SAN ANTONIO — This year will mark the 28th anniversary of the César E. Chávez march here in San Antonio. The first march in 1997 saw about 100 attendees; last year it set a record with 30,000 people.
Organizers say Chávez was instrumental in advocating for the rights of farm workers and speaking out against the injustices inflicted upon them.
The march will begin at the corner of Guadalupe and South Brazos streets, near the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Organizers say the march is a reminder of the legacy Chávez left behind.
“When you think about farmworkers, they feed a nation," said Ernest Martinez, chairman of the César E. Chávez Legacy and Educational Foundation (CECLEF).
Martinez is the son of the late Jaime Martinez, who founded CECLEF. Martinez first introduced Chávez to the San Antonio community in 1979.
“He was introduced to the labor leaders, civic leaders and at the time, council, new council members, people coming together, the Catholic Church to hear a message from César Chávez,” said Martinez.
The message he delivered embraced the rights of farm workers and was coined "La Causa."
“The spirit of la causa, that movement was started to advocate for the injustices that were inflicted on farmworkers," Martinez said. "They're still challenged today.”
Some of the things Chávez advocated for included fairer wages and benefits for farmworkers, in addition to better working conditions so crops could be harvested in a healthier way.
“César Chávez lent his voice against those injustices," Martinez said.
Martinez says the first march held back in 1997 was met with resistance, and wasn't embraced by the city government.
“Our city government felt that, why us out here in San Antonio? He's a California person. (It) didn't matter where he's from. At the end of the day, he was advocating for farmworkers, and farmworkers are everywhere," Martinez added. "They feed our nation.”
The march will begin at 10 a.m. and travel from the intersection of Guadalupe and South Brazos to Civic Park. There will be a morning program beginning at 9 a.m. at the beginning of the march, and a program at the end of the march.
The theme of this year's walk: Let the spirit flourish and grow.
“That theme is inspired by a line taken out of the farmworker prayer that was written by César Chávez," Martinez said.
If you do attend the march, you're encouraged to bring canned goods which will benefit the San Antonio Food Bank. ou are also encouraged to use VIA's Park & Ride, which will offer free rides to the march and back to the Alamodome's B and C lots. The routes will run from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and return service will be offered after the march until 2:30 p.m.
For more information about Saturday's march you can click here. For more information about the César E. Chávez Legacy and Educational Foundation, click here.
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