José Gallardo Díaz, a young Mexican man found barely breathing near Sleepy Lagoon, a reservoir in commerce, CA, on August 2, 1942. The case became a flashpoint for racial tension and injustice in Los Angeles. Without this case and the trial that followed, the infamous Zoot Suit riots may not have happened. In this episode, Cristina tells Carmen the context leading up to the death of Jose Diaz, in the next part, she will discuss the trial. 

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy_Lagoon_murder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell,_California
https://www.history.com/articles/zoot-suit-riots
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/zoot-jose-gallardo-diaz/
https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/people-v-zamorra
Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race and Riot in Wartime LA by Eduardo Obregon Pagan
The Woman in the Zoot Suit by Catherine S. Ramirez
The Zoot-Suit Riots: The Psychology of Symbolic Annihilation by Mauricio Mazo

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