| Hundreds of People are Expected for Cesar Chavez March Sunday |  |
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| Written by Diana Martinez, Editor | |
 On Sunday March 29 hundreds of people are expected to gather at Brand Park and march down Laurel Canyon Blvd for the Cesar Chavez Pilgrimage and March for Justice. "Commemorative Banners with images taken fromthe San Fernando Cesar Chavez memorial will hang from 51 lamposts along the march route on Laurel Canyon Blvd," said organizer Alex Reza. The march will end at Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima where a health fair, celebration and rally is planned. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to speak after 1 p.m. In preparation for the march, the commemorative committee held a essay and art contest and Cesar Chavez youth conference for high school students. At least 250 students from local high schools attended the educational conference held Friday in the multi purpose room at San Fernando Recreational Park. Many of the students said it was the first time they had heard details about the work of the late labor leader. Christina Gutierrez was one of the students from Sylmar High School that participated who said she heard information she had never heard before. "It was a great experience. I’ve attended leadership conferences before but it was the first time I had learned about my heritage," she said. " I didn’t know about his walk to Sacramento and all the things he did. I learned that Filipinos [farmworkers] teamed up with them and joined the strike. " Gutierrez said she found that "there is more to learn," and although her mother and grandparents were "field workers," they never told her much about that experience. "After the conference I went home and asked my mom about it and it started a little conversation." Gutierrez also approached her AP history teacher and asked why he wasn’t teaching about Cesar Chavez. "He kind of made a joke about it and said that there was no time, but that there were some posters somewhere in the back of the room [about the upcoming march]. I learned at the conference that it’s supposed to be part of the standards to teach about Cesar Chavez for a week [in March]." She said she wanted her teacher to take her seriously and didn’t appreciate the reaction she received from her teacher to brush her question off. Gutierrez has recently joined the Young Senators organization and hopes to attend Northwestern University to study journalism. |