El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan [The Spiritual Plan of Aztlan] calls on Chicanos to assert their nationalism by mobilizing the masses and realizing a free, independent nation. The manifesto is developed in three parts: 1) Nationalism, a key organizing force because it transcends class, religion, politics, and economics; 2) Organizational Goals, include economic control, education relevant to Chicanos, institutions that serve the people, self-defense, maintenance of cultural values, and political liberation; and 3) Proposed actions include spreading the ideas of the plan, organizing walk-outs in schools on Mexican Independence Day (September 16th), defending the community, and building an independent nation, economy, and political system. The article ends by stating that El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan is, first of all, a plan of liberation.

The manifesto, El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan, was adopted at the first National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver, Colorado, in March 1969, which was conducted by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez’s organization, Cruzada por la Justicia [Crusade for Justice]. The Plan formalized the concept of a Chicano nation, called “Aztlan,” which consisted of the land ceded to the United States after the Mexican-American War of 1848. This copy is from El Grito del Norte, a Chicano Movement community newspaper from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Printed in July 6, 1969, it is one of the earliest published versions of El Plan, although a mimeographed sheet version was distributed at the Youth Liberation Conference. Chicano poet and writer, Alurista (b. 1947) attended the Conference where he read a poem to the attendees, which was adopted as the preamble to El Plan.Along with presenting for the first time a clear statement of the growing nationalist consciousness of Chicanos, especially among the youth, El Plan also delineated the specific role of artists, writers, and musicians within the Movement under “Organization Goal 6.” As a result, this doctrine was adopted and practiced by many Chicano/a artists who abandoned individual careers to produce art in service to and within the community, rather than for themselves or the art market. El Plan also serves as a strong indicator of the important role given to artists within the agenda of the Chicano political movement.