Southwest Detroit has bred a number of nationally and internationally known Latino leaders, though many in our community are not aware of this rich history. In past EL CENTRAL articles I covered some of those individuals such as journalist Angelo Figueroa, founder of People En Espanol and AOL Latino, 8-time Grammy winning percussionist and singer Humberto “Nengue” Hernandez, guitarist Cesar Pena and leading health advocate Ricardo Guzman who played a leading role in advising President Obama’s team on what now we call the Obamacare health care system. These are just a few of our unsung heroes. Let’s not forget singer-musician Sixto Rodriguez, an international icon who was the subject of the 2013 Oscar winning documentary “Looking for Sugarman”. I hope to continue bringing to light some other individuals in future EL CENTRAL columns. I acknowledge I have just scratched the surface in telling some of these stories.
One such leader was Dr. Maria E. Torres-Guzman. Born in 1951 in the town of Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, she alternated living in Detroit and Puerto Rico during her childhood and early adult years. Academically gifted, she obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Education at age 16 from the University of Puerto Rico. Upon returning to Michigan, she would go on to obtain her Master’s in Education from the University of Michigan at age 19.[i]
Her list of achievements was notable. In her early 20’s, from 1973-1976, she would become the Director of Wayne State University’s Chicano Boricua Studies, now known as the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies. This was a time when the center firmly established itself within the university and the city of Detroit. It was during this same period The Detroit News named her one of the State of Michigan’s 100 most influential figures.
Before I continue, I must disclose Maria was my first cousin and that we were very close. Besides our family ties she and I found common ground through our activism in the Puerto Rican civil rights movement both on the island and here in Detroit. During the 70s we were often involved in the same organizations mobilizing around Latino civil rights, educational and community matters, sometimes jointly organizing events. A couple years younger than her, I looked up to her as I admired her intellectual curiosity, her rigorous attention to detail and analytical abilities. We would often have spirited conversations concerning the political situation on the island of Puerto Rico, as well as community dynamics and politics in our own Southwest Detroit community.
Ines DeJesus, retired Detroit Public Schools administrator, bilingual educator and well- known community activist, was one of those students at Chicano-Boricua Studies during Maria Torres’ tenure as director. In a recent conversation she noted how important Maria’s guidance was for her and other students.
“For the students who were in the Chicano-Boricua Studies program, Maria was not only our advisor but also our friend. She was compassionate and caring, always there for us. She was loving, like a big sister. Maria guided us in whatever we were engaged in at the time, whether it was organizing on campus, our involvement in the student group La Union Estudiantil, or with our course work. As young women ourselves we were amazed that this young Puerto Rican woman had already accomplished so much at such a young age. She was our mentor, without calling herself that. I thought if she could do it, I could too.”
It was only a matter of time before she moved on to continue her studies. She landed at California’s Stanford University where she secured her PhD in Bilingual/Bicultural studies. Her move from Detroit would impact me. Though I was happy for her continued growth, I felt a loss in the sense that I didn’t have one of my closest buddies to discuss the matters of the day on a regular, almost daily basis.
With her newly acquired PhD she returned to Michigan to serve as a faculty member at Michigan State University’s School of Education. That laid the foundation for the next and final step in her academic career, as the Director of the Bilingual/Bicultural Studies at Teachers College at New York’s Columbia University. In that role she also directed the university’s Fellows’ program for Master’s and Doctoral candidates. She also served stints as Visiting Professor at Harvard University, Princeton University and University of Texas.
Dr Torres authored and co-authored over 40 books and publications on Bilingual Education. During her lifetime she consulted a number of national and international governments and educational systems. When Dr. Torres retired in 2014 from Columbia University, she formed a consulting group TGA (Torres Guzman and Associates). In that role she organized and consulted on a number of significant projects with some of the nation’s biggest school systems such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Antonio among others. Her work led to international consultancies in New Zealand, China, Canada, Spain, Mexico and several Central American countries.
In her later years she would alternate her time between the European country of Bulgaria and Puerto Rico with husband Juan Olivas, a former Spanish diplomat. After a long battle with cancer, she departed us on August 8, 2018.
As I reflect on her life, achievements, and our friendship I am still amazed at how much impact she had on our educational system. In many ways we are now in a position that we have to strenuously defend these same achievements in the current political and cultural environment. But as Maria and I use to say to each other in our youth whenever we were faced with a challenge, PaLante, Siempre PaLante! (Forward, Always Forward!) Gracias a ti, Maria, for laying such a strong foundation!
