Cesar Chavez honored in Coachella

Clementina Olloque remembers working and marching with late civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, fighting for labor rights for Coachella Valley farm workers.

“He was the one that we looked for hope,” Olloque said. “He was the one that opened the doors for the needy. The farm workers. The ones that no one cared.”

Olloque and others gathered Saturday at Veterans Park in Coachella to pay tribute to Chavez, celebrating what would be his 91st birthday.

“Cesar worked directly here,” Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez said. “In fact, he organized at Veterans Park. His office was actually across the street at the Casa de Trabajador. He got his first labor contracts here within the City of Coachella. So, the City of Coachella has a lot of history affiliated with Cesar Chavez.”

People also took part in raising awareness other issues, including gun violence and the Salton Sea.

“We know that we can draw from his work,” Hernandez said. “We can draw from his values to address some of the issues that are current today.”

There was also an announcement that a part of Harrison Street in Coachella would be renamed in Chavez’s honor.

“The people have to be motivated to pick up the pieces of his legacy and keep going,” Olloque said. “Cesar followed the legacy of Martin Luther King. Non-violence. That’s the way that we’re going to fight.”

Hernandez said he expects the name change on Harrison Street to be complete within the next few months.