Marchers Hail Zapata, Hero of Mexican Revolution

Hoisting posters, waving banners and shouting “La lucha sigue”--the struggle continues--more than 150 people paraded downtown Sunday to commemorate the life of Mexican revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata.

“Zapata, listen to us, your people continue to fight!” blared in Spanish from loudspeakers during the march.

Mexican Americans and other Latinos today are facing the same problems Zapata fought against decades ago, said Jaime Cruz, one of the event’s coordinators.

“This is not only a coalition to commemorate the assassination of Emiliano Zapata,” Cruz said. “We’re protesting all the negative things going on in our community.”

He said poor education and lack of health care are conditions that have not changed in more than 30 years.

“You’ve got to understand: Zapata was fighting for land and liberty--the same things we struggle for today,” said Cruz, coordinator of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, one of the organizations sponsoring the march.

Judy Fernandez and Rafael Navar of East Los Angeles were among the more than 100 spectators at festivities in Plaza de la Raza after the march.

“It’s time to celebrate something that will perpetuate our traditions,” said Fernandez, who came to this country 21 years ago. “We are celebrating that we are Indians, that we are Mexicans. That’s why we march, and sweat, and work.”

Navar said he came to the march in solidarity with all who struggle to have a better way of life.

“We want to remind people that there are still causes for which to fight here in the U.S., like the janitors’ strike,” he said, adding that his father--and all his friends’ fathers--have to work very hard to make little money. “We can change that, and Zapata gives us hope.”

Gen. Zapata was assassinated by political enemies 81 years ago, on April 10, 1919. The son of a mestizo peasant, he took part in protests to give land back to peasants in his village. In 1909 he became president of his village council, marking the beginning of his life as a political leader.

During the Mexican Revolution, 1911-1917, Zapata was celebrated for continuing his fight for land and liberty for the poor and oppressed.

Although revolutionary conditions often meant that Zapata ordered executions and expropriation of property, the general became a hero among Mexicans.

His name is still invoked by those seeking reform in Mexico. Perhaps best known are an army of Zapatistas, masked rebels in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

The Zapatistas say they are fighting the Mexican government to win recognition for the rights of Mexico’s indigenous Indians.

To Genaro Ayala, director of La Raza Unida Party, a Mexican American political party, Sunday’s march was held to underscore the importance of Zapata’s demand for equality.

“The main message today is that we are celebrating a very important figure in history,” Ayala said. “We are honoring the life of Emiliano Zapata, a man who gave his life to the quest for justice for the poor.

“Our heroes are very important to us as a people, and it’s important to keep them alive for our youth,” he said.

Sunday’s march, the seventh annual commemoration of Zapata’s assassination, was organized by the Chicano Moratorium Committee, the Comite Pro-Democracia en Mexico and the La Raza Unida Party.

Speakers from the various groups extolled Zapata’s life and work, emphasizing the need to continue such struggle today.

“We are here, united in Zapata’s spirit, to support our people’s fight,” said Manuel Martinez of the Comite Pro-Democracia en Mexico.

He and others protested the arrest of striking students at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, U.S. intervention in Latin America, and the U.S. military presence aimed at fighting drug trafficking in Mexico.

Before the speeches, several groups performed Aztec dances. Judith Cuauhtemoc, one of the dancers, said the performance was “a warrior dance.”

Cuauhtemoc, who has been performing at the march since its inception, said honoring Zapata’s memory is important to her because it keeps Mexican traditions alive in her family.

Her three children--ages 11, 5 and 4--were also dressed in costume and joined the dancers.