DENVER, Colo.
‘PRACTICING NONVIOLENCE IN A VIOLENT WORLD’
A painting of Cesar Chavez, beloved Chicano activist and labor union leader, sets behind the altar of St. John Francis Regis Chapel, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Chicano activists lead peaceful march to continue Cesar Chavez’s legacy
April 2, 2022
Photo essay by Anthony Albidrez
On an early Saturday, the spring sunshine spilled into the St. John Francis Regis Chapel in Denver. A much-loved community congregation was in the works.
As people began to fill the seats of the sunlit chapel for an honorary Catholic mass, lifelong Chicano activists Ramon Del Castillo and Ricardo LaFore welcomed community members.
For the past two decades, the Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver, led by Colorado Chicano activists, has organized a day of celebration and action to honor and continue the legacy of the late, great Cesar Chavez. The committee dedicated the day of honor and action to community resiliency as an essential pathway to justice.
"It is so appropriate because we, as Chicanos, have been among the most resilient people in the world," said LaFore.
LaFore is a member of the community advisory committee for the El Movimiento exhibit at History Colorado. El Movimiento fought and advocated for Chicano civil rights and had a significant presence in Colorado. Cesar Chavez had significant influence on LaFore and his activism, as well as for other Chicanos living in Colorado.
"Cesar Chavez was an icon, a giant a role model, this living symbol of the Chicano movement. He was our Gandhi. He was our Martin Luther King, and he was a Chicano," LaFore said. "As a Chicano, I can claim him as my own, but he was much more than that. He was a man for all seasons, a man of the world. Remember, farm workers come in all hues and colors. So, he fought for the rights of poor people, working people, which include people of every race, creed, and color."
Chavez is a prolific Chicano civil rights leader and activist, who, along with Dolores Huerta, who is also a key figure in social justice, co-founded the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), the nation’s first enduring and largest farm workers’ union, in the 1960s.
Chavez was a practitioner of nonviolence, influenced by the teachings and writings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., both were lifelong practitioners of nonviolence.
Practicing nonviolence is both a philosophy and strategy for social and political change. Practitioners of nonviolence reject the use of violence as a solution to sparking social change and challenging injustices.
Instead, practitioners of nonviolence respond with nonviolent direct action, such as marches, boycotts sit-ins, and strikes. Chavez is known to have fasted many times as an activist, which is a form of nonviolent protest.
The Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver incorporates nonviolence into their annual celebration in the form of a community prayer at Regis Chapel and a peaceful two-mile march from Regis University to Cesar Chavez Park in Denver. The event corresponds with Chavez’s birthday on March 31.
For the past two years, the committee cancelled the Cesar Chavez community celebration due to the public health emergency caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Finally, on April 2, friends, family and neighbors once again congregated at Regis Chapel for a special Saturday mass.
The tight-knit community rejoiced in hugs, smiles, laughs and tears.
Ramon Del Castillo spoke to the gathering before the mass began, reflecting on the current war in Ukraine.
“Cesar Chavez calls on all of us to continue the work of nonviolence,” he said. “Preservation of human life must be the common goal.”
Del Castillo emphasized the need for people to challenge injustices within their own communities through nonviolence.
“Practicing nonviolence in a violent world is an awesome challenge,” he said. “Today we ask you to march with us to find peace.”
The coalition of Chicano activists, spiritual leaders, artists, writers, scholars, union organizers, politicians and community allies marched side-by-side through the streets of Denver toward Cesar Chavez Park.
“¡Si, Se Puede!” the marchers chanted. The unified volume of the timeless phrase echoed throughout the neighborhoods, of which became more and more visibly gentrified as the marchers made their way to Cesar Chavez Park.
La Misa
The Rev. Fernando Alvarez-Lara reads from the gospel during a Catholic mass in Denver on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Each year, the traditional Catholic mass precedes the Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice March. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
A congregation of community members attend a morning Catholic mass in Denver on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Ramon Del Castillo, co-founder of the Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Committee (CCPJC), speaks during mass about Cesar Chavez and the legacy he left for activist and allies to preserve and continue. "Cesar Chavez calls on all of us to continue the work of nonviolence," Del Castillo said. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Christina Sigala, Chicano/a studies affiliate professor at MSU Denver, rejoices with a friend during the mass. Sigala is a 2022 Leadership Awardee presented by the CCPJC for dedication to community empowerment and nonviolent struggle against injustice. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
A candle burns near the altar, while people talk with one another after mass in Denver, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
La Marcha
Marina Duran-Vega marches at the front of the peaceful demonstration as the group travelled along Tennyson Street toward Cesar Chavez Park, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Ramon Del Castillo, a Chicano leader and activist, rallies marchers with chanting on Lowell Boulevard, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
A youth marcher holds a sign reading "HUELGA," Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. The word "huelga" translates to "strike" in English. The word is a significant slogan used by the farm worker's rights and labor movement, as well as Chicano activists. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Reyna Valdez raises up her fist as an act of solidarity, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
A youth marcher leads the start of the Cesar Chavez peace and justice march, holding a portrait of Cesar Chavez, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
La Danza
Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca, a traditional Mexica/Azteca group, also referred to as danzantes, greets the peace and justice marchers on the intersection of Lowell Boulevard and 46th Street in Denver, Saturday, April 2, 2022. The danzates preserve traditions and rituals of the pre-Hispanic culture with each performance. The ceremonial dance represents nature and the four elements among many traditional and spiritual aspects. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
The danzantes, also known in other regions as Concheros dancers, wear traditional regalia, which includes large ornate and colorful head dresses. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Smoke from burning ceremonial herbs and resins rises from the copalero and surrounds the huéhuetl, a traditional percussion instrument, cleansing and protecting the marchers. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
The ceremonial dancers wear beaded leggings, known as chachayotls. The rattling sounds from the chachayotls echoed throughout the neighborhood, during their ceremonial dance. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
As the conch shell trumpet floated into the air and the beats of the huéhuetl vibrated, ceremonial dancers kneel in each direction. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
As the peace and justice marchers arrived at Cesar Chavez Park, the danzantes perform another ceremonial dance and ritual to cleanse and protect the space, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Solidarity & Community
Denver friends, family, and neighbors participate with the danzantes as they perform the ceremonial dance and ritual, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Isidoro "Izzy" Jaramillo, member of the Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver, smiles as he speaks with community members during the awards ceremony that proceeded the march, Saturday, April 2, 2022, in Denver. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Colorado State Historian Nicki Gonzales sits during mass at St. John Francis Regis Chapel in Denver on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Gonzales is Colorado's first Latina state historian. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Ricardo LaFore, lifelong Chicano activist and Colorado scholar, smiles at the audience after speaking during the CCPJ award ceremony, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo by Anthony Albidrez
Friends, family, and neighbors march through Tennyson Street in Denver toward Cesar Chavez Park for community resilience as an essential pathway to justice both honoring and continuing Cesar Chavez's legacy of nonviolent action to enact social justice, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo by Anthony Albidrez