At Cesar Chavez Memorial Park in San Fernando, the vibrant large mural honoring the farmworker movement has become an open canvas to mar the image of the late labor leader.
What was once the pride of the city of San Fernando – the city that produced the first and largest memorial to the iconic labor leader after his passing in 1993 – has become a location of reckoning.
The memorial, which also included a bronze sculpture of Chavez, the mural of the farmworkers and a fountain, became problematic after it was reported in March that Chavez had sexually assaulted women and minors. Following those allegations, United Farm Workers (UFW) co-founder Dolores Huerta claimed he raped her and fathered two of her children.
While other communities without question or discussion immediately whitewashed numerous murals of Chavez, San Fernando’s mural has been put on pause.
The 100-foot-long mural with illustrations of Chavez, along with the symbols and history of the farmworker movement, now negatively depicts Chavez.
In one image of Chavez, his entire face has been painted over and in another image his eyes and mouth are spray-painted in bright blue paint.
San Fernando city officials ordered staff to take down the statue just two days after the allegations against Chavez surfaced. His image was literally lifted from its pedestal. The mural was covered up with a tarp and fenced off when the statue came down. Now, the tarp has come down, fully exposing the mural to public view.
The fencing is still up, although it is positioned inches from the mural’s surface, making it easy for passers-by to reach through the chain link fencing to touch or deface it.
Local activists have a long connection to the UFW and over the decades both Chavez and Huerta made frequent visits, had speaking engagements and organized support for the farmworker union in the valley.
Since the news first broke, additional information has surfaced that questions Huerta’s claims and motivations.
The memorial was a great accomplishment for noted artist Ignacio Gomez Jr., who painted the mural and designed the bronze statue of Chavez and the art sculpture of 10 farmworkers to pay tribute to Chavez’s legacy and the farmworker movement.
After completing the memorial in San Fernando, Gomez was commissioned for additional tributes in Riverside and was commissioned by the Chavez family to design and carve the official headstone for Cesar Chavez, located at the National Chavez Center in Keene, California.
During a special meeting in March to address the Chavez news and the future of the memorial park, which is located near the intersection of Wolfskill and Truman streets, San Fernando council members discussed contacting Gomez about possibly updating the mural, but no plan has been announced.
“I am aware that the city is already in talks with the artist, but I don’t have further information than that,” said new Councilmember Sean M. Rivas, who was sworn in at Monday’s council meeting. “I’m very much open to having a full community dialogue that will help with the healing process [and] to discuss what they would like to see [in that] space … and how we move forward.”
To prevent any further damage, Rivas thinks covering up the mural again “would be a good temporary solution,” but said he’s unaware of any plan to do so. While he said he understands the vandalism may be rooted in anger or frustration, he stressed that he hopes it won’t continue.
“My ask to the community is to allow the city to continue with their process” – especially as council membership is changing, he said – “and really talk to us about what their wants are.”