Boulder marks 50 years since Los Seis car bombings with art installation
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DENVER (KDVR) — In May 1974, two car bombings killed six Chicano activists within 48 hours of each other in Boulder. Now, the city is remembering the group with a sculpture at 17th and Pearl streets.
The activists protested the University of Colorado Boulder’s administrative actions in 1974 that created higher levels of financial aid disparity for students of color. According to the Los Seis de Boulder Community Sculpture Project, the first fatal bombing occurred on May 27, 1974, killing Una Jaakola, Reyes Martinez and Neva Romero in a car bomb at Chautauqua Park.
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On May 29, Francisco Dougherty, Heriberto Teran and Florencio Granado were killed in a second car bomb in a parking lot near 28th Street and Canyon Boulevard. A seventh activist, Antiono Alcantar, was severely injured in the second explosion.
“On the 50th anniversary of this tragedy in our community, we come together to remember those lost and share in their legacy,” said City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde in a release. “Artwork has a powerful ability to memorialize loss and offer a space for reflection. It is through pieces like this community-created sculpture that we can begin to acknowledge the past and heal from it.”
In 2019, CU Boulder community members, including CU Boulder alumna and artist Jasmine Baetz, created a sculpture with portraits of all six activists. They installed it in front of Temporary Building 1 on campus, according to the Community Sculpture Project website. The university launched the CU Boulder History Project and Art in Public Space Committee in January 2020. In March 2020, the chancellor extended the permit for the statue, allowing it to remain permanently on the campus.
At the time of the bombings, United Mexican American Students were occupying Temporary Building 1, which is why the sculpture was placed outside. The occupying group in 1974 demanded continued financial aid and educational opportunity programs for Mexican American students, according to Boulder City Council.
In 2020, Baetz began a second sculpture. It was installed earlier this month at the corner of 17th and Pearl streets and is titled “El Movimiento Sigue.”
“The sculpture embodies the multigenerational and coalitional effort to fight against oppressive systems and advocate for education and transformation,” the city said in a release.
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The sculpture will be dedicated on May 28 at 6 p.m. on Pearl Street. Speakers for the event include the artist and family members of Los Seis de Boulder. Spanish interpretation will be provided. The city also issued a declaration on May 16 in memory of Los Seis and also made a $1,500 contribution to UC Boulder’s Bueno Center for Multicultural Education Los Seis Memorial Scholarship.
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