By Hilary Olivares

 

 

In honor of late labor leader, César E. Chávez, the César Chávez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver (CCPJC) celebrated the 23rd annual Marcha and community celebration on April 13.

 

The annual event began with a traditional mass at St. John Francis Regis Chapel at Regis University in northwest Denver, followed by a Marcha through the neighborhood to César E. Chávez Park, along with a program acknowledging the impact of Chávez and his legacy of the Chicano Movement.

 

 

The event presents awards to community members and organizations who embody the ideals of Chávez and the United Farm Workers. This year Carlota EspinoZa, noted artist and muralist, was honored with the Anciana Leadership Award; Dr. Nicki Gonzales, professor of History and Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion at Regis University, was presented with the Adult Female Leadership Award; Milo Marquez, Director of Community Engagement at the Latino Research & Policy Center at CU Denver, received the Adult Male Leadership Award; Allessandra Chavira, Program Assistant with Project Voyce, received the Youth Female Leadership Award; and the Community Organization Award was presented to Homies Unidos Denver.

 

The event was live streamed by The Weekly Issue/El Semanario, watch the video here.

 

Ramón Del Castillo, PhD, one of the co-founders of CCPJC of Denver has given some insight on why this event is so important, and how it came to be. “We’ve got a template that we follow and we’re getting more and more support, and more and more kinds of resources that we’re able to do different things like the podcast with El Semanario and having newspapers call us and having a partnership with Regis University. All these are things that add value to what it is that we’re trying to do together,” said Del Castillo. He explained his life-long interest in the union (UFW) and found his passion. “In 1972, I was going to the University of Northern Colorado and it was at that time that I was introduced to the lettuce boycott that César Chávez had called…he had called the consumers to boycott head lettuce. I had already been in school, then I got drafted and then when I came back, I moved from Wichita, Kansas to Colorado and got involved with that. So, I was one of the chairs in the lettuce boycott, and that sparked my interest. Realizing the importance of it and what it meant watching my mother be a union worker in a packing house, and the many struggles she had and that kind of stuck. So, I kept that conscious, I built a consciousness and kept that.”

 

 

In honor of César Chávez and his commitment to community and those who support the structure of non-violence and healing, Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca, a Mexica/Azteca cultural icon group in the city of Denver for 35 years, offers blessings and performs annually at the Denver celebration.

 

Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca, a Mexica/Azteca cultural icon group in the city of Denver for 35 years, which has allowed for families and students of Chicano/Mexicano descent to participate. The danzantes marched alongside others before including a blessing and performing La Danza (the dance). This group is one of the oldest groups of its kind in Denver to thrive and spread knowledge of their ancestors through dance and ceremony.

 

Many attendees reflected on their participation in the annual celebration.

 

“My overall perspective was very inspirational,” said Danny Stange, community activist and danzante. “We had some great speakers and as usual the people marching were representatives of labor unions and social justice movements. The women involved were always outnumbering the men as it always was. Dolores Huerta is still very iconic and her spirit of grace and administration were evident in the planning and preparation.

 

“I was exceptionally proud to see members of SPMDTU [Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos] there and I finally got my membership with them. They are the oldest Hispanic advocacy organization. I especially feel inspired to attend this annual event because of César’s commitment to service learning and nonviolence. I believe the world is in too much turmoil and we need more focus on the type of movement that César Chávez represents.”

 

Nicki Gonzales and Adriana Espinoza, faculty members of Regis University also participated in the event. “I think the March was very powerful because we are still kind of following the footsteps of the legacy that César Chávez fought for but in a new context, and there’s something really powerful about a group of mainly people of color, marching through the gentrified streets of the Tennyson area and how we were just chanting,” explained Espinosa. “Again, like really living the legacy of what César Chávez and Dolores Huerta went through and also accomplished. So, I think looking at it through its new context of today was really powerful, but also just the paradox of us marching through a very newly highly developed area was really cool.”

Gonzales expressed her content and pride regarding the celebration. “Overall, I really appreciated the event as both recognizing the work that is being done in our community as well as building community around telling our stories. I thought the keynote speaker Dr. Falcón told us a really important Colorado Chicano movement story that has not been told enough and that is the story of Lupe Briseño. I was telling my own kids that events like that are so important because they do allow us the space to tell stories and pass them down to younger generations,” explained Gonzales. “It was also a good opportunity to see people in the community that I hadn’t seen in a long time, very grateful to the committee who did so much organizing and treated everybody so wonderfully. It really was a wonderful day.”

