A Coconut's Journey

by Christopher Anthony Chavez

Overview

As a child, I thought I was white; everybody around me growing up was white. I was completely immersed in their culture. But after I entered what became a junior high reeducation camp downtown, my heritage was thrown in my face, and I became a target. The world I had grown up in became unfamiliar and threatening. I came from good Mexican American stock, but my heart and identity were deeply rooted in the Anglo community. Neither the Anglos nor the Mexicans saw me as one of them. I was an outsider, lost between two worlds. The Mexicans saw me as a "Pocho" (those born in the US, who are perceived to have largely adopted American culture and are not fluent in Spanish); while many Anglos saw me as nothing more than a wetback; someone who would never be an equal in their world. Yet I lived my best life, pushing back against those who refused to accept that a brown person could advance in their world. There are many good people on this earth to which I owe much, but there are just as many—if not more—evil white folks lurking in plane site, ready to put Mexicans in their place. And that place is cleaning their toilets and tending their fields.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798317811730
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	11/20/2025
Pages:	516
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

A 36-year veteran of working within the international arms transfer community, as a government program manager, a defense contractor, and as a senior advisor to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defense, Chris Chavez has held numerus positions within the international security assistance ecosystem. after leaving the Army, he spent nearly a decade supporting US combat forces in Europe and the United States as a weapon systems technical advisor. He later performed on-the-ground oversight of air and missile defense Foreign Military Sales programs in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, receiving Department of the Army recognition for fielding PATRIOT to the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces. He later created and led a PATRIOT and THAAD contractor advisory team for the UAE for almost a decade. He founded a security assistance consulting firm—Strategic Consultants Group, Inc—after his return to the States. He and his wife live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.