Finding Aid for the Manazar Gamboa Papers, 1939-2001 88

Processed by CSRC.
Chicano Studies Research Center Library
2010
144 Haines Hall
Box 951544
Los Angeles, California 90095-1544
librarian@chicano.ucla.edu


Contributing Institution: Chicano Studies Research Center Library
Title: Manazar Gamboa Papers
Creator: Gamboa, Manazar 1934-2000
Identifier/Call Number: 88
Physical Description: 4.5 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1939-2001
Abstract: Manazar Gamboa was a Chicano poet and playwright who had spent much of his early years in prison. This collection consists of his plays, poems, and writing notes. It also includes research material on Chavez Ravine, the neighborhood where he grew up, which was demolished to make way for Dodger Stadium.
Physical Location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library and Archive for paging information.
Language of Material: English .

Access

Open for research.

Acquisition Information

Collection donated to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center by Michelle Kholos Brooks. Deed on file at the Archive office.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:
  • Series 1. Writings by Manazar Gamboa
  • Series 2. Correspondence
  • Series 3. Chavez Ravine research
  • Series 4. Printed material

Biography

Born in East L.A. in 1934 and raised in Chavez Ravine, Manazar Gamboa spent his youth picking crops with his family across the Central and San Fernando Valley. As one of the first Latino students to attend Nightingale Junior High in Cypress Park he rebelled against school authorities by speaking Spanish.
He also began to sell marijuana and steal cars. In 1954 he began his first prison term and would spend 17 of the next 23 years behind bars. In the 1970's Gamboa became a heroin addict and shortly after the woman he loved overdosed and died in his arms. He then committed an armed robbery and was sent to Soledad State Prison.
In Soledad he began to read any literature available to him taking a particular interest in poetry. Despite the derision of his fellow inmates he avidly read the work of the Romantics: Shelley, Keats, Coleridge and Blake. Gamboa was given the complete works of Shakespeare which he regarded as his greatest treasure.
He began to write poetry and was published by a journal run by a University of Colorado professor. In 1977 Gamboa was released and joined the L.A. poetry scene by working at Beyond Baroque, a literary center in Venice and edited its magazine Obras. From 1981 to 1983 he was the Director of the L.A Latino Writers Association and editor of ChismeArte magazine.
In the 1980s he began teaching writing workshops for substance abusers, youths in juvenile halls and prison inmates often driving over 120 miles a day to teach literacy and writing to youths across the county. In 1988 he received a Brody Arts Fund for $2500 and replaced his 1963 Dodge. In 1989 he became the Artistic Director of the Homeland Neighborhood Cultural Center. He turned his epic poem "Memories of a Bulldozed Barrio" into a stage performance and worked with the non-profit L.A Theater works for over 13 years. He died in Long Beach at age 66 on Dec. 13, 2000.
*Some language for this biographical note is borrowed from the obituary "Manazar Gamboa; Poet Wrote About Chicano Experience" by Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2001.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Manazar Gamboa Papers, 88, Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

Processing Information

Processed by CSRC, 2010. Finding aid revised by Jason Lowder under the supervision of Doug Johnson, August 2021. The revision occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic so there was no access to the physical collection.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of manuscripts of Manazar Gamboa's poems, plays, and short stories, as well as notes showing his creative process. There is also research material on Chavez Ravine, as well as clippings and other printed material.

Publication Rights

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of materials, including but not limited to infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Chavez Ravine (Los Angeles, Calif.)
American poetry--Mexican American authors
Dramatists
Los Angeles Dodgers (Baseball team)
Brooklyn Dodgers (Baseball team)

 

Series 1. Writings by Manazar Gamboa

Box 1, Folder 1

"The Boy from Niquinhomo" undated

Box 1, Folder 4

"Paula Rodrigues" 1998-07

Box 1, Folder 9

Resume of Published Works 1998-12

Box 2, Folder 12

Poems by Emily Dickinson, translated into Spanish by Manazar Gamboa undated

Box 3, Folder 1

Poems undated

Scope and Contents

Includes: "The Running One"; "A Prayer After Writing a Poem"; "For the Singer"; Net"; Imageless Land and the Cloud"; "A Poet's Prayer."
Box 3, Folder 2

Poems 2000

Scope and Contents

Includes: "The Eye Pt. 4"; "Cruising Antiquity Pt. 7."
Box 3, Folder 3

Poems 1990-1999

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Pam"; "Earthy"; "El Mariachi"; "Train of Smoke"; "Crimson Red Nails on the Green Felt Pool Table"; "Aqui y Alla/Here and There"; "Curandera."
Box 3, Folder 4

Poems 1983-1989

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Canto"; "Song"; "Spot on the Ceiling"; "Children in the Shadow of the City"; "Paper Shadow"; "Xipe."
Box 3, Folder 5

