By Ana Gutiérrez, Intern
“You are either a follower, a leader, or a pioneer. César Chávez was all three,” said Fr. Tomás Fraile of Saint Cajetan’s Catholic Church. During a mass in honor of the late humanitarian, César Chávez, held during last Saturday at the Eighth Annual César Chávez Celabration, inspirational words were spoken by Fr. Fraile: “César Chávez was a man who brought unity, a man who brought justice… we need to build a whole world of unity.”
To create awareness on the plight of immigrants, a poem was shared at the mass, entitled When an Immigrant Dies, explaining that society does not seem to care the horrors of immigrant death, and how society allows immigrants to become just mere statistics and forget that they are people.
Denver’s District 3 Councilman Paul López also delivered words of inspiration and explained that the Denver holiday should be more than just a César Chávez Day celebration to honor and live by the late leaders philosophies. He stated that it should be a “Cesar Chávez decade -- a César Chávez century. César Chávez day is 365 days a year.”
As the mass ended, Fr. Fraile added , “We have a lot of work to do, because it is not a clean world – it’s really messy -- pero si se puede.”
The mass was a prelude to an amazing march that both honored Mr. Chávez and pushed for immigration reform. Colorado’s beloved danzantes of Grupo Tlaloc led the march followed by hundreds advocating for immigration reform. Students from Denver’s La Raza Youth Leadership Program verbally supported the need to pass Senate Bill 170 (a bill that would allow undocumented students to attend college for in-state tuition). Organizations such as Colorado Immigration Reform Coalition (CIRC) protested the raids and deportation. Supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act asked for all marchers to sign a petition to improve workers’ rights.
The traditional march trailed through the streets of west Denver to Sam Sandos Hall in Westwood on south Lowell Blvd., with participants holding placards high for all to see with various statements -- No somos criminales. Somos trajabadores internacionales, ¡Viva César Chávez! and the famous farmworker movement slogan ¡Si Se Puede!.
The 2009 César Chávez Peace and Justice award winners included longtime humanitarian Pauline López and Denver’s nationally acclaimed musical group, the Flobots, marched alongside everyone
...
|
rss
