Keeping the Legacy Alive

At a Sunday birthday celebration honoring Cesar Chavez, his son, Paul, kept in mind what his father often repeated: “The work is longer than the life.”

“My father understood that his work wouldn’t be finished in his lifetime,” Paul Chavez recalled.

And just as his father’s legacy continues the struggle to protect migrant workers, awareness of farm worker issues will continue to grow now that the state on Saturday marked the first official Cesar Chavez Day, Paul Chavez said.

A parade kicked off Sunday’s birthday festivities in honor of the late farm labor leader, starting in Brand Park Mission Hills and ending in San Fernando. About 3,000 attended the day’s events, which included the city of San Fernando’s annual Cesar E. Chavez Commemoration.

San Fernando has been celebrating the holiday for eight years, so Paul Chavez said the state’s recognition was a welcome addition.

Local leaders described their admiration for Chavez. Many compared him to Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy.

Red balloons stood out against the park’s grass and trees. Men and women, some on horses, wore Mexican clothing and straw worker hats. Others wore T-shirts imprinted with Chavez’s face.

A few had red T-shirts with the words: “The end of all education should surely be service to others. Cesar Chavez. 1927-1993.”

A band named “Los Sencillos” sang songs of triumph and struggle onstage before the parade began.

The crowd sang along loudly: “No, no, no, we shall not be moved. No, no, no, we shall not be moved.”

For families, the event was a chance to teach children about their heritage.

Elia Mendoza, 34, of Los Angeles brought her three daughters to the parade.

“Finally, they gave us the holiday. It’s a step forward for us as Hispanics,” Mendoza said, holding American, Mexican and migrant worker flags. She brought her daughters to the parade to help them remember they are Mexican just as much as they are American, she said.

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Mendoza’s daughter, Xochelt Alonso, 9, said her mother taught her about Chavez.

“It’s nice, because this man helped a lot of people,” Alonso said. “He helped the farmers and made the world a better place.”

Manuel Reynaga, 32, of Sylmar, who sat upon his horse in full Mexican charro dress, said he wore it to represent his Mexican heritage, but he also held a McDonald’s cup.

“[The cup] is a sense of living here in the U.S. and [the outfit] still keeping traditions,” he said, laughing.

Festivities in honor of Cesar Chavez will continue with the third annual Cesar E. Chavez Walk Los Angeles on April 21 in East Los Angeles.

“I’m very proud, of course,” Paul Chavez said. He remembered how his father would wake early and go to sleep late, during his efforts to help the migrant workers, the disenfranchised.

“But it wouldn’t be honest if we didn’t say the holiday also represents the hundreds of thousands that stood by [my father].”