J gonzalez essay 1

María González had been raped and murdered in Los Angeles, and due to her family being in poverty, her body was to be cremated, as the cost for a proper burial was too expensive. Listeners of González's broadcast were able to raise $152.97 (equivalent to about $2,200 today) to help María González's family with the burial cost.

In the 1920s, González fled Ciudad Juárez with his wife and his children due to one of the many battles of the Mexican Revolution. In 1921, he would return to work for the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México. In 1923, he came back to El Paso, Texas, where he worked as a telegraph operator with the Mexico North Western Railway.

González also came to be known for his band, Los Madrugadores, whose songs were played on his radio broadcast. González would be imprisoned under false charges due to this political influence, his court case politicizing the Mexican and Mexican American community on the issue of discriminatory law-enforcement practices.

Through his popular broadcasts, González had strong political influence in the Latino/a community in Los Angeles, which he used to advocate against the mass repatriation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the U.S. under Herbert Hoover. González also came to be known for his band, Los Madrugadores, whose songs were played on his radio broadcast.