ON ATTORNEY HOMER CANALES' STUGGLES (a resident of Alice, Tx) by ATTORNEY JOE FLORES

I was asked to say a few words about a great man and I will do so. I always believe in telling a person how you feel and what you think of them while they are living not when they are dead.:) The following is about my good friend and mentor Homero Canales, Esq. of Alice, Texas.

Homero Canales and his brother Wallace have always been men I respected and looked up to. Since I was a boy growing up in Alice, Texas, selling the Alice Echo Newspaper at the courthouse in the 70's, I had heard of Homero and Wallace Canales and their representation of clients and their trial skills.

My father, a teacher and political activist, always spoke highly of Homero, and in my dad's retirement he loved to watch trials and hang around the courthouse, even though he was battling a terminal illness, and he always kept me up to speed while I was in law school with the latest on Homero Canales, Attorney at Law. I had always dreamed of being a lawyer and Homero, among other prominent attorneys and Judges in Jim Wells county, were positive role models for me and inspired me to attend law school many years ago. My dad said it was a great gift to him to see me graduate from law school and I made him proud. Those words alone made it all worth it.

As a young man, I myself often went and watched Homero try a case and it was and still is as exciting and action packed as ever, to say the least. He has always been a mentor of mine, and always offers his office when I come from Corpus on legal business or to visit my mother, and to this day he also offers his sound advice, just like when I first got out of law school. Now that I am a seasoned trial lawyer with complex civil and criminal cases to handle, I need that advice more than ever and he is ready to help. I always need and appreciate the advice of a seasoned attorney like Homero with over 40 years of legal experience.

My understanding is that Homero's background was being raised in the tough streets of Laredo. His light skin and light eyes did not apparently hide the pride in being Mexican American and how he defends his clients in and out of the courtroom today. He was also reportedly known in those days to defend he and his culture with words, and fist if necessary, at Texas A&M College Station as an undergrad student. Homero is often seen with his dog walking around the Jim Wells County courthouse and across the street from his office. His no nonsense approach and plain truth has brought him many accolades and hundreds upon hundreds of clients who could not afford expensive fees. Often he waived or reduced the cost of trying a case in order for those whose very lives and freedom were at stake to place their fate in his competent legal hands and that of the justice system.

Homero has faced many battles in and out of the courtroom including his present battle against cancer which he reportedly has the upperhand on. He is a man who is still of great physical strength and a formidable character and who can be defined as a man of quality or true grit. His quick wit and smile provide an avenue for easy conversation and he quickly puts a person at ease, no matter what walk of life they come from. He is a man who has many stories to share regarding South Texas history and courtroom drama.

I want to remind many of my generation born in the 60's and 70's that we should never forget the many sacrifices that men like Homero have made in our Mexican American and collective South Texas community, and who forged a path for our people to attend schools of higher learning and become lawyers and doctors and men and women of industry. Many Americans want to live in denial that racism, sexism and inequality no longer exist, but indeed they do, and we must always be vigilant against injustice, like the lawyers and judges in our community such as Homero, who studied law and championed causes in the 60's and 70's and do so to the present day. I never forget that Homero Canales is truly a man to be reckoned with and a living legend and walking history book of our culture and our times here in our part of Texas.

Therefore, I honor a lion of a man while he is living and thriving, not when he is dead, for then it will be too late and he will not need to hear these words because he has gone on to something much, much greater.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joe Flores, Esq.