© Latinas in History 2008
Born
in 1932, fourth-generation Tucsonan Alva Torres became a vocal community activist
and historical preservationist when she initiated a battle over space and memory
demanding that historical structures in the Mexican American community be preserved.
Concerned that the historical treasures of the Mexican and Mexican American past
were in danger of destruction, Torres was able to unite a group of women in collective
action. Dubbed the Society for the Preservation of Tucson’s Plaza de la Mesilla,
or La Placita Committee, the group became the city's most vocal and public critics
of urban renewal. Testifying to the importance of public sites that commemorated
the city's Mexican American heritage, and the community's involvement in the city's
development, the group succeeded in preserving the site, deeming it a historical
treasure and signifying it with English and Spanish historical markers. Torres
was recognized for her efforts, and was selected Woman of the Year by the Tucson
Advertising Club in 1976. She became a journalist and worked for the Legalization
Amnesty program for the Catholic community. In 2002 Torres received the YMCA’s
Lifetime Achievement Award for Women Who Make Tucson Better.
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