Why an artist is celebrating the memory of six Chicano activists killed 50 years ago in Boulder

Fifty years ago, in 1974, a pair of car bombings in Boulder killed six people.  Five of the six were University of Colorado students and alumni who had been part of a Chicano student activist group on campus called UMAS. 

Their names were Una Jaakola,Reyes Martínez, Neva Romero, Florencio Granado, Heriberto Terán and Francisco Dougherty. They were known as Los Seis de Boulder. 

At the time, the police said the activists likely blew themselves up with their own explosives – a claim that’s still met with skepticism today. The case remains unresolved.  

City officials recently unveiled a memorial in downtown Boulder. Artist Jasmine Baetz designed it to commemorate the tragedy. We spoke to Baetz about how she learned of Los Seis, and the artwork she created.