Donated to History Colorado by Dr. Antonio Esquibel.
Antonio Esquibel is Emeritus Professor and the former Vice President of Student Affairs at Metropolitan State University. During the Civil Rights Movement, Antonio served as Chairman of the Denver Branch for the United Farm Workers and participated in a hunger fast in 1969 demanding basic labor rights for farm workers. He has remained an activist working for many causes, specifically as a member and advocate for the Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (SPMDTU), Society for the Mutual Protection of Workers.Antonio was instrumental in protecting, preserving, and restoring the headquarters building that was built in 1925 in Antonito, Colorado.
SPMDTU is 121 years old, it is the oldest Hispano and Mexican American fraternal organization in the United States. It was founded November 26, 1900 by Celedonio Mondragon and six others to fight discrimination in the fields, the mining industry, railroads, and defend property rights. Mondragon was born in 1863 in Cenicero, Colorado and witnessed the unrest and turmoil in northeastern New Mexico. He was a member of the Penitentes and determined to protect workers during times of unemployment, injury, and illness. SPMDTU created their own life insurance company to protect workers and their families.