MS
231
Cleofás
Calleros Papers
Biography
Southwest
historian and civic leader Cleofás Calleros was born in Río Florido, Chihuahua,
Mexico on April 9, 1896, to Ismael Calleros and Refugio Perales de Calleros.
The family immigrated to El Paso, Texas, in 1902, when he was six years old.
After graduating from school Calleros worked as a freight clerk for the
Santa Fe Railroad, as an accountant and private businessman, and as a social
worker and immigration specialist for the Catholic Church, becoming prominent
in the civic and religious community in El Paso. In numerous publications, articles,
and speeches, he chronicled the history of the Southwestern United States, Mexico
and the Catholic Church.
Calleros attended St. Ignatius School and graduated as valedictorian
of Sacred Heart School in 1911. The
Palmer Business Writing School awarded him a teacher’s certificate in 1911,
and he attended Draughon’s Business College in 1912. He received certificates
from LaSalle Extension University in law and interstate commerce in 1920 and
from St. Edward’s University in boys’ guidance in 1924. New Mexico State University
awarded him an honorary Master of Fine Arts degree in 1960, and he later received
an honorary doctorate.
Cleofás Calleros married the former Benita Blanco in 1918. Benita was
born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, on February 22, 1895, and came to the
United States in 1905. She became a United States citizen in 1918. She worked
as a stenographer and assisted Calleros in his various business pursuits after
their marriage. They had one daughter, Margarita Calleros Blanco, born in 1926.
In
his early days in El Paso, Calleros worked after school in various local businesses.
While working for a print shop, he learned to print and bind books. In 1912, he started as a messenger boy with the Santa Fe Railway
and worked his way up to Chief Line Clerk by 1926. His work with the railroad
was interrupted by World War I, when the U. S. Army drafted him in 1917. He
became a naturalized U.S. citizen at Camp Travis in San Antonio, Texas, in 1918.
As a quartermaster sergeant with Company E, 315th Supply Train, 90th Division,
he took part in the St. Mihiel and Meuse Argonne battles in France, where he
received the Purple Heart for being wounded in action. He served in the occupation
of Germany from 1918 to 1919. After
the war Calleros served in the Officers’ Reserve Corps from 1920 to 1938.
In 1926 Calleros became the Mexican Border Representative of the National
Catholic Welfare Conference’s Bureau of Immigration in El Paso. From 1926 until
his retirement in 1968, he handled over a million immigration cases in his role
as welfare director and social worker, including assisting religious groups
who were persecuted and expelled by the Mexican government in the 1930’s. For
over fifty years, he taught free citizenship classes to immigrants. During those
years, at times he served as secretary and assistant to the Bishop of the Catholic
Diocese of El Paso, supervising the construction of the Mt. Cristo Rey monument
and serving on the boards of various Catholic schools and orphanages.
He published over fifteen books and pamphlets in both English and Spanish
including regional histories and histories of civic and religious groups in
El Paso. He wrote about the Tigua Indians, the Chamizal area, and Southwestern
missions and churches. During the
1950’s, he wrote a weekly local history column for The El Paso Times, called
“El Paso—Then and Now,” which was later published in book form. His most famous
work, Historia del Templo de Nuestra Señora
de Guadalupe, co-authored with Dr. Angel Alcázar de Velasco, was hand-printed
and bound of luxurious materials. El Paso artist José Cisneros illustrated the
book. The numbered, limited editions were sent to national libraries, museums,
and universities throughout the world. Copies of the unique book were also presented
to President John F. Kennedy, Vice-President Johnson, and to Pope John XXIII.
Calleros was a respected and popular speaker who was invited to address
many civic, political, and educational groups during his career. In his retirement
years, he spoke at national conferences in the United States and Mexico and
led college students on cultural tours of Mexico. Calleros was active in many
youth programs including the American Academy of Achievement, Crossroads of
America, and Boy Scouts and Boys’ Clubs.
He worked diligently for El Paso charities, especially the Mexican Division
of the Community Chest and the United Fund. He was a board member and director
for various Catholic orphanages and homes in El Paso. During the Depression
years, Calleros served on the El Paso County Relief Board and on the Mexican
Problems Committee of the Texas State Relief Commission. In 1934 he organized
the Mexican and American Immigration Convention and Sociedades Latino Americanas
in El Paso to fight discrimination and inequality. He edited Actualidad, a newspaper published by Sociedades Latino Americanas,
that aimed at uniting the El Paso Mexican community against discrimination.
In 1936, he successfully led the fight against color classification of Mexicans
by county, state, and federal authorities in the United States.
As a leading member of the community, Calleros served on several El Paso
Grand Juries from 1929 to 1961. He was named to the El Paso Health Commission
and the El Paso Slum Clearance Commission in the 1930’s. He was Chairman of
the Street Name Change Committee in 1957 and a member of the El Paso County
Historical Survey Commission in 1959. He worked on the Trans-Pecos Overland
and Butterfield Stage Coach Centennials, from 1952 to1959.
Calleros
was founder or co-founder of many civic organizations. He was a board member
of numerous Historical societies, museums, and libraries in El Paso, Ciudad
Juárez, and vicinity. He was one of the founders of the El Paso County Historical
Society and served on the board of directors of the El Paso Museum of Art and
the El Paso County Library Board. He worked on the design of the Coat of Arms
emblem for the city of Juárez, Mexico. He was a charter member of the Knights
of Columbus, the Catholic Welfare Association, and many other local and national
Catholic groups. He was also a charter member of various veterans’ groups, such
as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other fraternal organizations.
Although
he never ran for political office, Calleros was active in many political causes.
He fought all of his life for equal rights and respect for people of Mexican
descent. He was a strong friend and supporter of Raymond Telles, who became
El Paso mayor and later the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica. He also supported
the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. Calleros worked hard to help bring
about the Chamizal Settlement and was awarded the Chamizal Commemorative Silver
Medal by President Johnson in 1965.
For
his efforts on their behalf, the Tigua Indians in El Paso named Calleros an
Honorary Adelantado in 1932. He worked to gain recognition for the Tiguas by
writing their history and publicizing their heritage. He accompanied a group
of Tiguas to the Texas Centennial Celebration at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas,
Texas, in 1936, where they had a role in the festivities and made President
Franklin D. Roosevelt an honorary Tigua Cacique.
Cleofás Calleros gained numerous honorary distinctions and recognitions throughout his career. The Spanish government made him a Knight of the Order of Isabela the Catholic in 1954 to recognize his efforts in matters related to the history of the Spanish in the Southwest. For his work with the Knights of Columbus, he was honored with the papal title of Knight of St. Gregory in 1961. In 1963, the Archbishop of Mexico awarded him the Rose of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement and into the Gallery of Living Catholic Authors. In 1966, the International Institute of Arts and Letters of Switzerland appointed Calleros as a Life Member. He received several Certificates of Merit and “Conquistador” awards from the City of El Paso and honors from the State of Texas for his civic and Historical work. He was listed in “Who’s Who in Texas” and “Who’s Who in the Southwest” among other honors. Cleofás Calleros died of natural causes in 1973. He was buried with military honors at the Ft. Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso, Texas.