BOULDER, Colo. — In May 1974, students at the University of Colorado Boulder were fighting for fair treatment and more funding for Chicano and Mexican-American students on campus. The group occupied Temporary Building 1, or TB1, one of the oldest buildings on campus.
As the occupation continued into its third week, the group received news that three activists were killed in a car bombing on May 27, 1974. Two days later, three more activists were killed in another car bombing.
"I'll never forget it," said Deborah Espinosa. "It’s a moment that really changed things for us and our memories. We still feel very fortunate to have known them and appreciate how brave they were, really."
Espinosa and her husband were part of the movement while it was happening. She and her husband had created a bedroom at TB1 while the occupation was ongoing. The night she found out, she was in the makeshift bedroom in the building with her 9-month-old baby.
"It was late at night," she said. "My husband came in and said there had been an explosion at Chautauqua, and they found Neva [Romero]'s ID."
Romero, Una Jaakola and Reyes Martinez were killed by a car bomb at the park on May 27. On May 29, Francisco Dougherty, Heriberto Teran and Florencio Granado were killed in a parking lot not far the first location, at 28th and Canyon in Boulder. One other person was severely injured.
"We are still here and we are still fighting, and we won't forget Los Seis at all," Espinosa said.
Friends came together to remember them at a commemoration service Monday outside of TB1. Relatives of those who died were also there. Many from the younger generation never had an opportunity to know Los Seis personally, but have only heard stories.
"My mom was 7 months pregnant with me, so I was born two months after," said Florencio Granado, who is named after his father, who was killed.
Monday's event was Granado's first time being in TB1 - a landmark of his father's activism before his death.
"I had never set foot inside this building," he said. "To be inside that building today, to know that he was inside that building around that time, and to know they barricaded from the stairs up with desks, that it was real."
To carry on his life and legacy, Granado became more involved with Los Seis de Boulder 50th Commemoration Steering Committee. The group organized the commemoration event and provided scholarship funds to students. Jaakola's sister was also an integral part of the group, and spearheaded the scholarships for students.
Other relatives from Los Seis also came together. Martinez's nephew, Antonio Lopez, performed original music during the event.
"It’s painful, you know. And echoes of the past, they still have an effect of today," Lopez said. "I think they are inspirational figures. They were all young people when they got killed, so they had a lot of life in front of them. But even in the years that they did live, they had an impact."
A permanent statue outside of TB1 was built in 2019 to honor Los Seis. Another statute, on Pearl Street Mall, will be unveiled Tuesday.
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