Gilberto Cárdenas, a highly respected sociologist who many considered a great advocate for advancing Latino and Chicano identity through academia and art, has died.Cárdenas died Sunday at his home in Austin, Texas, after a long illness, according to a statement released by his family. He was 79. Born and raised in San Gabriel, California, Cárdenas became deeply entrenched in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Chicano was a rallying social and political identity embraced by Mexican Americans fighting for equality and civil rights.Cárdenas advocated for the cause with his camera. He documented marches, meetings and other community gatherings. He also loved to acknowledge Chicano artists in the movement and often swapped his photos for posters, prints and other artworks. He would even save posters that were about to be thrown away because of their potential cultural significance.
“Looking at all his accomplishments, he was such a gentle and humble man and really appreciated where he came from,” said Richard Flores, a friend and Mexican American Studies professor at University of Texas at Austin. Cárdenas was always “trying to make a contribution not only to the community but the artists he so loved.”He went on to earn a doctorate at the University of Notre Dame and then was hired by the University of Texas at Austin as a sociology professor. He spent nearly 25 years lecturing on the sociology of immigration. Cárdenas is credited for establishing Mexican American Studies there.
