Citizen Staff Writer
MARY BUSTAMANTE
mbustamante@tucsoncitizen.com
This week’s ninth annual Cesar Chavez Week in Tucson will cover the city in activities honoring the late human rights leader.
It culminates in a march Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at Pueblo Magnet High School, 3500 S. 12th Ave.
The march continues to Rudy Garcia Park, at the southeast corner of East Irvington Road and South Sixth Ave., where at noon there will be music, food and a speech by Chavez’s brother Richard Chavez.
But before that, community leaders will visit local schools as part of a youth conference Tuesday through Friday aimed at educating student about the life, history and philosophy of Cesar Chavez.
“Students will be exposed to a message of nonviolence, self-determination and social activism,” according to a news release from Aggie Romero from the Arizona Cesar Chavez Holiday Coalition.
On Thursday, Richard Chavez will speak at 6 p.m. at the Pima Community College Desert Vista Campus, 5901 S. Calle Santa Cruz.
On the same day and time, Elizabeth “Betita” MartÃnez, a Chicana feminist and longtime community organizer, activist, author and educator, will speak at the PCC Downtown Campus, 1255 N. Stone Ave.
On Friday, there will be a tribute to Consuelo Aguilar, a 26-year-old community activist who worked in the Raza studies department of the Tucson Unified School District. She died Feb. 17 of cancer. That event, at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., begins at 7 p.m. and includes a film, dance and live performances.
The annual reception for Chavez, who was born March 31, 1927, will be at 10 p.m. at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop, 218 E. Sixth St.
From Tuesday to Friday, community leaders will visit area schools.
For more information, call Romero at 282-0256.
Ninth annual Cesar Chavez Week events slated