Chants of ¡Sí, Se Puede! rang across California State University, Stanislaus Thursday evening, as students and community members joined together to celebrate the memory of César E. Chávez.
The 15th annual César E. Chávez Memorial Celebration featured a mock farm worker protest for children, led by Teatro Los Hijos del Campo, ethnic dancers, and a performance from Mariachi Rayos del Sol, of Stockton’s César Chávez High School. Attendees ate chips and salsa, drank horchata and tamarindo, and even had pastel — cake — for Chávez’s birthday.
The event was keynoted by a speech from Esteban Villa, a renowned Sacramento-based artist who worked with Chávez. Villa drew parallels between Chávez and Chief Estanislao, both noted rebels, and pointed out the need for rebellions to enact change today.
Villa also helped to award the winners of a county-wide poster and essay contest.
Chávez led a farm worker strike and boycott in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in unionization of farms and the groundbreaking 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act. He died in 1993 while continuing to fight against the use of pesticides.
The 15th annual César E. Chávez Memorial Celebration featured a mock farm worker protest for children, led by Teatro Los Hijos del Campo, ethnic dancers, and a performance from Mariachi Rayos del Sol, of Stockton’s César Chávez High School. Attendees ate chips and salsa, drank horchata and tamarindo, and even had pastel — cake — for Chávez’s birthday.
The event was keynoted by a speech from Esteban Villa, a renowned Sacramento-based artist who worked with Chávez. Villa drew parallels between Chávez and Chief Estanislao, both noted rebels, and pointed out the need for rebellions to enact change today.
Villa also helped to award the winners of a county-wide poster and essay contest.
Chávez led a farm worker strike and boycott in the 1960s and 1970s, resulting in unionization of farms and the groundbreaking 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act. He died in 1993 while continuing to fight against the use of pesticides.