Poems 1974-1978

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Valentine's Night"; "Bandera/Flag"; "Buttonwillow"; "Trilogy"; "Star Fish One"; "Piedra y Sangre."
Box 3, Folder 6

Poems 1940-1948

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Concrete and Steel"; "Martha"; "The Game."
Box 3, Folder 7

Poems 1939

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Buttonwillow"; "Nina."
Box 4, Folder 1

Play "Ama 1989" 1991

Box 4, Folder 2

"Olmeca/Through The Tunnel" 1982

Box 4, Folder 3

Poem "Man of Roots" 1976-1997

Scope and Contents

Includes rough drafts.
Box 4, Folder 4

"Cell E-304 Prison Manuscript" 1974-1977

Box 4, Folder 5

Play "Roberta" 1992-1993

Box 4, Folder 6

Play "Floating Louie" 1991

Scope and Contents

Includes rough drafts.
Box 4, Folder 7

Orlando Tardencilla Project 1982-1994

Box 4, Folder 8

Play "Orlando" 1993-1994

Box 5, Folder 1

Play "The Hole" 1964-1993

Box 5, Folder 2

Play "The Hole" 1998

Scope and Contents

Includes notes, name changes, and character profiles
Box 5, Folder 3

"Chicano del Barrio" / "Downtown L.A: 1942" 1999

Box 5, Folder 4

Play "The Dance Never Ends" 2000

Box 5, Folder 5

Short stories and edits 1992-1999

Scope and Contents

Includes short stories "Going Away"; "Fire"; "Passage"; "Ponchi." Also includes Name changes and character studies for "War Starts 1941" and "Don Eduardo."
Box 6, Folder 1

"Memories Around A Bulldozed Barrio" / "War Starts: 1941" 1997-1998

Scope and Contents

Includes rough and revised drafts.
Box 6, Folder 2

Play "Chicano Youth" 1994-1995

Scope and Contents

Includes notes and drafts.
Box 6, Folder 3

List of documents and notes for various manuscripts undated

Box 6, Folder 4

"La Bishop" undated

Box 6, Folder 5

"Buttonwillow" 1990-1992

Scope and Contents

Includes three drafts.
Box 6, Folder 6

Short stories and one-act play 1998-1999

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Kittens"; "Middle Finger"; "Something Else"; "You're So Pretty"; "Sad Eyes"; "My Streets"; "Dream Towel"; one-act play "Laura."
Box 6, Folder 7

Novella "Escape in Brown" circa 1967

Scope and Contents

Includes notes and drafts.
Box 7, Folder 1

Duplicate short stories undated

Box 7, Folder 2

Fragments and notes from untitled story undated

Box 7, Folder 3

Title page and name key, outlines, and character profiles 2000

Scope and Contents

Includes material on: Memories Around A Bulldozed Barrio; "1941"; "1942."
Box 7, Folder 4

Partial manuscripts undated

Scope and Contents

Includes: "La Bishop" Chapters 2 and 4; "L.A. Chicano" Chapters 24-35 and epilogue.
Box 7, Folder 5

Semi-autobiographical stories and accounts 1989-1997

Box 7, Folder 6

Assorted autobiographical writings set from 1941-1945 1989-1994

Box 8

Floppy disks circa 1999

 

Series.2. Correspondence

Box 1, Folder 3

MacLaren Hall Certificate of Honor 1985-06-25

Scope and Contents

Includes letter from Alistair Hunter.
Box 1, Folder 7

Request to publish excerpt from Memories Around a Bulldozed Barrio 1998-09-01

Box 1, Folder 10

Letters from students 1988-06

Box 2, Folder 1

Letter to juvenile court and community schools 1990-10-29

Scope and Contents

Includes: poem "It Tells A Story" by Helen Silvas; drawings.
 

Series 3. Chavez Ravine research

Box 1, Folder 2

"The Taking of Chavez Ravine" by Marcus Bastida 1991-1995

Scope and Contents

Includes: letter from Bastida to Gamboa; timeline.
Box 1, Folder 5

"Battler for Chavez Ravine Home Dies at 75" 1972-08-12

Box 1, Folder 6

"1953-1971, The Arechigas" 1971-10-17

Box 1, Folder 13

"Years of Discontent: The Battle of Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles, 1949-1959" by Victoria Valdez 1983-05-23

