Hardships strengthen Chavez speaker

By Craig Gustafson, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Originally published March 29, 2010 at 12:46 p.m., updated March 29, 2010 at 9:03 p.m.

John Gibbins / Union-Tribune
Tenor Joseph Molina and the Southwestern College Choir performed the Misa Azteca Monday, March 29, 2010 at the beginning of the 12th annual Cesar E. Chavez memorial breakfast at the Convention Center.

Keynote speaker Alex Montoya has written a book about overcoming his physical challenges and fulfilling his dream of working for the San Diego Padres, for whom he is the manager of Latino relations.

PROFILE

Alex Montoya
Age: 35
Family: Single
Neighborhood: Paradise Hills
Job: Latino relations manager for the San Diego Padres
Education:San Diego High, 1992; bachelor’s degree in communications, University of Notre Dame, 1996; master’s degree in sport management, University of San Francisco, 2008
Born without three limbs in Colombia, Alex Montoya can identify with the hardships that the late farm labor leader Cesar Chavez spent his life trying to eliminate.
Montoya carried the spirit of Chavez with him when he organized disabled students to persuade school administrators to let them take the same classes as other children. Three decades later, he continues to inspire with a book about overcoming his physical challenges and fulfilling his dream of working for the San Diego Padres.
“My parents taught me from an early age that I may be missing some things physically, but I had a lot more to offer,” Montoya said. “I had all these traits which mattered more than the limbs I was missing.”
Montoya, 35, manager of Latino relations for the Padres, gave the keynote address yesterday at the 12th annual Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Breakfast at the San Diego Convention Center. He explained how his prosthetic arms worked as an example of how Chavez viewed life.
“Staying connected is what keeps my arms moving and operating, and it’s the same way with us,” he said. “Cesar would urge you to stay connected to your morals, to your beliefs, to your family, to your ancestors.”
In 1980, as a 6-year-old student at Schweitzer Elementary School, Montoya would gaze through a fence as able-bodied students played during recess at nearby Lindbergh Elementary School. One simple question — why can’t we play together? — rang through his head. They soon did after Montoya and his fellow students pushed for change. Now the school in Clairemont is called Lindbergh Schweitzer.
That story and many others are included in Montoya’s 2008 book “Swinging for the Fences” — a metaphor for his life, but also a nod to the fence he helped remove and his current job in baseball.
The memorial breakfast has grown since its debut drew about 300 people to honor Chavez and a push began to establish a state holiday for him. About 1,200 attended yesterday’s event ahead of tomorrow’s holiday. Chavez, who died in 1993, spent more than 30 years as a farm labor leader and successfully pushed for better wages, health care, pensions and humane living conditions.
Each year the committee that organizes the breakfast tries to find a speaker who best identifies Chavez’s spirit.
Committee Chairwoman Venus Molina said Montoya was the obvious choice this year.
“He’s had some difficulties in his life and he has come to be one of the most successful folks that we have, not just in our community but in all of San Diego,” she said. “He’s definitely inspiring.”
Cynthia Chavez-Ybarra, granddaughter of the labor leader, said Montoya’s perseverance is enough to spur anybody to action.
“His ability to keep a positive attitude no matter what life throws at him would inspire even my grandfather,” she said.
Montoya said he also tries to not take himself too seriously, just like Chavez, who was well-known for his sense of humor.
“People ask me how much it cost to go to Notre Dame,” said Montoya, who received a communications degree from the university. “I tell them it cost me an arm and a leg.”
Montoya continues to set goals. Next up: He and three co-workers will each participate in a portion of San Diego’s Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon in June. He plans on walking his 6.5-mile stretch.
Craig Gustafson: (619) 293-1399; craig.gustafson@uniontrib.com
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