Luis Marquez: 'My mission is to help people'

Editor's note - This is the sixth in a 10-part series of profiles of area residents picked as the 10 Most Influential Hispanics in Yuma County, an annual recognition by Bajo El Sol, The Sun's Spanish-language sister newspaper.

When he was 13 years old, Luis Marquez began working in the area farm fields alongside his parents and siblings.

It was there in the fields that he met someone who, like his mother, would inspire him, Marquez recalls.

He was participating in labor strikes led by labor leader Cesar Chavez, and Marquez had the opportunity to meet him and shake his hand while on a march in Sacramento, Calif. "I took a picture with him. He is someone who motivated me greatly."

Today, more than 30 years later, he says those experiences and his desire to move up have helped him to rise to the rank of sergeant of the San Luis Police Department.

But he thinks it is his contribution to the community outside of his job that led to his nomination as one of Bajo El Sol's 10 Most Influential Hispanics.

"I think I was nominated because I have always been involved in the community. For example, I have promoted donating blood, neighborhood watch programs and cleanup campaigns for the last seven years."

Marquez said he really enjoys the cleanup campaigns because he wants to help people realize the importance of well-kept yards and keeping the surrounding desert free of litter.

In addition to serving in the police department, Marquez has spent the last 10 years as president of the Gadsden Elementary School District governing board.

Just who is Luis Marquez?

"I am a typical father. I have five children. I have a 30-year old son who is a police officer, a daughter who works at a bank and another one who attends and works at the University of Phoenix. I have two younger children: an 11-year old girl and a 13-year-old boy."

Marquez came to Somerton in the 1960s when his family immigrated from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., where they had lived for two years prior to arriving from Mexico's Jalisco state.

He attended school in Somerton and worked in the fields to help support his parents. Work in the fields was even harder then, he said, and his experiences led him to become involved in the farm labor movement.

When he graduated from high school in 1977, Marquez got married. "I went back to work in the fields because I got married and had a child on the way, and I wanted to buy a home. What I did was enroll in a college program that lasted nine months that allowed me to go to school after work."

After much work, he said, Marquez completed police academy at 22 and entered law enforcement.

Today, it is his goal to make a difference in the Hispanic community through his professional as well as community work.

"I love to help people. I think we all have a mission in life and mine is to help others and try to improve their way of life."

Marquez thinks back to his childhood in Mexico.

"I remember that when I was 6 years old and we came to San Luis it was so hot and we lived in a house without water or electricity. There was one room and a kitchen for 11 people.

"But I don't recall any suffering because of our mother's care and love. She taught us to appreciate life. We would make cars out of milk cartons and wheels out of bottle caps.

"We would play with a spinning top, marbles, 'shanghai' with a broomstick. I have some beautiful memories."