Box 1, Folder 14

"Spring Street Massacre" 1953-07

Scope and Contents

From Frontier Magazine.
Box 1, Folder 15

"Homes into Kindling" 1959-12

Box 1, Folder 16

"Elephant with a Headache" 1955-09

Scope and Contents

From Frontier Magazine.
Box 1, Folder 17

"Ravine Once Was Close Knit Community" 1972-06-04

Box 1, Folder 19

Chavez Ravine and eviction of residents 1950-1999

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Field of Uprooted Dreams"; three maps for Elysian Park Heights; photocopies of letters form the Housing Authority of Los Angeles to families of the Chavez Ravine and Palo Verde area; "Senor Chavez and His Ravine"; "Sixty Years in Southern California"; "North From Mexico"; "Our Fight for Chavez Ravine."
Box 1, Folder 20

Dodgers' move to Los Angeles 1957

Box 1, Folder 26

"Housing, Baseball, and Creeping Socialism: The Battle of Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles 1949-1959" by Thomas S. Hines 1982-02

Scope and Contents

From The Journal of Urban History Vol. 8, No. 2.
Box 2, Folder 4

"Los Angeles and the Dodger War" by Cary S. Henderson 1980-1995

Scope and Contents

From The Historical Society of Southern California.
Box 2, Folder 6

"Angel in the Outfield" by Patt Morrison 1939-1997

Scope and Contents

Includes photocopies of street maps of Elysian Park.
Box 2, Folder 7

Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles 1957-1995

Scope and Contents

Includes comments and notations.
Box 2, Folder 8

"Public Housing and the Brooklyn Dodgers" 1957

Scope and Contents

From Frontier Magazine.
Box 2, Folder 9

"Chavez Ravine Proves Fertile Soil for O'Malley" 1978-06-04

Box 2, Folder 10

"Arechigas Continue Chavez Fight" 1962

Box 2, Folder 11

"The Untold Story of Chavez Ravine" by Norris Poulson 1962-04

Scope and Contents

From Los Angeles Magazine.
Box 2, Folder 13

"Chavez Ravine",by Culture Clash 1987-2003

Scope and Contents

Program; also includes list of Gamboa's electronic files.
 

Series 4. Printed Material

Box 1, Folder 8

"One of the Old Guard" by Chas F. Lummis undated

Box 1, Folder 11

"When L.A. Exploded With Joy" 1995-08-14

Box 1, Folder 12

"Rebuilding a City" by Robert E. Alexander and Drayton S. Bryant 1951

Scope and Contents

Photocopied excerpts from The Haynes Foundation.
Box 1, Folder 18

"Chance to Belong: Story of the Los Angeles Youth Project 1943-1949" by Duane Robinson 1959

Box 1, Folder 21

Los Angeles Times 1995

Scope and Contents

Includes: "Be Happy It's In Your Backyard" by Mike Downey; letter to the editor from Manazar Gamboa re: above column; "Will NFL Play Dodgeball?" by T.J. Simers.
Box 1, Folder 22

Construction of a football stadium in Los Angeles 1995-12

Box 1, Folder 23

Materials concerning community organizations opposing the construction of a football stadium near Dodger Stadium 1995

Scope and Contents

Includes: handwritten notes; community newsletters; photos of documents; maps; news articles.
Box 1, Folder 24

"The Making of Occupied America" by Rodolfo Acuna undated

Box 1, Folder 25

Southern California Quarterly Fall/Winter 1993 Vol. LXXV, No.3-4 1993

Box 1, Folder 27

Poetry readings and programs 1989-1990

Scope and Contents

Programs and flyers for readings and other events with Manazar Gamboa as a featured Artist/Speaker; clipping on the L.A. Poetry Festival.
Box 1, Folder 28

"Brody Grants Help Keep Artists on the Go" 1988-01-16

Box 1, Folder 29

"Poetry, Politics and The New Chicano" by Kate Braverman undated

Scope and Contents

Interview with Manazar Gamboa.
Box 1, Folder 30

Celebration of the 20th anniversary of Manazar Gamboa's release from prison 1997-04

Box 1, Folder 31

"Why They Call the City Council Chambers the Cave Of Winds" 1961-11

Box 1, Folder 32

Miscellaneous 1987-2001

Scope and Contents

Includes: photograph sheets in envelope marked "To Manazar From Laura"; summary of Gamboa's art activities from Summer 1987-May 1988; assorted thank-yous for public service; brochures and programs for poetry readings and performances, 1997-1999; articles on Gamboa in English and Spanish press; two obituaries for Gamboa, L.A. Times 2001-01-07 and Long Beach Press-Telegram 2000-12-16.
Box 2, Folder 2

Petition protesting Manazar Gamboa's forced resignation as president of Beyond Baroque undated

Box 2, Folder 3

Announcement for reading by Manazar Gamboa 1990-08

Scope and Contents

From L.A. Weekly.
Box 2, Folder 5

Article on Los Angeles history 1984

Box 3, Folder 8

Rosario Murio interview 1998

Scope and Contents

Also includes information on Community Residency Exchange Program Nomination (U.S. to Northern Ireland).