Considered one of the Chicano movement’s most renowned poets, Alurista used his work to draw attention to the movement. As a student at San Diego State university, he helped organize various student organizations including Moviemento Estudios Chicanos de Aztlan, Centro Cultural de La Raza and, with the help of Chicano leader Rodolfo Gonzalez, helped create the “Plan of Aztlan.” His poetry has often been described as a voice to organize Hispanics and a prelude for other chicano poets. Stylistically, he is considered the first poet to use Chicano dialect and also popularized writing in bilingual form. Between 1972 and 1982, Alurista published 5 anthologies, numerous pieces on Chicano culture, TV scripts and a children’s book, “Tula and Tonan.”