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Date: 11/1/2022
EASTHAMPTON – On Nov. 13, the Juke Joint Jazz is conducting a benefit concert at The Marigold for the Angel Nieto Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship will be given annually to individuals who “have a compelling story of determination and strength in overcoming adversity, as well as having aspirational goals for their future and that of their community,” according to a Facebook post about the event.
An Amherst area resident for nearly five decades, Nieto was known to many as an “incredible man” who made strides in his life as an educator, activist, poet, published author, community activist, fighter for justice and a loving father and grandfather.
The history of Nieto
Nieto passed away late last year from congestive heart failure in hospice care at home surrounded by his daughters, grandchildren and his wife, Sonia.
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Sonia described her husband as one of the most selfless human beings who dedicated his life to putting his family, students and social justice before himself.
Angel was born in Spain in 1940 as the second of five children and grew up during a time period when the country was dealing with the dictatorial and fascist leadership of Francisco Franco. After graduating high school, Nieto, a cousin and two friends left Spain to travel through France, Germany and Great Britain to work at various jobs before returning home two years later.
Back in Cuenca, the Spanish city in which he grew up, Nieto studied to be a teacher, a profession he would pursue several years later in the United States. In the early 1960s, he relocated to Madrid where he studied at the Spanish Tourism Institute and worked at Iberia Airlines.
Around this time, Nieto met Sonia, a Puerto Rican student from New York who was studying for her master’s degree at the time. After a chance meeting, the two began a four-month romance, and would eventually spend 55 years together raising their two daughters, Alicia Mariana and Marisa April, as well as their granddaughter Jazmyne.
To much of his family, he was known as “Abu,” because as a child, Jazmyne was unable to say “Abuelo,” which means grandfather in Spanish.
Sonia – a published author and member of the National Academy of Education who has spent much of her years teaching language, literacy and culture at all levels; including at the University of Massachusetts Amherst – described her husband as one of the most humble and selfless men one could ever find.
Although he spent some adolescent years within a fascist regime, Angel nonetheless grew to be an avid democratic socialist and advocate for social justice-especially at the educational level.
“When he came [to the U.S.], it was like a revelation that you could go to demonstrations and you wouldn’t be worried about being killed,” said Sonia. “He just cared about a lot of things. He was an anti-racist, and when he came here, he got involved in a lot of things.”
After he and Sonia moved to New York following their elopement, Angel initially worked at a Spanish Tourist office in Manhattan before becoming a teacher at the Berlitz School of Languages.
A year after their first child, Alicia, was born in 1969, Angel became a stay-at-home father and primary caregiver as Sonia was developing her teaching career at Brooklyn College as a lecturer.
“When I started working full-time, he cut back his hours because he loved being with the kids,” said Sonia. “He was a feminist and incredible father who always put everyone else first.”
The family eventually moved to Western Massachusetts in 1975 so Sonia could study her doctorate degree. It was here where the family adopted their second child, Marisa.
After being Marisa’s primary caregiver for two years, Angel began fostering his career as a community advocate and bilingual teacher at Holyoke Public Schools until his retirement in 1996; first at Holyoke High School and, later, at Peck Middle School and the Holyoke Middle School for the Arts.
Nieto made his name, not only as a teacher, but also as a “fierce” advocate for student rights. According to Sonia, Angel would get up at dawn to participate in demonstrations demanding quality bilingual education.
With a focus on Social Studies and Spanish, Angel was the first person in Holyoke Public Schools history to teach a course on Puerto Rican studies. “He taught students how to write poetry, and he had a newspaper with them that came out every once-in-a-while,” said Sonia. “There was a Spanish language page from the bilingual program that they would have in the Holyoke High School newspaper.”
His advocacy
Angel was considered a local legend when it came to his advocacy from a global and regional perspective.
He protested apartheid in South Africa and the U.S.-backed war in Central America. In fact, he was the only non-citizen arrested during a peaceful sit-in at then state Rep. Silvio Conte’s office to protest U.S. involvement in Central America. The judge presiding over the case warned him that he would be deported if he ever showed up in court again. Eventually, in 2008, he gained citizenship in the United States during a ceremony in Boston with his family.
Beyond that though, Angel was a major influence from a local perspective.
Sonia recalls a time when one of Angel’s students, who was six months pregnant, was arrested for simply showing up to school while on suspension.
The occurrence was seen as an overreaction and unnecessary spectacle for a young student who was just trying to get by with an incoming child.
Angel was therefore furious with the cops for making such an arrest so he went to speak with community activists from Holyoke and Springfield, and with the help of an attorney and the student’s family, they sued the school.
“[The student’s family] won the case because, of course, it was outrageous what the school had done,” said Sonia. “It was hard for Angel to want to sue because Holyoke was not a wealthy city, but at the same time, they shouldn’t be able to get away from something like that.”
The student and attorney each received $1,500 in settlement money. Afterwards, the attorney reached out to Angel to offer him the $1,500 for all of the assistance and inspiration he provides for the students.
With the money, Angel organized a group of likeminded teachers and other community activists to begin the Latino Scholarship Fund in 1988.
“Angel noticed that awards ceremonies came at the end of the year, even though 70 percent of the school represented Puerto Rican kids, the awards only went to the white kids,” said Sonia. “And he was really incensed about that…so they started the scholarship.”
The scholarship, which aimed to recognize more Latino students, started with a small sum of money and a small dinner at the Holiday Inn. The scholarship eventually grew to the point where they now have large dinners at the Holyoke Log Cabin with 300 people in attendance. They now hand out 12 to 15 scholarships each time to students from all over the region.
Angel’s kindness and advocacy was eventually awarded by being selected as one of the “Hidden Legends of the Paper City.” The recognition was organized by Pa’lante, a youth-led restorative justice project from Holyoke High School that did research on finding hidden legends in the city beyond just the white population usually celebrated. A banner recognizing Angel is located on Main Street in Holyoke.
“He had not been a teacher in Holyoke for 30 years,” said Sonia, reflecting on that restorative justice project recognition. “Yet, his students still remembered him as a community organizer and a proponent of the Puerto Rican community.”
The concert benefit
The benefit at Marigold will feature a performance from one of Puerto Rico’s premier musicians Jose Gonzales along with his trio. Afterwards, Juke Joint Jazz will perform a set of Brazilian and Latin-inspired jazz. Sonia’s daughter will also be a part of the performance.
The Angel Fund Benefit, which is separate from the Latino Scholarship started by Sonia, her daughter Alicia, and two of their friends in his honor. The scholarship currently has about $16,000 in it and is part of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.
The problem is a scholarship cannot be provided until there is at least $25,000 in the fund, which is why Sonia and company are continuing to raise money.
The logistics of the scholarship are still being worked out, but when it is available, students will be allowed to apply through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. To qualify, the student has to be a Latino or Latina from Holyoke High School.
People can learn more about the concert and scholarship on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/672716300832266/. The Marigold Theater wants at least 100 people at this event, according to Sonia.