Members of the Mixtecas Motorcycle Club in Silvis described a brotherhood centered on motorcycles, military service, mutual support and community involvement.
Originally published June 18, 2015. Updated Oct. 2, 2026, with additional sourcing and to remove outdated contact information.
SILVIS, Illinois — Members of the Mixtecas Motorcycle Club’s Silvis chapter described a brotherhood built around motorcycles, family, military service and involvement in the local community.
Tony Pompa, who served as chapter president when Hola America interviewed him, said members wanted to challenge stereotypes surrounding motorcycle clubs and emphasize the respect and support they expected from one another.
Pompa, a U.S. Army veteran who served from 2000 to 2006 and deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, also came from a family with deep ties to military service. His uncle and namesake, Tony Pompa, is one of the eight fallen service members honored by Hero Street in Silvis.
Mixtecas members had been visiting Silvis since the early 1990s
The Mixtecas Motorcycle Club originated in Chicago in 1985, according to Pompa. Members of the club had been visiting Silvis since the early 1990s, and some original members of the Chicago chapter were also members of the Mexican American Veterans Association.
Pompa remembered those visits clearly.
“When Mixtecas started coming down here I was young and always looked at them and thought I wanted to do that, I wanted to be one of them,” he said.
As a child, Pompa initially associated the club with the freedom of traveling the country on a motorcycle. What stayed with him, however, was how members interacted with the people around them.
“I saw the respect they gave to my parents, the patrons of the VFW and the visitors to Hero Street and most importantly to each other,” Pompa said.
For Pompa, earning the Mixtecas vest became a childhood goal
Pompa recalled a conversation with a member of the Chicago chapter after his father asked whether they could buy one of the vests worn by club members.
“He told me that the vest he wore with the Mixtecas warrior on it couldn’t be just bought. It had to be earned, and one day when I was old enough I could have the opportunity to earn one too. I took that to heart,” Pompa said.
Years later, Pompa had the opportunity to earn his own vest.
The Silvis chapter had been in development since 2005 and officially opened Jan. 27, 2007, according to Pompa. He said members saw the organization as more than a group united by motorcycles and the open road.
“We embrace the brotherhood, comradely, and deep respect we have for one another,” Pompa said.
Members described the Silvis chapter as a support network
In the 2015 interview, Pompa said members helped one another through problems ranging from financial hardship to child care and offered support when someone simply needed another person to listen.
He also described community fundraising and benefit events as part of the chapter’s activities at the time. Community members sometimes approached the club for help, he said, and members would decide whether to make a donation or organize an event to raise money.
Around Christmas, Pompa said the club aimed to sponsor between one and three families and involved members’ children in shopping for and wrapping gifts.
“We make it a point to bring our kids when we do the Christmas shopping and the wrapping so that they can see that Christmas is about giving and not receiving,” Pompa said.
Veterans and Hero Street were part of the chapter’s local connection
Pompa said several members of the Silvis chapter were veterans and that the club participated in local veterans events, including activities connected with the Hero Street Memorial and Veterans Day.
Hero Street remains an important part of Silvis history. The city continues to maintain Hero Street Memorial Park and recognizes eight local service members who died while serving the United States, including Tony Pompa.
Pompa said the club wanted to challenge biker stereotypes
Motorcycle clubs have long been associated with stereotypes involving gangs and outlaw culture. During the interview, Pompa said the Silvis chapter wanted residents to judge its members by how they conducted themselves in the community.
“We strive to break the stereotype of Bikers. We are not a gang, we are a club. We have our own bylaws that dictate how we should act and represent ourselves to maintain the respect we get back from our community,” Pompa said.
For Pompa, the chapter’s identity centered on motorcycles, mutual support, community involvement and the idea that respect had to be earned.
Editor’s note: The original story included contact information for the Silvis chapter. Hola America removed that information because it could not be independently verified as current in 2026.
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