Community activist and Sonoma County organizer Omar Gallardo remembered

Omar Gallardo’s youngest sister remembers teasing her brother and how friends and acquaintances talked about him – practically as if he walked on water.

He says the Gallardo siblings remained in his shadow, that they joked that they had no identity of their own, and that to most of the community they were simply “Omar’s sisters.”

Merlinda Gallardo, however, said she understands and appreciates the significant role her brother played in Sonoma County and in the lives of those around him. He was, she said, “larger than life.”

Omar Gallardo, a proud Chicano and community organizer whose legacy of political and social activism spans three decades, lived to support others and give a voice to those who were unable to speak for themselves, she said.

From his days organizing Latino students as a young man, to his work with farmers and Latino children, to his service at the Graton Day Labor Center and most recently with the education and environmental nonprofit LandPaths, Gallardo has lived a life of service. He was impressed by his mentors that each generation gives way to the next and has a responsibility to “keep a foot in that door to keep it open,” he once said.

Merlinda Gallardo said that since his death last week at the age of 49, expressions of gratitude from the legions whose lives he touched only underline his impact.

“On Sunday after his services, people kept saying, ‘Thank you for sharing Omar with us,’” she said. “He just made it his mission to be a part of as many people’s lives as possible.”

Warm and funny, he had a “big heart” and a “super gentle, sweet” side, said those who loved him. He left behind two boys, 13-year-old Tandee and 8-year-old Erandi, who played a key role in his life along with his wife Norma Lazaro Hernandez.

Gallardo was born in Michoacan, Mexico in 1975, the first of five children and the only boy. He spent his early years there, although his father worked most of the time in the lumber industry in Northern California.

Gallardo and his family lived in Santa Rosa from the age of 5 to 10. It was a difficult time, partly caused by an accident that left his father disabled and increasingly unable to work.

Gallardo was 10 years old when his family moved back to Michoacan for five years before returning permanently to Sonoma County, where his mother worked in vineyards and wineries.

As a student at Geyserville High School, he benefited from the assistance of many influential Spanish-speaking teachers and staff who encouraged his participation in Ballet Folkorico and helped shape his interest in education and Chicano culture.

He came of age during a time of political conflict that included campaigning for California’s Proposition 187, which in 1994 threatened to bar undocumented California immigrants from receiving a range of public benefits.

Gallardo led student marches protesting the proposal and also worked on behalf of the United Farm Workers Union, offering translation services as a young man. In 1993, he also made a last-minute trip to Delano, California, for a memorial march for UFW leader Cesar Chavez, which attracted about 35,000 supporters.

He participated in the Adelante summer program at Santa Rosa Junior College and the Latino Student Congress at Sonoma State for several years, and eventually attended both institutions, earning a degree in history with plans to become a teacher.

But Gallardo also had the opportunity to serve for eight years in California’s Mini-Corps program, working with migrant students in an outdoor education program that included week-long summer camps.

It was a preview of his later years at LandPaths, where he worked for 12 years, most recently as the new audience manager. He was instrumental in the development of Bayer Farm Community Gardens and Community Park in southwest Santa Rosa and worked primarily to engage Spanish-speaking communities in the outdoors through youth programs, camping trips to Yosemite and other programs.

LandPaths executive director Craig Anderson says Gallardo brought dignity to the job, “but left a lot of space around him to make others feel dignified.” Gallardo was so committed that he once almost missed an opportunity to go to the Obama White House for a screening of a documentary he was attending because he was scheduled to lead a tour to Yosemite. Ultimately, he had to do both, Anderson said.

“He has gently guided much of the evolution of LandPaths over the last dozen years, helping us reach, grow and sustain the larger community,” Anderson said.

Timeline of Omar Gallardo/Sonoma County Chicano (Part 1)

Gallardo mentored students in Santa Cruz County for four years before returning to Santa Rosa to become a site coordinator and organizer at the Graton Day Labor Center. He worked there for five years before being hired at LandPaths.

Longtime community organizer and close friend Davin Cardenas, now organizing director at North Bay Jobs with Justice, describes Gallardo as a “critical bridge” between generations of Latino activists.

He recalled meeting Gallardo at Sonoma State University around 1999, when Gallardo was president of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or MEChA, program on campus. He said Gallardo welcomed and engaged him in a way that set the trajectory of his life.

“He led by example and had such an infectious energy that you wanted to be a part of what he was a part of,” Cardenas said. “We learned from him and he was always a teacher. I am one of many, many, many who had the same story. We are truly grateful to him.”

Gallardo was also a devoted Aztec dancer, having founded his own dance group, Danza Azteca Xántotl de Santa Rosa, over a decade ago and performing at gatherings and celebrations.

Three years ago, Gallardo learned he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a degenerative motor neuron disease that made it difficult for him to do many of the things he loved. It was a battle he and his wife kept mostly secret.

He died on October 23 as a result of complications related to the disease.

Merlinda Gallardo said loved ones now like to think of him walking through the woods in the fog, just like in a photo taken by a friend several years ago.

In addition to his wife and children, Gallardo is survived by his mother, Maria Luisa Gallardo of Santa Rosa; sisters Marilu Gallardo, Olga Gallardo and Blanca Gallardo, all of Santa Rosa and Merlinda Gallardo of Windsor.

A private service was held Sunday, but the family hopes to hold a public celebration of Gallardo’s life in November.

Staff writer Mary Callahan (she/her) can be reached at 707-521-5249 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @MaryCallahanB.