Last month, the Mexican American Historical Archives (MAHA), which is part of the weekly electronic newsletter Illinois Latino Voice, published an in-depth article on Hector Hernandez, former ICA President, winner of the 2000 Billy Colias Excellence in Teaching Award, and recipient of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. Hector is a well-known figure in the Latino community of Chicago and has been instrumental in advancing chess on Chicago’s lower west side for several decades. In addition to his personal chess accomplishments—Hector is a Candidate Master, who achieved his highest rating of 2167 in 1993—he has touched many lives as a talented chess instructor, scholastic coach, and chess club founder.
Here is his biography, reprinted with the author’s permission:
I was born in General Treviño, Nuevo León, Mexico about 36 miles southwest of Roma, Texas in 1953. I was the fifth of seven children and from the time I was five until twelve years my siblings and I would spend summers in Río Bravo, Tamaulipas on my maternal grandparents’ farm. Río Bravo is about 37 miles west of the Gulf of Mexico. Tamaulipas is a neighboring state to the north and east of Nuevo León. In the early sixties our relatives grew cotton on their farm. At harvest time, workers would come from nearby states like Veracruz, San Luis Potosí and even Jalisco. It was fun to meet people from different parts of Mexico. Years later, in Chicago, I would meet people from different countries and from many regions of Mexico. This brought back pleasant childhood memories.
My first lessons in management and critical thinking came from my grandparents and two uncles. They managed the farm, a small grocery store and an entertainment space where -on weekends- they showed popular Mexican movies for their workers and those of nearby farmlands. They were a big part of my education.
On the farm, milking cows and riding horses were two of my favorite activities.
At age five I was rolling my r’s quite well.
“¡Doña Herrrmelinda, carrrne de carrrnero gorrrdo!” A ram had been slaughtered and the meat was to be sold to the neighbors.
I learned to read before starting school. I remember around that time my grandmother taught me a short poem about Francisco I. Madero, which I can recite even today. By age 11, I had graduated from primary school in Treviño and enrolled in secondary school at Escuela Secundaria Eusebio de la Cueva in Cerralvo -our state’s first capital-, 13 miles southwest of our hometown. My four older siblings had gone to school there. By the end of the school year, our parents had secured visas for all their children to make our big move. It was time for the family to join our father in Chicago.
Coming to the U.S.
People say there is no such thing as a free ride, but my father got one. In August of 1965, he got a free train ride from Laredo, Texas to Chicago, Illinois for himself, his wife and seven children. Back in the sixties, free travel on their trains was one of the benefits provided to employees by railroad companies. I can still see my father, during the ride, ordering food and beverages on the train. Seven children were tagging along, behind him, asking him: how do you say, “one hot dog, two hot dogs, etc.”. We had studied English in Mexico but all we could say was “my name is …” “this is my book”, and “this is my pencil”. That was about it.
Growing up in Chicago’s Bridgeport community in the sixties and early seventies was interesting. It was the time of the civil rights movement, and the 1968 Democratic National Convention – which took place at the International Amphitheatre, a few blocks away from our house. Baseball was a big deal in our house. We lived a few blocks west of Comiskey Park and would run to our front windows to watch the fireworks every time a White Sox player hit a home run.
In America, we had to learn a new language and the ways of a new culture, get to know new neighbors, and make new friends. I learned how to walk on water – well, frozen water. Snow and ice were totally new to us. We took a few spills; nonetheless, winters were fun – when we were young, of course. We got a lot of support from Nativity of our Lord Church and School, which is now Bridgeport Catholic Academy. Each day of the week a different volunteer would come to the school and help us go through beginning readers. That is how we started learning English.
One thing that struck me about Chicago was its status as the most segregated city in the world. Different ethnic groups had their own neighborhoods. There were Lithuanians in Marquette Park, Puerto Ricans in Humboldt Park and Mexicans on 18th St., and in other neighborhoods. Another factor that I observed about Chicago was its urban planning, the grid design of the streets which makes it easy to orient yourself.
Despite being very young, my two older sisters were school-teachers in Mexico before we moved to Chicago. I always spoke Spanish with them and my two older brothers while speaking English with my two younger siblings. This practice turned out to be highly beneficial for my future career in public libraries.
I attended De La Salle Institute, for high school, then Aurora College for a brief time. At Aurora I met Santos Rivera, from South Chicago. He introduced me to Ramiro Borja who helped me to gain admission to the University of Illinois at Chicago. There I met Carlos Heredia who is an educator, historian, community activist and lifelong friend. He is one of the founding members of OLAS, the Organization of Latin American Students.
Besides the bachelor's degree from UIC, I also earned two master’s degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Chess
I achieved the Candidate Master title in chess and am a former North American champion in correspondence chess – Class A.
I have taught chess and managed clubs at Back of the Yards library (1978-1981) and Rudy Lozano library (1989-2019). In addition, I have coached at prestigious schools in Chicago: The University of Chicago Laboratory School, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School -State Champions 2000, 2001-, the Latin School of Chicago, Keller Regional Gifted Center, and St. Ignatius College Prep (2010-2022). The St. Ignatius chess program has achieved Top Twenty status in Illinois for the last two years and Chicago Chess Conference champions for four of the last five years.
National Open – Guadalajara, 2005
Invited by my cousin I.M. (International Master) Alfonso Almeida I played in Mexico’s National Open tournament in Guadalajara, 2005. It was my first tournament in Mexico and a successful one for me. I had wins against strong players: don Alfonso Ferriz Carrasqueado, the dean of Mexican chess; Jesús García, Jalisco state champion and Cesar Varela, a very strong player from San Luis Potosí
National Open – Aguascalientes, 2007
- After a first-round loss to my friend G.M. (Grand Master) Gilberto Hernandez, the rest of the tournament was not much better for me.
My retirement from the Chicago Public Library, after forty years of service, happened in 2019.