Overview

The heroic life of labor and civil rights activist César Chavéz greatly influenced the political and creative thinking of famed Chicano novelist Rudolfo Anaya. After Chavéz’ death in 1992, Anaya wrote this poem eulogizing the man and his life’s work. Echoing Shelley’s elegy on the death of John Keats, the poem expresses the grief of la gente, but closes by calling all peoples together to continue the non-violent struggle for freedom and justice. The book—endorsed by the César Chavéz Foundation—includes an essay by Anaya detailing the effect that Chavéz had on his own vision and a chronology of Chavéz’ life. Powerful super realistic illustrations by Gaspar Enriquez bring home the significance of César Chavéz to the American cultural landscape. ""This elegy captures the love of farm workers and the Latino community, all who yearn for justice, for this irreplaceable hero. César's life is the lucero, the light that provides vision to the path, with the glow of energy generated by the struggle. This elegy invites all to march in César's path, to attain the hope and promise of his legacy—a legacy made simple by César so everyone can participate in the quest for justice. César's lucero spotlighted the attainable victory, the solution to end the suffering of farm workers, a union, ""the farm workers' house of justice"" where those that feed the world can end their suffering and have a final voice over their lives and destinies."" —Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Rudolfo Anaya (his classic novel Bless Me, Ultima has 1,000,000-plus in print) has earned international acclaim for his skillful mingling of realism, fantasy and myth while exploring the experiences of Hispanics in the American Southwest. Besides being the author of numerous novels and children’s books, Mr. Anaya has been called ""the godfather of Chicano literature"" and ""un hijo del pueblo"" for his work as an activist for the literature of his people and his region. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Artist Gaspar Enriquez is nationally known for his super-realistic, airbrush paintings of young men and women from the barrios of his hometown El Paso. Using the same technique, he collaged images of César Chavéz, farm workers, police, newspaper article, fields of grapes and icons of La Raza and Aztlán to create the ambiance of the life and times of this hero.

