldest was 17 years or so, and tried to work and study. My mom gave us the example to work and study, we scored the study. I grew up in the neighborhood between the dangers of the street.   I was already smoking by age 9, we went into the chapel to smoke, then everyone in the neighborhood tried marijuana. ”

It is these experiences in the neighborhood that have helped young people understand that they prefer the path of crime and violence. “I started writing poetry as a challenge. I didn’t know it was poetry until a friend read my texts, and he, Richard Ezekiel, was my first teacher. I lived a double life, my work and the band.”

He learned about the abuses that sometimes boys undergo and, opened the door to talk about it with other kids who did not share his fate, learning how to choose the path of success. Juan Manuel needed to expose the positive side and the emotional reality lived on the streets. Thus began poetry workshops in the prison of Social Rehabilitation Center (Cereso) for children in Aguascalientes.

From neighborhood to neighborhood

Interested in bringing to light the sense of “neighborhood,” in 1994 Juan Manuel launched a radio program called “Mi Barrio,” where traditional music was heard in the neighborhood, but was also a place for complaints and help for the families of the boys band. Unknowingly, Juan Manuel’s passion for helping the community would become a profession that would change his life.

“So my community work went hand in hand with my literary work in prisons. I covered two prisons, the Cereso for adults and minors in Aguascalientes, where they began to win prizes. That was how I started with people who had nothing to do. They were lonely or whatever, and enrolled in my class, a change of life, left and right, “explains

“Then I got more prisons and put my people to write and went on to win awards. I don’t have a degree and it’s hard work. I read a lot and prepare, I get paid for doing what I like. ”

Although to many inmates he is considered a hero, Juan Manuel says that title is reserved for the woman who gave him life: “The majority of my family is composed of women, no TV hero was for me a hero, my mother was my hero. ”

And although he says that success is measured many ways, his greatest satisfaction are his sons and all those who have placed their trust in him. “I have murderers, kidnappers, all, I have people who have changed their attitude and that I recognize. They appreciate me. The salary I get paid is no recognition of those people. I do not expect them to give thanks, because if I did I would get frustrated, but that hug or affection they give me is priceless. ”

Juan Manuel is the author of several poetry collections including “The Cat writes with 20 pins,” published in March 2001. He collaborates with several magazines, of course in the art and culture sections. Some of his work has involved criminal inmates.

Also, this modest man, 41, is editor and coordinator of the publication LeTRASlasRejas written entirely by local prison inmates, who attend free creative writing workshop that he coordinates.

Thanks to the support and confidence of the prison authorities of Aguascalientes, Juan Manuel cultivates the satisfaction of his students’ numerous awards, including a very special National Poetry Prize Prison for five consecutive years.

“The teacher is an example, a great friend who believes in us, I really think we can do something different, something useful here in prison and once they go out and fulfill our convictions,” said one of his students to Expediente Rojo, while visiting one of these rehabilitation centers in Mexico.

{Photo By JoelMontes]