Dana Meachen Rau - Who Was Cesar Chavez?

Cesario Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927. His family lived outside the town of Yuma in the Arizona desert. Mama Tella and Papa Chayo, Cesars grandparents, had come to the United States from Mexico. They had settled near Yuma in the late eighteen hundreds, bought land, and started a ranch. Papa Chayo died before Cesar was born, but his grandmother still lived in the main adobe house. Cesar, his parents, Librado and Juana, and his brothers and sisters, lived on the ranch, too.

Cesar was the second of six childrenolder sister, Rita, and younger siblings Richard, Helena, Vicky, and Lenny. Sadly, Helena died when she was just a baby. At first, the family lived in a room off the main house. They owned only a few pieces of furniture. They had no electricity or running water. When their roof started leaking, the family moved into a cottage on the large ranch.

Cesar and his brother Richard spent their time exploring, hiking, and playing outdoors together. They swam in the canal that brought water to the alfalfa, watermelon, grass, and cotton crops that grew in the fields. They liked to ride horses and climb trees. The family gathered for barbecues on summer nights with Cesars aunts, uncles, and many cousins who lived nearby.

But the boys had work to do, too. Cesars father taught them how to chop wood, work with the horses, weed the crops, and know when the watermelons were ripe. Librado was strict, but patient, as he shared important farming skills with his sons.

Cesars mother, Juana, wanted her children to grow up to be good people. She taught them to share with others without expecting anything in return. And, even though many Mexican boys were raised to be tough, she did not believe in fighting or violence. Cesar remembered one of her sayings throughout his life: It takes two to fight, and one cant do it alone. In other words, even if someone wants to fight you, you have the choice to walk away.

The Chavez family was Catholic, but there wasnt a church close by. So Juana and Mama Tella taught the children their religion at home. They gathered around their grandmothers bed at night to hear stories of the saints. The stories of these holy people who had lived very good lives made an impression on young Cesar.

Beginning in 1929, many American banks and businesses went out of business. Millions of people lost their jobs and lived in poverty. This was known as the Great Depression. During the Depression, it was very difficult to find work. The Chavez family didnt suffer as much as many others, however. Their hard work on the ranch provided them with foodfruit and vegetable crops, fish from the canal, eggs and meat from the chickens, and milk and cheese from the cows. Juana, with her generous heart, even invited less fortunate people over for meals.