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9780938317807

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Reviews

This elegy captures the love of farm workers and the Latino community, all who yearn for justice, for this irreplaceable hero. C�sar's life is the lucero, the light that provides vision to the path, with the glow of energy generated by the struggle. This elegy invites all to march in C�sar's path, to attain the hope and promise of his legacy--a legacy made simple by C�sar so everyone can participate in the quest for justice. C�sar's lucero spotlighted the attainable victory, the solution to end the suffering of farm workers, a union, the farm workers' house of justice where those that feed the world can end their suffering and have a final voice over their lives and destinies. -- Dolores Huerta, co-founder of United Farm Workers This poetic expression of mourning and hope is a heartfelt commentary on history and greatness. Anaya tells about the life of this crusader for justice and how his ideals shaped his life's work. Ch�vez's impact on both the Hispanic community and American society is made manifest by repeated expression of grief and loss, and by the final conclusion that, despite his death, his work goes on. Skillful use of meter and repetition give the text a mesmerizing formality that imparts the gravity of Ch�vez's labor and magnitude of his loss. It is perfectly matched by Enriquez's accomplished mixed-media collages. Photographs and watercolor paintings are skillfully combined with handmade-paper backgrounds to produce arresting images. A page of text faces each illustration; each of these pages is ornamented with a small insert from the facing collage along with one line of the text in enlarged typeface, creating a poem within a poem. Comparable to Alma Flor Ada's Gathering the Sun (Lothrop, 1997) in poetic and artistic power, this fine example of elegiac verse serves both poetry and biography well, while elucidating the struggles of migrant workers in this country. -- School Library Journal I am a sixth-grader at DePortola Middle School. I had to write a biographical report on Cesar Chavez. I read books on him, but those books were only about facts and chronologies. My history book just had a paragraph about him in it. I learned about the important things he did for farmworkers, but this book helped me understand how people felt about Cesar, that he lives in the hearts of those who loved him. --Thomas Arguilez Smith -- Stone Soup With a poem modeled on elegies by Shelley and Whitman, Anaya commemorates the passing of respected labor activist Ch�vez: This earth he loved so well is dry and mourning / For C�sar has fallen, our morning star has fallen. Gaspar Enriquez's mural like collages juxtapose significant images, including portraits of adults and children, banners, guns, and grapes, for a running nonverbal commentary on the symbols and events that marked Ch�vez's struggle for justice. Using Ch�vez's words, Rise, mi gente, rise! Anaya exhorts readers to carry on that struggle, then closes with an uplifting biographical afterword and a detailed chronology. Many books chronicle Ch�vez's achievements, but this vividly evokes the powerful feelings of love and outrage that he was able to raise in his admirers. -- Booklist C�sar Ch�vez' accomplishments in fighting for the rights of farm workers, civil rights, environmental justice, and non-violence stand next to two of the 20th century's greatest leaders--Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- Carlos Santana This is a small book with a very big heart. Writer/activist Anaya has created a cry for people to continue to honor the memory of C�sar Ch�vez, and a call to all to continue to rise against injustice. Rise, mi gente, rise, says the poet. Starting with a quote from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Adonis, which is an elegy on the death of poet John Keats, Anaya utilizes his literary skills to weave lines from Shelley's poem into his own elegy, clearly stating that a famous poet and a human-rights activist farm worker are both equally worthy of elegiac poems. Anaya's poem also reminds one of Garc�a Lorca's Lament for his friend bullfighter Ignacio S�nchez Mej�as, because, like Lorca, who refuses to accept his friend's death, la muerte, and curses the day la muerte came to claim/the light within his noble body. The publication of this book is also very timely because California has just enacted legislation establishing the new C�sar Ch�vez holiday to be observed in March. Aside from being the most beautiful and meaning homage to Ch�vez, a man who dedicated his life to the United Farm Workers Union and to empowering and improving the lives of farm workers and the dispossessed, this book, by including a chronology of his life, ensures that future generations will learn about Ch�vez's struggle and how deeply he was loved and admired by those around him. Anaya's wonderful poem is complemented by the work created by artist Gaspar Enriquez, whose illustrations are contemporary, sensitive, and very powerful. -- Multicultural Review Not all legends come to us from the far past--certain contemporary figures and events almost immediately gain mythic status. C�sar Ch�vez is one such larger-than-life figure who in his quest for social justice ranks with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an American leader. His death inspired noted New Mexican writer Rudolfo Anaya to write an elegy for him, a long poem based in part on the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's elegy for John Keats. The result is a beautiful book aimed at grade-school readers. Anaya's haunting and emotional text is vividly accompanied by illustrations by Gaspar Enriquez, an artist from El Paso. The paintings for the book have the directness of the mural style, with a visionary, almost dreamlike, element. Their bold colors, combined with bits of hyper-realism, are sure to attract young readers. A chronology of C�sar Ch�vez life at the back of the book adds a useful scholastic element. Biographical notes for both author and artist add to the sense that C�sar Ch�vez is not the only role model to be found in this slim but energetic book. -- New Mexico Magazine Anaya's passionate tribute to Cesar Chavez's life and work resonates with love and devotion. Using elegies by Shelley and Whitman as models, Anaya's poem recounts Chavez's indefatigable spirit as he labored to organize the campesinos. Numerous Spanish words and phrases, interspersed throughout, and Enriquez's powerful collages add to the strong emotional tone of this elegy. An afterword provides further information about this revered leader of farmworkers. -- Booklinks This book is an excellent source of information based on the life, accomplishments and impact one person had on a large group of individuals. Readers gain a sense of how important he was to many causes and that one person can make a difference in the lives of others. Not only are the words powerful that are used to describe the author's feelings, but the collage style illustrations, author's note and detailed chronology will assist readers in comprehending the life of Cesar Chavez. -- Iowa Reading Journal Skipping Stones Honor Book Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List Latino Literary Hall of Fame, 2000

