OXNARD : Gallery Gives School Portrait of Cesar Chavez

An Oxnard gallery on Wednesday donated a portrait of labor leader Cesar Chavez to the elementary school named after him, becoming the latest donor in a district drive to enrich the school with the help of the community.

The 26-by-32-inch portrait will be used by the school as another way to educate children and their parents about the life of Chavez, said school Principal Anthony Zubia.

During a 30-minute ceremony Wednesday at the school cafeteria, Zubia told more than 250 students about Chavez’s efforts to improve the lives of farm workers.

“This portrait will help us to understand who Cesar Chavez was and what his struggles mean to us,” Zubia said. “We want you to understand that Cesar Chavez is a role model.”

Zubia said he will place the portrait in the school administration office so parents and students can be reminded of Chavez’s achievements.

The portrait was another gift obtained by volunteers who have intensively campaigned to raise funds for the Cesar Chavez School.

“We have raised more then $70,000 in cash and services in one year,” said Nina Duarte, an Oxnard businesswoman and volunteer. “We have truly surpassed our expectations.”

Since the school was renamed for Chavez in 1992, school officials and volunteers have organized to raise money and improve the school.

“Our goal is to create partnerships with the community,” Duarte said. “We not only ask for monetary donations, but also for mentors and services.”

Zubia said businesses recruited by volunteers also are going to paint and landscape the school.

In addition, volunteers have raised money to build a library at the school in the memory of civil-rights leaders such as Chavez and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Zubia said. As part of this partnership, Peter S. Lopez, the owner of Galeria Don Pedro, decided to give the school the painting, valued at $1,500.

“We want to do something for the school and to the memory of Cesar Chavez,” Lopez said. “We thought a portrait would honor Cesar Chavez’s dedication to the betterment of the lives of Mexican Americans.”

The portrait was painted by Tomas Otero, who works for Galeria Don Pedro.