East LA-born activist and Chicano radio pioneer Oscar “Bandido” Gomez may not be a household name, but his voice had an undeniable impact on the early 1990s California political landscape.

From his home base in Davis California, Gomez hosted La Onda Chicana, a weekly KDVS FM radio program with roots in the 1970s music and political movement of the same name.

With his mantra “ritmo & resistencia,” or rhythm and resistance, Gomez used his platform to advocate tirelessly for immigrant rights, raise awareness about issues affecting his community and carry on the program’s rich tradition by playing a wide variety of Mexican music.

Some of the issues Gomez spoke out on were NAFTA, the Zapatista Uprising and Calif. Proposition 187, a measure prohibiting undocumented immigrants from receiving social services that was later deemed unconstitutional.

A revolutionary voice falls silent
In 1994, at the age of 21, Gomez’s life was suddenly cut short under circumstances that are still somewhat murky.

His body was discovered on the beach beneath a steep cliff near the UC Santa Barbara campus; the official cause of death was declared “blunt-force trauma,” due to supposedly falling from the cliff.

There are several theories about what happened to Gomez, including that he took his own life or that his death was somehow political.

Juan Gonzalez (no relation to El Tecolote Founding Editor Juan Gonzales) is a life-long friend of Gomez and spokesperson for the Latino Community & Higher Education Association, which awards two $1000 “Oscar Enrique Gomez” scholarships to East LA high school seniors each year.

“I don’t embrace any of those theories,” Gonzalez said. “[In] our last conversation he said, ‘Juan don’t worry about me because no matter what, you’re always going be in my heart.’ I’m at peace, in terms of him not being here.”
Gonzalez is skeptical of the official account but does not care to speculate, although he was adamant that Gomez loved life and that suicide was not consistent with his character.

A new struggle
Bay Area film-maker Pepe Urquijo, who is now in New York pursuing an MFA at the School for Visual Arts, was friends with Gomez and has been working on a documentary about his life titled “Radio Bandido.”

“He wasn’t just all about the music,” Urquijo said “He wanted to reach an audience that wasn’t spoken to, the invisible America that we see but don’t see.”

Gonzalez fully endorses the tribute to his fallen friend.

“I think this is a film that’s overdue,” he said.

Urquijo’s project however, has run out of money in the middle of post-production.

He tried to make up for the shortfall by raising $22,000, using the “crowd sourcing” website Kickstarter.com, but came up short. Even though thousands of dollars were generated by the Kickstarter campaign, Urquijo received nothing because the donations failed to reach the agreed upon target of $22,000.

The film is going to be Urquijo’s MFA thesis, and although this setback throws a wrench into his plans, he refuses to be deterred.

“This story doesn’t end with this,” he said. “There’s never a clear path, there are always challenges. The beautiful part is you learn to own them, and turn them into creativity.”
He said he’s starting another campaign to raise funds through a different crowd sourcing site so that all donations will go toward finishing “Radio Bandido,” regardless of the total amount raised.

Like Gonzalez, Urquijo declined to offer his own theory of the events surrounding Gomez’s death, but said he hoped the film would clarify some things.

He added that when someone dies, it usually brings people together, but that this wasn’t the case with Gomez’s death.

“That didn’t happen this time, it tore people apart. That’s something that needs to be talked about,” Urquijo said. “I would love this film to be able to make a case for the need to re-examine what happened.”

To donate to the project visit Urquijo’s blog at http://pepelicula.wordpress.com or send checks directly to: Pepe Urquijo
MFA Social Documentary Film Program; School of Visual Arts c/o
Pepe Urquijo; 136 W. 21st., 1st Floor; New York, NY 10011.