Legends

LULAC

LULAC, founded in 1929, has a rich history of electing National Presidents to lead the organization. Among them, six remarkable individuals hailing from El Paso have proudly served as LULAC National Presidents.

In recognition of their significant contributions, Legends is a program dedicated to honoring and celebrating these distinguished leaders. Below is a brief summary of their impactful journeys:

Frank J. Galvan

National President in 1936

National President in 1936 was born in 1908 in Santa Barbara, Chihuahua and came to El Paso in 1913. Mr. Galvan graduated from Jefferson University Law School in Dallas and returned to El Paso in 1932. He was among the first LULAC members in El Paso, and by 1936, he was elected National President at the age of 28. He is one of the youngest ever elected to that office.

In El Paso, he became chairperson of LULAC’s fund raising program to build a home for the Goodwill Boys’ Club in South El Paso. Eventually, the program became the Boys and Girls Club of El Paso. In 1938 he worked closely with other LULAC members to advocate for a new Bowie High School building and to improve the overall education for Mexican American students.

In 1941, at the age of 33, Mr. Galvan joined the Army and served during WWII in Intelligence. Later he became acquainted with President Lyndon B. Johnson and was a personal advisor to the Johnson. Mr. Galvan’s law office was in the Caples Building in downtown El Paso. He passed away in 1984 at the age of 76 and is buried at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery.

Mr. Gomez was born in 1894 in El Paso and attended El Paso Military Institute and St. Edwards Prep College in Austin, Texas. In 1917, he enlisted in the Army during World War I and saw action
in France. He took part in several campaigns in France and served with the Army of occupation. After the war he worked in the wholesale grocery business and in 1935 he founded M.A. Gomez Wholesale Grocery.

He is credited with organizing LULAC in El Paso in 1932 and was an organizer of LULAC Councils as the organization expanded to other states. He assumed the office of National President in 1942 when the National President (Ben Osuna) entered the armed forces during World War II. In 1943, he was elected National
President and is credited with keeping LULAC active during the war years.

Notable accomplishments include:

He founded the El Paso Boys & Girls Club.
He was instrumental in convincing federal and local governments about the need for federally funded housing and lobbied for the creation of the Alamito Housing Project in South El Paso.
He was a proud veteran and founder of the Marcos Armijo VFW Post 2653.
Served on boards of directors, such as the Airport Board, City Pension Board, Goodwill Board, Rescue Mission, The Draft Board, El Paso Boys Baseball Board and was a member of the Downtown Lions Club for fifty years.
The City of El Paso named the Modesto A. Gomez Park in his honor (located on Delta Street).

He carried his fighting spirit and intolerance for discrimination throughout his life. Mr. Gomez passed away in 1984 at the age of 88 and is buried at the Ft. Bliss National Cemetery.

Modesto A. Gomez

National President in 1943

William Flores

National President in 1944

William Flores – National President in 1944 was born in Socorro, Texas in 1897. His father had been a County Clerk and a teacher in Cd. Juarez, Las Cruces and Ysleta. Mr. Flores attended Durham College, Palmore College and the International Business College and worked as a bookkeeper.

In 1917 he enlisted in the Army during World War I and became a medical stenographer and completed his military service in 1919. He is a charter member of Council No. 8 and served as president and in numerous LULAC offices.

He became very active at the state level and was a delegate to several state conventions. In 1944 he was elected LULAC National President during a time when membership had decreased due to World War II and traveled to other states to promote and activate LULAC Councils.

In 1964 he was appointed to a national committee to inventory all LULAC properties and played a key role in establishing the LULAC National Office in El Paso. He served on LULAC’s Chamizal Committee to assist the thousands of El Pasoans forced to leave their homes due to the Chamizal Treaty of 1963. He took
an active role in LULAC’s campaign to decrease the dropout rate of Mexican American students, to end the Texas poll tax, and to raise funds for scholarships.

William Flores passed away in 1981 at the age of 84 and is buried at the Ft. Bliss National Cemetery.

