Ms. Cortez was born and raised in El Paso, Texas in the Bel Air area. She was responsible for her siblings and her home from a very early age. Shortly after finishing her studies, she worked as a parole officer; after she became privy to several adverse working conditions, she increased her involvement in the local union. Ms. Cortez moved to Austin in the 1990s, and has worked for Travis County ever since.

Video footage from the WBAP-TV television station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

Video footage from the WBAP-TV station in Fort Worth, Texas to accompany a news story about the presidents of the United States and Mexico meeting at El Paso to end a century-old dispute over 630 acres of land known as the Chamizal. President Johnson and Mexican President Lopez-Mateos meet to celebrate the deeding of the land to Mexico, which was claimed by both countries when the Rio Grande changed its course 100 years prior.

Interview with Alicia Chacon, the first Mexican-American woman to be elected as a city council representative from El Paso, Texas. She was also elected to the school board and as county clerk. Chacon discusses her community involvement and political career, including working in the Jimmy Carter administration.

Interview with Fernando Chacon, lawyer and activist from El Paso, Texas. In the interview Chacon discusses his early life and education, his advocacy for migrant workers, his activism in the Chicano movement, and El Paso politics.