• Interviews

• All
• Music
• Cinema
• TV
• Comic Books

Mar 28, 2014 Web Exclusive By Shawn Hazelett

It’s a wonder how a man who was so accomplished could still be so unknown. How is it that Cesar Chavez—a man who helmed a labor rights movement that began in California and extended to Europe, who was praised by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, whose slogan “Si, ne puede” was adopted by Barack Obama in 2008—is barely more than a footnote in the pages of American history? Diego Luna—director of Cesar Chavez—believes the lack of recognition is owed partially Chavez lacking the qualities of a typical leader.

“He wasn’t a great speaker, a guy that liked to be in the spotlight or grab the microphone—he’s not a Martin Luther King in that way,” Luna says. Neither Luna nor star Rosario Dawson knew much of Chavez growing up, though Luna remembers being struck by Chavez’s funeral as a teenager. “I remember the image of thousands of farmworkers walking with the wooden box that he asked his brother to build for him. It wasn’t even painted. It was very simple, sending a message of equality.”

After starring in the hit Y Tu Mama Tambien, Luna rode the film’s success to California where he noticed an inordinate number of street signs, parks, and murals with the name “Chavez.” He was thus inspired to research and tell Chavez’s untold story. As such, the filmmaker can be forgiven for indulgences that include a draft of a screenplay that spanned all 66 years of Chavez’s life and a cut of the film that ran nearly four hours. The final product feels significantly narrowed, structured around Chavez organizing a group of mistreated field workers in California’s vineyards into the United Farm Workers and leading the subsequent Delano grape strike. Following Ghandi’s example of aggressive but nonviolent protests, the five-year movement included a march from Delano to Sacramento and Chavez undertaking 25-day fast. His grassroots tactics gain an impressive amount of traction, transcending racial barriers within the working community and progressing into Europe before they are eventually granted collective bargaining rights.

“He went viral before that was even a word,” says Dawson.

While Luna feels the boycott storyline makes the film universal, his fascination lies within the gaps between the newsworthy events.

“To me, this was always the story of a father and a son,” Luna says. In the film, Chavez’s eldest son is shown repeatedly victimized by bullying due in part to his father’s demonstrations, and the United Farm Workers’ growing influence prohibits Chavez from being a fully attentive father. The film presents an interesting paradox: in fighting to ensure a better future for his son, Chavez is robbed of fathering him through his most formative years. Luna believes sacrifice makes this character heroic, admitting, “I don’t know if I would be willing to sacrifice that as he did.”

Still, not all who are willing to sacrifice are equipped to lead, and a poor, plainly dressed man with no formal education hardly seems like an ideal candidate to head such an undertaking. Yet Luna believes the Everyman qualities that keep Chavez out of the history books were paramount to his ability to organize and inspire.

“He gave confidence to these people because he had the time to listen to their stories,” Luna says. “This is a completely ignored community. Suddenly, someone came from the city and took the time to say, ‘No, your story matters. I have time. Tell me, and I’ll tell you why you organize with us.’”

Dawson offers nothing but praise for Chavez and her real-life character Delores Heurta, cofounder of United Farm Workers.

“Because of them we have in our daily vernacular fair trade, fair wages, food justice,” she says, stressing that the fight is far from over and hoping that the film serves to both honor Chavez and Heurta and continue their lifelong goals of raising awareness. “This touches all of our lives. The next meal I sit down at, I’m going to think about where it came from. Who touched this food before it came to me?”

Cesar Chavez opens in theaters today, March 28th. Find out more about the film at cesarchavezmovie.com.