If people Google Chuy de la O today, the results will show that he was credited for playing a part in the 1983 Lone Wolf McQuade movie. That is what most people outside of El Paso know about Chuy. But for the people in El Paso, Chuy was a character that most respected and enjoyed knowing him – not for his appearance in the movie, but because he worked to make El Paso a better place for his neighbors.
For El Pasoans, it wasn’t Jesus “Chuy” de la O, but simply Chuy, or Chuy de la O. Unfortunately, El Paso lacks a cohesive historical record about its Chicano/Hispanic champions and that is especially true about Chuy de la O. Except for a few pictures of Chuy and his movie credit, very little exists in the historical record about him. As his former family and friends get older more of the important details about Chuy are lost to time.
Chuy was best known for helping politicians pass around election leaflets during the election cycles. He would also regularly appear before the city council and county commissioners arguing for tax relief. He was also known for being the unofficial ambassador for El Paso frequently talking up the city to strangers and friends he encountered. But as the activist, Chuy would talk to anyone that would listen to him about the economic peril that El Paso’s poor faced and the hunger many of his neighbors felt. He was a champion for El Paso’s poor…