DESCRIPTION:
Manny Mendoza grew up in 1970 at the age of 18 years old when he attended the Vietnam Moratorium at Laguna Park in East L.A. The sheriffs lobbed tear gas into the crowd of Chicanos which erupted into a riot from Laguna Park all the way down Whittier Blvd. and into the heart of East L.A. The easy cruising life Manny lived in 1968 ended when his brother Julio was killed in Nam and his body shipped back home. It was the turning point of his life, his break with the Establishment and his mentor, Miss Freedman who tried and failed to bring Manny into the American Dream.