Content:

A night to honor the life, work and legacy of Carlos' leadership.

Schedule:
6 PM - Registration
6:30 PM - Dinner, program, and entertainment

Suggested donation: $50

For more information about the benefit, please call 872-529-7084

More about Carlos, as Google translated from the August 15th edition of La Raza:

Friends of activist Carlos Arango plan to celebrate and help him with a benefit on August 28.

Carlos Arango has been one of Chicago's most prominent social activists for immigrants and Latinos for decades.

Friends, acquaintances, and colleagues of activist leader Carlos Arango are organizing a benefit event for him next Thursday, August 28th, at a Little Village restaurant to celebrate his 79th birthday and recognize his career as a leader defending the rights of immigrants and Mexicans for the past fifty years.

The event is planned for August 28th from 6 pm to 8 pm at La Casa de Samuel restaurant, located at 2834 W. Cermak Road, in Little Village.

Admission to the event is $50 per person, and Guillermo Gómez, one of the organizers, told La Raza that they have also opened a GoFundMe page for Arango under the name of the Friends of Carlos Arango Committee to receive donations in support of the activist.

This event, in addition to recognizing his career in social activism, seeks to help Arango cover medical expenses, as he currently has some health issues.

The phone number to call if you want to make a donation or if you have any questions is 872-529-7084.

Gómez, also an activist, told La Raza that he met Arango back in 1976 at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater, Wisconsin, when Arango visited there to offer a workshop on labor rights at a church.

"We've known each other since the Chicano Movement," said Gómez. "It's a relationship based on our fight for social justice."

"Many people don't know that Carlos was fighting for the opening of democracy in Mexico City in 1968 and for that reason he had to leave Mexico," Gómez explained.

"Carlos has been a key figure historically in achieving many achievements for Mexicans here," said Gómez.

Arango's activism includes helping organize the 2006 mega-marches, fighting for independent candidates not affiliated with the old Democratic establishment, achieving license plates and driver's licenses for immigrants, and more. "Carlos has a legacy of activism," said Gómez.

Antonia Salinas, another Pilsen activist, said she has known Carlos Arango for 37 years, since she began volunteering at Casa Aztlán.

Salinas said she helped with immigration workshops, the Viva Aztlán festival, and disseminating information about the programs at the former Casa Aztlán.

"Carlos has a long, very long history," said Salinas. "He began his activism in Mexico. He is a leader with great vision and understands the politics of Mexico and the United States."

Salinas said Arango has never been afraid to speak out in defense of the community and Mexicans. "Yes, of course, he has always been at the forefront," said Salinas.

María García, who now lives in Mexico City, told La Raza that she has known Arango since the 1990s when she lived in Chicago.

García said that Arango, along with leaders such as Luis Pelayo, Jorge Mujica, and Omar López, have been “the main organizers, for example, of the mega-marches of 2006.”

“As a community leader, Carlos Arango has helped thousands of people with his advice and his efforts on behalf of the community,” García summarized.

Felipe Aguirre, now living in California, told La Raza that he met Arango in 1975 in Chicago, the same year Aguirre moved to California.

After leaving Mexico, Arango traveled to California, and it was from there that Arango moved to Chicago in 1975.

“He came to Chicago to help the people of Chicago,” Aguirre told La Raza. "He is a person very committed to the community; he deserves the respect of all the people of Mexico and the United States."