FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2008
Media Contact: Lesley Wheeler, Public Affairs; (562) 860-2451 ext.2287
Mexico was in a state of upheaval during the 1910 Revolution and many Mexicans were fleeing the country for the promise of jobs and safety in America. The rumored safe haven on a California island circulated through the small town where Saucedo’s parents grew up.
Gregorio Saucedo left Tepehuanes for Catalina in 1920 and Maria, Marcelino’s mother, made her journey in 1922. Both left their homeland not knowing what America would have to offer, but their destination was the same. They reacquainted with each other in the Pebbly Beach barrio on the island and soon got married and started a family.
Marcelino was born on Catalina Island in 1935. He was just one of many children on the island that were born to Mexican immigrant parents.
The island, which was a Mexican territory until 1848, started to see an influx of immigrants after William Wrigley Jr., of the chewing gum company, bought it in 1919 and turned it into what people see it as today. The majority of labor was done using the immigrants fleeing the dangers in Mexico.
Saucedo, who has been working at Cerritos College as a counselor for the past 36 years, grew up in the Mexican community on American soil and was influenced by both of the cultures that surrounded him.
“I was able to evaluate the two cultures and select the best of both,” Saucedo said. “I appreciated the strengths of the Spanish language and the Mexican culture and still I was proud to be an American citizen. I absorbed the best of each and made it part of who I am today.”
Saucedo wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do with his life when he was growing up, but he knew he didn’t want to spend his whole life working in the rock quarry on Catalina. He left the island in search of something more, something better, than what Catalina could offer him.
He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s as well, and by 1976 he had earned his Marriage Family Therapist’s License, too. His career has been full of moves and changes, but he has spent the majority of it at Cerritos College helping students chase their own dreams.
“Each level, coaching, teaching, high school and college counseling, all presented new challenges and I learned and loved the challenges,” Saucedo said about his career. “I feel that I was successful at each level.”
Saucedo has taken on each new challenge that has come his way and in 2004 he challenged himself yet again. He decided that the history of Mexican immigrants was an important part of California history that was consistently getting overlooked by historians. He took it upon himself to write a book detailing the mark that immigrants have left on California, and Catalina.
“My purpose was to validate the profile of a group that contributed so much to our nation,” he said. “The religious and family values, the work ethic, the altruistic giving for all in the community is a respectful and unique model for all ethnic groups as they intermingle with the dominant population.”
"Dream Makers and Dream Catchers: The Story of the Mexican Heritage on Catalina Island" was written by Saucedo and published in 2008. He hopes that his book will help document the history and highlight the contributions of a group that has been invaluable to the state of California.
“My book represents the void of 100 years that have been absent in our California history,” he said.
Although Saucedo retired in 1993 he continues to work as a counselor at Cerritos College one day a week. He enjoys being able to help those that are like he once was. He remembers what it felt like to have no direction. He sees himself in the students he counsels.
“I feel good and functional so I continue to work,” Saucedo said. “It makes me feel good to be able to help these students. They need support, direction, guidance and encouragement.”
All of the proceeds from the sale of "Dream Makers and Dream Catchers: The Story of the Mexican Heritage on Catalina Island" will go to the Catalina Island Museum, where Saucedo currently serves as a board member. For information on purchasing the book go to http://www.catalinamuseum.org/giftshop.html or call the museum at (310) 510-2414.
Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 200 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently surpasses 24,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu.
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