Several events will take place in the coming days to commemorate Santos Rodríguez, 50 years after his murder at the hands of a Dallas police officer.
Free screenings of his documentary can be seen this Friday and Saturday in Dallas. A march and a mass will be held this Sunday. In addition, two symposiums focused on the importance of the protest following the murder of Santos and its impact on the community, are planned for the following week.
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Santos Rodríguez was 12 years old when he was killed by a Dallas Police Department officer on July 24, 1973.
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Free screenings of Santos Vive
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The documentary Santos Vive, which recounts the murder of a 12 years-old Hispanic boy from the Little Mexico neighborhood in Dallas, can be seen free of charge in two amphitheaters: this Friday, July 21, at 7 p.m. at the Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak Street., and on Saturday 22, at 7 p.m., at the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center of Greenhill High School, 4141 Spring Valley Rd, in Addison.
Reservations are required. You can get your tickets here: ci.ovationtix.com/.
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Mass with the Bishop
Bishop Edward J. Burnes will celebrate a mass in honor of Santos Rodríguez on Sunday, July 23, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Shrine of Guadalupe, 2215 Ross Ave, Dallas. The service will be in Spanish.
“This memorial service will remind us of the importance of unity, understanding, and empathy, as we come together to honor Santos’ memory and reflect on the need for positive change,” said the Cathedral on its website.
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The mass can be watched live on youtube.com/catedralguadalupe.
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March at the Park
The City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation and other local institutions are organizing the march for this Sunday, July 23, from 5 to 6 p.m., in the park located at Harry Hines Boulevard and Hunt Street, in the neighborhood formerly known as Little Mexico.
Inside Pike Park, located at 2807 Harry Hines Blvd, in Oak Lawn, there is a statue of Santos. The sculpture, made by artist Seth Vandable, shows him smiling with his arms outstretched.
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Symposium
A conversation about the historical legacy and the legal battles of the case will be held on Tuesday, July 25, at the Latino Cultural Center.
From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., the first panel will debate the historical precedent that marked his murder and the protests unleashed 50 years ago. The exponents will be academics, businessmen and community leaders such as Frances Rizzo, René Castilla and Robert Medrano.
A second panel will analyze the police investigation and the sentence his murderer received. Moderated by journalist Dianne Solís from 7 to 8 p.m., the talk includes Judge Lena Levario and former magistrate Michel R. Snipes.
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Poetry and a Live Discussion
The Dallas Mexican American Historical League (DMAHL), in partnership with The Dallas History & Archives Division of the Dallas Public Library, will host “Santos Rodriguez 50th Anniversary Remembrance”.
The City of Dallas Poet Laureate Joaquin Zihuatanejo will recite an original poem written for the occasion, followed by a panel discussion of the July 28, 1973 “March of Justice for Santos Rodriguez” and contemporary protests and political activism today.
The event is on Saturday, July 29, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the J. Erik Jonsson Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas.
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For more information about the events, visitsantosrodriguez.org/
The killing of Santos
On the day of Santos’ murder, he and his 13-year-old brother David were taken from their home by the police before dawn, barefoot, for questioning in a patrol car at a nearby gas station. He was accused of stealing some coins from a vending machine.
The officer, Darrell Cain, now deceased, thought he could elicit a confession from Santos by pointing his .357 Magnum near his left ear.
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Cain pulled the trigger once, and then again, and a bullet took the boy’s life.
Cain was convicted by an Austin jury and sentenced to five years.