La Voz Nueva: Remembering Cesar’s fight

Richard Ray Perez a director/producer of documentaries in Los Angeles knew that people needed to be reminded of what Cesar Chavez accomplished for others. He went to the Chavez family and requested the rights to make a documentary about Chavez’ life, but was disappointed to learn the rights had already been given to someone else. Months later, that someone, Lorena Parlee, Chavez’s former press secretary, called up Perez asking for help making her documentary. Parlee had several hours of unseen footage of Chavez and had been working on her documentary for 10 years. The breast cancer patient was desperate to expose Chavez’ story even as she underwent continuous treatment. Perez agreed to help after his six-month project was done, yet never heard from Parlee again until her stepfather called, announcing Parlee’s death and her wish that Perez would finish her film.

Perez was only in preschool when he saw another child picking out the grapes from his cafeteria fruit cocktail. When Perez questioned the boycott, the youngster told him the people who pick those grapes aren’t treated fairly. That is all Perez needed to know before he picked out his grapes, too. Soon the entire gaggle of pre-schoolers shunned the grapes in their fruit cocktail, understanding the meaning of injustice at such young ages. Being the son of a farm worker who suffered harsh conditions for 22 years, Perez found himself walking the picket lines with the United Farm Workers of America at age 4.

“I had no idea how this (documentary) would eventually evolve. It is the most important project that I have taken on to date.” The co-producer of the film, Molly O’Brien, said Perez was ‘destined to make this film.’ Perez is beginning to think so, too.

The documentary “Cesar’s Last Fast” focuses on the 36-day fast that Chavez endured in 1988. The fast was specifically in response to pesticides that were used to treat fields that were not safe for the individuals who worked them. It was speculated the pesticides caused cancers and birth defects. In the film, one will see footage of Chavez in the hospital, the emotional breaking of the fast, and the 50,000 people who attended his funeral five years later in 1993.

Faces you will see in the film include Chavez’ son, Paul, his brother, Richard, activist and actor Martin Sheen and partner in the movement, Dolores Huerta. Perez takes the interviewees back more than 20 years showing them footage that brings back tears for all who see it.

The film has been in progress for four years with initial funding provided by the Lear Family Foundation, The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and many others. The past four years have been filled with fundraising from community members, which in turn built a movement around the film. “People are hungry for this,” Perez added. In the final days of the Kickstarter “crowdfunding” campaign, (a new way to fundraise online for creative projects) the director hopes for a miracle. In order to complete the film, approximately $6,000 needs to be raised by Thursday, Nov. 24.

“Ultimately, this is not just a film. It has taken on a lifetime of its own. It’s a tool to introduce the new generation of farm workers to Cesar’s story.” A second goal is to urge consumers to think about where their food comes from and to encourage buying food that is humanely harvested.

“This film is important because we are seeing a reemergence of a social consciousness in the Occupy America movement. This film could really demonstrate in a concrete way that things can change, the message is timelier than ever. We have more power to change the world than we realize,” Perez said.