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Rodriguez: South Texas loses two icons, Mike Allen and Steve Jordan
29 August 2010
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| Jose Rodriguez |
MISSION, Aug. 29 - South Texas and the border region have lost two great icons in the last two weeks, one from the world of politics, economics and business and one from the world of music and the arts. Esteban "Steve" Jordan is a great loss to us. He was recognized worldwide not just here locally as a master of the accordion. He did not just play Conjunto style, but jazz, rock, you name it, he could do it. Steve inspired many of us that worked in the fields to enjoy life. He played at our dances. I was sad to hear he passed away. I was still hoping I could make another dance. The other great loss is Mike Allen. What can one say about Mike Allen? For me he was a moral compass. I met him when he was a priest at the Newman Catholic Student Center at Pan American University and I was a young student in the late 1960s. He was a person who motivated me and many other young people in those days to get involved in a lot of the social justice movements of the day, the Chicano movimiento, the anti-war movement and, of course, the farm worker movement in the Rio Grande Valley. We were seeking social justice and a better opportunity for people. And that was Mike Allen. So, for me, you are talking about someone who literally changed the direction of my life. Mike and became good friends over the years. We kept in touch with each other. We worked together through the Texas Border Coalition, trying to get more resources for border communities. I would speak to him on a periodic basis. The last time was two weeks ago on the phone. He was as optimistic as always. I could tell in his voice that he was not feeling well but we were still talking about the issues and what changes needed to be made and want needed to happen in the legislature. People used to talk about the border region working together nobody stepped forward with the vision Mike Allen had; about doing things in a collaborative basis all across the border. That was unheard of. Unfortunately, our history along the border is one of neglect. We have been left behind as the state has progressed. From my point of view, and I think Mike’s, most communities were fighting for themselves and never really working together to establish a border-wide coalition that would share in the struggle for a better way of life. In setting up the Texas Border Coalition, Mike Allen was the one who stepped forward and said, this needs to be done. He was the driving force in establishing the Coalition. And, the fact that the Coalition has lasted to this day is amazing to me. Groups come and go in the Valley and all the way up the border to El Paso. The Texas Border Coalition is still there. It is not just a Texas voice today but a national voice on immigration, security and other issues. Jose Rodriguez is candidate for the District 29 state Senate seat. He was elected for five terms as El Paso County Attorney and served for many years as chair of the Texas Border Coalition’s health committee. Jose was born in Alice, Texas, and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. The above column is based on an interview he gave the Guardian in Mission on Saturday, Aug. 28.
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