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Political Padre: Raymundo Chávez Vázquez and Illegal Immigration

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Everyone, however, was surprised when 5,000 to 7,000 people turned up for the march. Alan Cooper was working in the area at the time and says that the protest "blew everyone's mind."

"It was the biggest march anyone had ever seen in Bryan," García Alonzo says.
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Father Rafael, the other Mexican priest at Santa Teresa, remembers his seminary days with Father Raymundo in San Luis Potosí, where the two met. Both remember conditions in the Mexican seminary as harsh. "We were supposed to request permission to do everything," Father Rafael says. "Even to get medicine or leave the seminary for a couple of hours, we had to ask permission. They didn't allow us to express our own ideas."

Father Rafael says that he first experienced intellectual freedom in a Catholic church in Houston. "We could have a true conversation there," he says. "It was an opportunity to express ourselves. In Mexico, they told you what to think."

Father Raymundo is a little more conflicted. After all, he loves his country and wants to go back. "I learned this saying in English," he says. "There's no place like home." His dreams take him far from Aggieland, but he's found a unique voice at Santa Teresa. "There's a lot people here that think that I shouldn't express myself," he says, "but I've found freedom. And there are more opportunities for ­education."

He wants to pursue graduate studies in art history and study Italian, things he might do part-time at A&M. These days, his relationship with the Tejanos is improving. They are beginning to believe in Father Raymundo's message — one even called him "a miracle." A few are starting to come back from other parishes. And he's starting to adapt to Aggieland. His English is getting better. He occasionally eats out at Olive Garden after a hard day's work.

"I think the Hispanic community is looking for a real leader, a Martin Luther King, Jr. to serve Spanish speakers," he says. He leans back in his chair, contemplating the idea.

"I don't know if I'm a good leader," he says. "I'm a foreigner. I can't demand things from the government. But I can ask politely."

russell.cobb@houstonpress.com

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