Youths Will March to Honor Cesar Chavez
About 500 youths are planning to march Saturday in the city of San Fernando to mark the March 31 birthday of the late labor hero Cesar Chavez.
In 1994, San Fernando became the first city in the country to declare an official holiday to commemorate Chavez’s birthday.
Chavez and his wife, Helen, helped found the United Farm Workers union and aided migrant workers in obtaining bargaining rights and better working conditions. Chavez died in April 1993 at age 66.
Participants in Saturday’s march will also demonstrate their support for substance abuse prevention programs and affirmative action, said Bill Gallegos of the San Fernando Valley Partnership, one of the event sponsors.
The march, which is open to students from across the San Fernando Valley, will assemble at 1 p.m. at San Fernando High School, 11133 O’Melveny Ave., and will proceed to San Fernando City Hall.
At 2:30 p.m., a program will begin at City Hall featuring a performance by Mexican folk dancers and presentations by youth leaders, a representative of the UFW and San Fernando Mayor Pro Tem Rosa Chacon.
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