Reies Lopez Tijerina, Chicano Movement Leader, Dead At 88

Reies Lopez Tijerina, a Pentecostal preacher turned activist who led a violent raid of a northern New Mexico courthouse nearly 50 years ago, died Monday. He was 88.

Family representative Estela Reyes-Lopez said Tijerina, who helped spark the radical Chicano movement, died at an El Paso, Texas, hospital, of natural causes. Nephew Luis Tijerina also confirmed the death.

Tijerina, who had been battling a number of illnesses, including a heart condition, had to use a wheelchair in recent years but still occasionally gave speeches.

Tijerina was born in Fall City, Texas, in 1923 to migrant farmworkers. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Esperanza, and his children, Reyes-Lopez said.

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Follow Russell Contreras at http://twitter.com/russcontreras . Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix also contributed to this report.

The Huffington Post