Estación Libre was born in the wake of the Chican@ Indigen@ Encountro organized in the summer of 1997 in the Zapatista community of Oventic. Organizers of the gathering expressed a desire to establish a more permanent space in Chiapas specifically for Chican@s because international solidarity work in Chiapas had been predominantly white. Out of those discussions Estación Libre was formed January 1, 1998, in recognition of the political importance for People of Color to see and understand the principles and strategies of the Zapatista movement while contributing to international solidarity. Since 1998, Estación Libre has conduced 16 delegations in Chiapas.