March Celebrates Chavez's Memory

San Antonio, Tex.

Members of San Antonio Local 780 and Dallas Local 1023 joined the 20,000 people honoring the legacy of labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez and demanding that a holiday and street be named in his memory.

"Chavez inspired an entire generation of Latinos, and his cause continues to be a rallying cry today," said Local 780 President Roland Castro. "His was a message of justice."

Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers of America, died in 1993 at the age of 66.

California celebrates his March 31 birthday with a legal holiday, and marches such as the one in San Antonio and elsewhere call on Congress to declare a national holiday. The San Antonio marchers also demanded that the city rename a major thoroughfare, Commerce Street, in Chavez's honor.

"Chavez fought for all workers," said Local 1023 President Alejo Garcia. "When he said 'Si se puede' or 'Yes we can' he wasn't just talking about what farm workers in the fields could do but about how we all can protect our rights through solidarity."