El Malcriado was a Chicano/a labor newspaper that ran between 1964 and 1976. It was established by the Chicano labor leader Cesar Chavez as the unofficial newspaper of the United Farm Workers (originally National Farm Workers of America) during the Chicano/a Movement of the 1960s and early 1970s. Published in both English and Spanish editions, El Malcriado provided a forum for migrant workers to criticize working conditions and served as a way to organize the collective voice of Mexican American farmworkers. The newspaper's contents ranged from articles on union activities, coverage of labor issues, political commentary, cartoons, satire, and artwork. It is an example of ethnic press or alternative media that developed from political movements and immigrant communities within the United States to challenge existing power structures and gain political leverage.
Circulation
El Malcriado was a primarily biweekly newspaper. Initially, copies were available for ten cents only at local grocery stores in Mexican American neighborhoods in the California Central Valley. Over time, the newspaper earned a list of paying monthly subscribers and expanded its audience to cities ranging from the Bay Area to Los Angeles In September 1965, El Malcriado published 3,000 copies in Spanish and 1,000 copies in English. The popularity of the grape strike and the publication of both Spanish and English editions caused the paper's audience to increase dramatically. After 1965, El Malcriado began to publish more copies in English than in Spanish (as much as 8,000 English copies and 3,000 Spanish copies) and continued to target an audience of English speaking Mexican American farm workers raised in the United States. The newspaper's readership peaked at 18,000 subscribers.
Publication history
Origin
As early as 1962, Cesar Chavez and the NFWA discussed creating a newspaper. Chavez believed a newspaper was essential to politically organize uneducated farmworkers and provide a unifying voice for the movement. However, Chavez wanted to keep the paper separate from the NFWA to protect the union from being sued by growers. As a result, El Malcriado was published as a separate entity under the Farm Worker Press.
In English, El Malcriado roughly translates to "the ill-bred one," "the brat," "the bad boy," or "troublemaker." Chavez borrowed the name from a newspaper that ran during the Mexican Revolution. The title of Chavez's newspaper was therefore meant to reflect the rebellious spirit of the farmworker movement.
1964–1965: Early period
In 1964, Chavez hired Andy Zermeño as the first staff member of El Malcriado, putting him in charge of graphics and illustrations, and later hired Bill Esher as the first editor. Although the newspaper officially became a separate entity from the NFWA after Esher arrived as editor, El Malcriado still remained politically in line with the union's goals. While Esher served as editor, Chavez remained heavily involved in translating and writing articles. Beginning with the fourth issue, the phrase “The Voice of the Farm Worker” was added to the newspaper nameplate. The first eighteen issues were written in Spanish; beginning after issue eighteen, El Malcriado was published in both Spanish and English editions. Chavez eventually hired Doug Adair, a young political activist, in 1965 to be in charge of the paper's English edition.
During first six months of the newspaper's existence, El Malcriado mostly focused on encouraging its readers to become NFWA members. However, as a result of the grape strikes led by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), in the summer of 1965 El Malcriado grew more radical and actively promoted striking. In one article, the newspaper provided instructions for new strikers. In another article, the writers promoted striking as the best method for laborers to obtain power.
El Malcriado helped spread news and boost morale for protesting farm workers during the Delano Grape Strike. The paper printed copies of Jack London’s essay, “Definition of a Strikebreaker” in response to scabs. The popularity of the grape strike led to a spike in the newspaper's readership.
In 1965, The FBI targeted El Malcriado after Chavez and the NFWA were accused of communist infiltration. The FBI used an article from El Malcriado as evidence to J. Edgar Hoover that the NFWA and Cesar Chavez were influenced by communism. They subsequently offered $1,000 for anyone that could provide information on communist infiltration of the NFWA or El Malcriado.