Opening Exhibition March 1st at Galeria 147, located at 147 E. Adams Street, downtown Phoenix
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| Diana Calderon, monoprint, 2013 |
Titled, Fast For Life, my piece is about Chavez’s faith; sacrifice,
fasting and prayer. “Cesar was willing to sacrifice his own life so that the
union would continue and that violence was not used. Cesar fasted many times.
In 1968 Cesar went on a water only, 25 day fast. He repeated the fast in 1972
for 24 days, and again in 1988, this time for 36 days. What motivated him to do
this? He said, Farm workers everywhere are angry and worried that we cannot win
without violence. We have proved it
before through persistence, hard work, faith and willingness to sacrifice. We
can win and keep our own self-respect and build a great union that will secure
the spirit of all people if we do it through a rededication and recommitment to
the struggle for justice through nonviolence.” “Cesar Chavez left our world
better than he found it, and his legacy inspires us still. He was for his own
people a Moses figure," the President declared. "The farm workers who
labored in the fields and yearned for respect and self-sufficiency pinned their
hopes on this remarkable man who, with faith and discipline, soft spoken
humility and amazing inner strength, led a very courageous life." UFW.org
