Local hero of migrant families honored during Chavez march
Texas A&M University-Kingsville students and faculty and members of the Kingsville community participated in the sixth annual Cesar Chavez march to celebrate the birthday of the civil rights leader. (Photo by Erika Hernandez) Chants of “Si Se Puede” – yes we can – rang out Wednesday afternoon along University Boulevard at Texas A&M University- Kingsville for the sixth annual Cesar Chavez march, which also commemorated the late Marcos Benavides, a faculty member at TAMUK who impacted the daily lives of migrant students with the College Assistance Migrant Program.
Droves of TAMUK students and faculty, as well as members of the Kingsville community, took part in the march, which symbolized the struggle that Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers Association, faced when he and his followers protested the treatment and working conditions of migrant workers in the fields.
The TAMUK Pre-Law Society and Sigma Delta Pi hosted this year’s march, which also marked the 44th anniversary of Chavez’s historic 350-mile pilgrimage from Delano to Sacramento that drew national attention.
Community leader Faustino Erebia Jr., himself a former migrant worker, spoke at the event about the Chicano movement.
“I am so proud to see people here to honor Cesar Chavez and Marcos Benavides,” Erebia said.
“Chavez was not only a Chicano hero but an American hero.”
Erebia held up a flag used at the original march in 1966 that was passed along to him by Samuel Garcia, who marched alongside Chavez.
Erebia spoke of his experiences in the movement and told a history of the meaning of the name Chicano.
“I have been involved in the movement since I was 14-years-old where I was a part of the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and the Raza Unida,” Erebia said.
“We have struggled very hard and what I hope to get across to you today is a heightened awareness of what Chavez meant to America.”
Erebia said that he prefers the name “Chicano” because it is a word a group of people gave themselves, and it was not a label put on them by oppressors.
“Chicano is a people whose time had come and who wanted to shape their own destiny,” Erebia said. “We have been tear-gassed by henchmen because of our beliefs, and I still stand proud today and I hope to continue with the message that Chavez began.”
Mary Gonzalez, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, worked directly with Marcos Benavides, Assistant Director and CAMP Coordinator for TAMUK’s Special Programs, for over 10 years and spoke of how he worked tirelessly to help students in the program.
The CAMP program helps first year incoming freshman students from migrant and seasonal farm worker backgrounds succeed in college.
“Marcos helped over 500 students since 1999 achieve their goals and I want to challenge each and every one of you to be a proud leader and get your degree,” Gonzalez said. “That would be the greatest legacy to him.”
Terisa Remelius, Vice President for Student Affairs, also spoke of Benavides, who she had worked with for two and a half years.
“What he brought to our division was what he was able to do with one student at a time,” Remelius said.
She also announced that a $1,000 scholarship in Benavides’s name was being created and the first scholarship would be awarded this fall.
Former CAMP students Loida Gonzalez and Jessica Quintero, who are success stories from the program, also spoke about Benavides and what he meant to them.
The Benavides family, special guests at the ceremony, was awarded a plaque in honor of Benavides for his involvement within the migrant community.
To close the ceremony, members of Professor Marco Iniguez’s Spanish class from the Dept. of Language and Literature, preformed a mono-poem, in Spanish, dedicated to Cesar Chavez.
Benavides’s family thanked everyone in attendance for their speeches and kind words.
“He loved what he did,” Elizabeth Benavides, his daughter-in-law, said.
“In his office there is a collection of thank you notes on his desk and that is just a testament of how he helped people. We now thank you for this celebration in his honor.”