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Texas migrant advocate, civil rights activist Eddie Canales dies at 76

Canales served as the director of the South Texas Human Rights Center in Falfurrias

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas migrant advocate and civil rights activist Eduardo “Eddie” Canales has died.

Canales died at his Corpus Christi home at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday surrounded by family, South Texas Human Rights Vice President Nancy Vera confirmed to KSAT.

Canales served as the director of the South Texas Human Rights Center in Falfurrias, which is located approximately two-and-a-half hours south of downtown San Antonio.

South Texas Human Rights Center Director was just one of many hats Canales wore. He also worked to ensure migrants maintained their dignity as they traveled along the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to a 2018 KSAT story, Canales checked and filled giant blue buckets with the word “agua” printed on them. These were filled with gallon jugs of water.

The buckets served as water stations for migrants to receive water as they traveled in the heat.

Vera said Canales was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May. Canales was 76 years old.


About the Author

Pachatta Pope joined KSAT as a news producer in 2021. She is a San Antonio native and a graduate of UTSA.

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