Conditions Governing Access note
Conditions Governing Use note
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
Biographical/Historical note
Scope and Contents note
Arrangement note
Title: Esteban Torres Papers
Identifier/Call Number: CSRC.0125
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
105.0 linear feet
(104 record storage cartons; 1 oversize flat box)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1982-1998
Date (inclusive): 1949-1998
Abstract: Esteban Torres served eight terms in the United States House of Representatives as the Congressman for southeastern Los Angeles
County. Prior to that he was an activist and labor organizer, the United States ambassador to UNESCO, and Special Assistant
to the President for Hispanic Affairs under Jimmy Carter. This collection consists of his working papers, correspondence,
and photographs. There is also a small amount of personal material.
Location note: Materials are stored OFF-SITE at SRLF. All requests to access special collections materials must be made two weeks in advance.
Please contact the CSRC Library for paging information.
Creator:
Torres, Esteban E. (Esteban Edward), 1930-
Conditions Governing Access note
Open for research.
Conditions Governing Use note
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Esteban Torres Papers, 125. Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.
Acquisition Information
Deed on file at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Archive Office.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
Collection contains audiovisual material and digital material. Special equipment may be needed for safe viewing.
Biographical/Historical note
Esteban Torres was born January 27, 1930 in Miami, Arizona. As a young boy, he moved to East Los Angeles with his mother and
grandmother. After graduating from high school, he joined the Army, serving at Fort Belvoir near Washington, D.C. during the
Korean War. After his military service, he worked on the assembly line at a Chrysler plant in Los Angeles, and became active
in the United Auto Workers union. UAW president Walter Reuther asked Torres to spearhead the creation of The East Los Angeles
Communtiy Union (TELACU), a community development corporation intended to fight poverty in Chicano and other disadvantaged
communities. Later, President Jimmy Carter asked Torres to become ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After two years in that post, Carter asked him to serve as Special Assistant to the President
for Hispanic Affairs. In 1982 Torres was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the newly drawn 34th congressional
district, which encompassed much of southeatern Los Angeles County. Active in the Democratic Party and the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus, he served on a variety of different committees and eventually became Deputy Democratic Whip. In 1998, he chose not
to run for re-election and retired from the House at the end of the term.
Scope and Contents note
The bulk of the collection relates to Esteban Torres's eight terms in the United States House of Representatives. Most of
it consists of legislative files, which comprise research materials, correspondence, and drafts of bills written and under
consideration by Torres. There is a great deal of material about environmental issues, as well as defense, labor, NAFTA, and
consumer affairs legislation. There are also administrative files that reflect the work life of a member of Congress apart
from voting. These include material about the maintenance of Torres's offices in Washington, D.C. and Pico Rivera, CA, as
well as information about his participation in organizations such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he was a
senior member, and the Smithsonian Institution, of which he was a regent. The collection also contains correspondence, photographs,
records from Torres's political campaigns, and many of the speeches he gave throughout the years. There is a small amount
of material about his positions in the Carter administration, and from his personal life. There is also some audiovisual material
and some realia, such as various awards he was given during his career.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series 1. Legislative files
- Series 2. Administrative files
- Series 3. Correspondence
- Series 4. Photographs
- Series 5. Campaign files
- Series 6. Pre-congressional career files
- Series 7. Speeches
- Series 8. Personal files
- Series 9. Subject files
- Series 10. Audiovisual material
- Series 11. Awards, ephemera, and realia
Although it was not possible to reconstruct the original order of this collection, it is possible to glimpse traces of original
filing systems in the way files clumped into various groups. For instance, files on the BKK landfill site in West Covina were
found in four distinct groups: standing alone, amidst records organized by different cities in Torres's district, amidst material
on toxic waste generally, and amidst material on Superfund sites. Rather than bringing all the files on BKK together, they
have been kept apart to retain a semblance of the earlier filing system.
Gaps in box numbering are due to deaccessioning.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Torres, Esteban E. (Esteban Edward), 1930- -- Archives
Environmental protection--California, Southern.
Hispanic American legislators
Hispanic Americans--Politics and government
Mexican American legislators
North American Free Trade Agreement (1992 December 17)
Smithsonian Institution, American Art Museum
Unesco
United States. Congress. House