Judge Armendariz as born in El Paso in 1919. He joined the Army during World War II. After the war he studied at Texas Western College and at USC law school where he was the only Mexican American student. He began to practice law in El Paso in 1950 and joined LULAC in the same year. He served as president of LULAC in El Paso and in 1953 was elected National
President at the age of 34.

He was instrumental in expanding LULAC to other states. He is one of the founders of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) and was instrumental in establishing LULAC’s housing program for low income families in El Paso.

In 1954, he helped argue Hernandez vs. the State of Texas, a landmark case that established Latinos as a distinct class entitled to protection under the 14th Amendment. Representing MALDEF in the 1970s, Armendariz argued Alvarado vs. El Paso ISD, a landmark case that resulted in desegregation of El Paso schools.

He served on the El Paso Civil Service Commission and is credited with helping open the city's police and fire departments to Mexican Americans. He was Chair of El Paso’s Community Chest Drive, served on the Catholic Welfare Board, and the El Paso Parole Board.

He was appointed immigration judge for the U.S. Department of Justice and served from 1976 to 1985. In 1986, he was appointed to the Texas Court of Appeals. In 2010 the newly built federal courthouse in El Paso was named the Albert Armendariz US Federal Courthouse in his honor. Judge Armendariz passed away in 2007 at the age of 88 and is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery.

Judge Albert Armendariz

National President in 1953

Paul Andow

National President in 1963

National President in 1963 was born in El Paso in 1925. He went to
Bowie High School but dropped out to work full time in a bakery. A week after
Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Navy at the age of sixteen and served with the
Navy Air Corps until 1945. He returned to El Paso and received his high school
diploma in 1947. He enrolled at the University of Texas Law School and at South Texas Law School in Houston and began his legal career in 1954.

He joined LULAC in 1955 and was elected to various positions in El Paso and
served on various state and national committees. In 1963, at 38 years of age, he
was elected National President. He led LULAC at the height of the Civil Rights
Movement and the growing activism of Mexican Americans nationwide. He was a strong supporter and advocate for expanding the “Little School of 400,” a pre-school program to teach English to non-English speaking Mexican American pre-school children. He also took an active role with LULAC’s campaign to end the poll tax in Texas and was a proud veteran and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

His most cherished moment was visiting with President John F. Kennedy on the
last evening of President Kennedy's life. This occurred in Houston on November 21, 1963. As National President, Paul Andow was a member of the host committee that welcomed the President to Houston.

He passed away in 2003 at the age of 78 and is buried in the Ft. Bliss National
Cemetery.

She was born in El Paso to immigrant parents. She attended school in El Paso and graduated from Bowie HS in 1955. In the 1960’s, she began her forty-year career in civil service with the US Immigration & Naturalization Service, and US Customs. She has been a member of LULAC for sixty years and has served in numerous elected positions at the local, state, and national level. She is a proven leader and a dedicated member of LULAC. She is the first woman elected LULAC President. Notable accomplishments include:

President Lyndon Johnson awarded her the Chamizal Medallion for her
work to ensure that displaced persons affected by the Chamizal Treaty
received due compensation.
She led LULAC’s opposition to California Proposition 187 which barred
immigrants from receiving basic health care, education, and social services.
She established partnerships with corporate America to award scholarships
through the LULAC National Education Service Centers.
President – International Hispanic Cultural Institute
Chair – National SER (Job for Progress Board)
Board member – El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Honorary member – Rotary International
Co-Chair National Equal Employment Opportunity Conference
LULAC Women’s Hall of Fame (1992)
El Paso City Conquistador Award (1995)
Hispano Triunfadores Award presented by Castro Enterprises (2003)
El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame (2004)
Humanitarian of the Year presented by Project Amistad (2016)

Throughout her life, Belen Robles has been a trail blazer. Her community
involvement in education continues today as she is a member of the El Paso
Community College Board of Trustees.

Belen Robles

National President in 1994 to 1998

Through Legends, we paid tribute to these exceptional leaders and their enduring legacies within the LULAC organization. We honored their remarkable achievements and celebrated their significant impact on the El Paso community and beyond.