User:Jacastro13/Rudy Vargas

Adolfo "Rudy" Vargas
Rudy was born in [East Los Angeles], California on October 18, 1942. His father was the now deceased, Rudy Vargas Sr. and his mother is Magdalena Vargas. His paternal line emanated from Rancho de Santa Barbara, Guanajuato, MX and his maternal line came from San Francisco de Borja, Chihuahua, MX.

Rudy /"Bugsy" grew up with a large family. His brothers are Eddie, Steve (deceased), Ronny, Johnny and Richard and his sisters include Eileen, Sandra, Yolanda, Dianne and Trudy. He had a tumultuous upbringing but he enjoyed the loving support of his extended family which included his grandparents, aunts, uncles and a multitude of cousins.

Rudy grew up on Downey Rd. In East LA and attended Lorena elementary school, Stevenson Jr. High and graduated from Garfield High in 1961. He went to ELAC and then on to Cal State LA (CSULA) and got his Master's degree from UCLA's School of Film and Television in 1977.

Rudy Sr. worked at the B.F. Goodrich plant in East Los Angeles, where labor disputes were contentious and strikes frequent. Rudy Jr. became of aware early in his life about issues of injustice and labor as dad walked the picket line and the family was limited in the food and goods they could eat and purchase.

After a brief tour of duty in the U.S. Army, Rudy served as an aide to then U.S. Senator Pierre Salinger where he began to understand and serve the needs of the community. He saw higher education, social justice and media activism as key to advancing the cause of the poor and underserved Mexican-American community.

Rudy was instrumental in helping many, many people get into college and be able to pay for it, as the coordinator of the E.O.P. program at Cal State where he also help start the Chicano Studies Department.

Rudy's career in film and television was remarkable in that he recognized the powerful impact the media can convey about a people's image and social standing. He developed documentaries for public television and created independent films which included such titles as "Realidades", "Una Nacion Bilingue, "Consuelo", "Yanomami: Keepers of the Flame". He culminated his career at Cal Poly Pomona as the Executive Producer of I&IT Learning, Mediavision.

What Rudy treasured above all were his family and friends. He frequently opened the doors of his home to host a myriad of events which usually involved his secret recipe BBQ, good music, plenty of wine and lots of good times.