Map, Mexican land grants in Colorado

Welcome to the Borderlands of Southern Colorado, an ancient crossroads. They have a violent history of conquest and enslavement, but also traditions of beauty and diversity. A place where Indigenous cultures blend with Spanish, Mexican, and American traditions to create a unique identity unlike any other in the world. This identity lives within the people of the Borderlands, and it goes with them wherever they move. Borderlands people don’t stay still. By choice, by force, or by necessity, they have moved a lot. They are mobile people who have lived beyond boundaries and between languages. They are people who live "sin fronteras" - without borders.

A community advisory committee helped develop El Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado. The exhibit shares the story from their point of view, in their voices. History Colorado is honored to work with the committee, people who stood up for human rights at the height of the Movement in the 1960s and ‘70s, and who continue the fight for education and equality. The Chicano Movement—El Movimiento—changed lives. Years of racism and discrimination that kept Mexican Americans poor, marginalized, and often invisible would not be tolerated anymore. The battle for justice and equality intensified in the 1960s and ‘70s, particularly in Colorado. Chicanos demanded better working conditions, housing, education, and representation. They called for an end to war in Vietnam. In cities, they stood up against police brutality; in rural areas, they fought to reclaim land. El Movimiento forced change, and the struggle continues.