 

Del Castillo shared the challenges and achievements of the CCPJC of Denver over the past two decades. “One of the things we did was to get the name of the park changed [César Chávez Park]. So, I went to the city government, and I looked up all the rules. We sat down and we developed a plan and then we did all the work to get the name of the park changed. The point I’m making is that, at any given time, that community has been gentrified. But when we were there in 2002, that community was nothing like it is now. At any given time, that community, if they chose to, could get another petition, follow all the rules that we followed, and take it to parks and rec that they want the name changed again and therefore we lose our legacy, our identity and our struggle.”

Del Castillo’s hope is to carry on the responsibility and legacy to liberate the oppressed and take action on what the community can do better to sustain this event and keep César E. Chávez Park alive for years to come. This event generally takes place on or the week of Chavez’s birthday, March 31. To keep up and learn more about this event in the future, you can learn more at César Chávez Peace and Justice Committee Of Denver on Facebook.

 

 

Who is going to take care of the children?

Dr. Ramón Del Castillo

 

Editor’s Note: Dr. Ramón Del Castillo read the following poem during at the César Chávez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver’s Mass at St. John Francis Regis Chapel, Regis University on April 13, 2024.

 

 

Who is going to shovel

ashes of Ukrainian children

bodies burnt to a crisp

from the sweltering chemicals

invading their bodies,

and place them

into body bags,

ready to

mix them

with an ideological mortar

called human genocide.

Will vestiges

of human flesh

be spread

like mantequilla

across urban streets

of nations in turmoil,

casualties of death

caused by the elites

fatalities of technological warfare

of ruthless nations

hiding behind

modern day weaponry

fascists unable to discern

right from wrong

planning for the next attack?

 

Who is going to

pick up the ashes

of Palestinian and Israeli children

victims of religious zeal

armed and ready to kill.

Who is going to summon

withered spirits

roaming in country sides

floating in an abyss

of loneliness

as lifeless bodies

lie on cement streets

victims of a war torn nation

without an explanation

except to rationalize extermination

as unintended consequences

the price of war

leaving another a big scar?

 

Who is going to feed

farmworker children

their next meal

as they pick vegetables and fruit

from trees of survival

for wealthy American’s children

and their clandestine revival?

Who is going to wipe off

chemicals off a child’s face

as she becomes

an extinct race?

 

Who is going to

cuddle the quetzales

and los pericos,

whose destinies

of becoming bilingual pajaritos

to salvage the next generation

of raza suffering

from cultural extinction

now locked in cages

ripped apart from families

on both sides

of a fictitious border

covered with american drapes

so they won’t escape

while politicians

flicker a smile

as the border wall

stretches another mile.

 

Who is going to

salvage the broken hearts

of broken families

whose absconded children

perished in U-Haul trucks

skin melted

then pelted

by the sun’s rays,

children without names

sin sobrenombres

unfit to be sold

as modern day slaves?

 

Who is supposed to protect

third graders

innocent children

trembling under desks

in a classroom

while a half crazed

mental patient

suffers

from alienation

carrying assault weapons

during a crazy episodic event,

children whose caretakers

couldn’t muster up

enough courage

to save innocent lives

now etched in

a barrio’s memory

insanity at its best!

Who is going to

create termination rituals

for those young souls

who departed prematurely?

 

Who will do

una limpia

create harmony

restore balance

as spirits

march solemnly

into the 5^th world

el Quinto sol

where wise healers

curanderas

shamanes

voodoo priests

spiritual leaders

have gathered

for a despedida,

a ceremony

to honor the dead?

Whose going

to tell them

a bedtime story

in their language

about a nation

losing its glory

as the power structure

takes advantage

watching spirits vanish?

 

What do we do

with the emaciated bodies

of Native Americans

uncovered beneath mother earth

dying in Native American prisons

euphemistically called

American Indian Boarding Schools,

children whose braids

were chopped off

names changed,

identities stolen,

culturally raped?

What words of wisdom

will Grandfather Creator

include in his sermon

during a spiritual reincarnation?

Will he summon

ancient flute players

invite the rhythms of drums

to play soft music

during their departure?

When will

he smoke

from the sacred pipe

full of peyote and sage

so we can heal from the rage?

 

When will the ghost dancer

Appear during a silent night

pray for healing

and take spirits

to nepantla

a sacred space

in between

two worlds

encircled with the sweet smell

of sacrosanct medicine

now left with

only a dark cloud

of sacred smoke

smoldering from

a revered pipe

a Medicine Man

praying for

a safe sojourn

during a second

trail of tears,

as human droplets

of memories

are sprinkled

onto la tierra sagrada.

 

La Curandera

under the light

of the moon

will perform

holy rites and rituals

blessing young lost souls

wading in

las lagrimas

de la gente.

 

Who is going to write

an epitaph

in the next history book?

To remind us

of a broken social contract

torn in half

by bewildered youth

Will it be you?

 

Dr. Ramón Del Castillo © April 12, 2024