This elegy captures the love of farm workers and the Latino community, all who yearn for justice, for this irreplaceable hero. Cesar's life is the lucero, the light that provides vision to the path, with the glow of energy generated by the struggle. This elegy invites all to march in Cesar's path, to attain the hope and promise of his legacy--a legacy made simple by Cesar so everyone can participate in the quest for justice. Cesar's lucero spotlighted the attainable victory, the solution to end the suffering of farm workers, a union, the farm workers' house of justice where those that feed the world can end their suffering and have a final voice over their lives and destinies. -- Dolores Huerta, co-founder of United Farm Workers This poetic expression of mourning and hope is a heartfelt commentary on history and greatness. Anaya tells about the life of this crusader for justice and how his ideals shaped his life's work. Chavez's impact on both the Hispanic community and American society is made manifest by repeated expression of grief and loss, and by the final conclusion that, despite his death, his work goes on. Skillful use of meter and repetition give the text a mesmerizing formality that imparts the gravity of Chavez's labor and magnitude of his loss. It is perfectly matched by Enriquez's accomplished mixed-media collages. Photographs and watercolor paintings are skillfully combined with handmade-paper backgrounds to produce arresting images. A page of text faces each illustration; each of these pages is ornamented with a small insert from the facing collage along with one line of the text in enlarged typeface, creating a poem within a poem. Comparable to Alma Flor Ada's Gathering the Sun (Lothrop, 1997) in poetic and artistic power, this fine example of elegiac verse serves both poetry and biography well, while elucidating the struggles of migrant workers in this country. -- School Library Journal I am a sixth-grader at DePortola Middle School. I had to write a biographical report on Cesar Chavez. I read books on him, but those books were only about facts and chronologies. My history book just had a paragraph about him in it. I learned about the important things he did for farmworkers, but this book helped me understand how people felt about Cesar, that he lives in the hearts of those who loved him. --Thomas Arguilez Smith -- Stone Soup With a poem modeled on elegies by Shelley and Whitman, Anaya commemorates the passing of respected labor activist Chavez: This earth he loved so well is dry and mourning / For Cesar has fallen, our morning star has fallen. Gaspar Enriquez's mural like collages juxtapose significant images, including portraits of adults and children, banners, guns, and grapes, for a running nonverbal commentary on the symbols and events that marked Chavez's struggle for justice. Using Chavez's words, Rise, mi gente, rise! Anaya exhorts readers to carry on that struggle, then closes with an uplifting biographical afterword and a detailed chronology. Many books chronicle Chavez's achievements, but this vividly evokes the powerful feelings of love and outrage that he was able to raise in his admirers. -- Booklist Cesar Chavez' accomplishments in fighting for the rights of farm workers, civil rights, environmental justice, and non-violence stand next to two of the 20th century's greatest leaders--Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- Carlos Santana This is a small book with a very big heart. Writer/activist Anaya has created a cry for people to continue to honor the memory of Cesar Chavez, and a call to all to continue to rise against injustice. Rise, mi gente, rise, says the poet. Starting with a quote from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Adonis, which is an elegy on the death of poet John Keats, Anaya utilizes his literary skills to weave lines from Shelley's poem into his own elegy, clearly stating that a famous poet and a human-rights activist farm worker are both equally worthy of elegiac poems. Anaya's poem also reminds one of Garcia Lorca's Lament for his friend bullfighter Ignacio Sanchez Mejias, because, like Lorca, who refuses to accept his friend's death, la muerte, and curses the day la muerte came to claim/the light within his noble body. The publication of this book is also very timely because California has just enacted legislation establishing the new Cesar Chavez holiday to be observed in March. Aside from being the most beautiful and meaning homage to Chavez, a man who dedicated his life to the United Farm Workers Union and to empowering and improving the lives of farm workers and the dispossessed, this book, by including a chronology of his life, ensures that future generations will learn about Chavez's struggle and how deeply he was loved and admired by those around him. Anaya's wonderful poem is complemented by the work created by artist Gaspar Enriquez, whose illustrations are contemporary, sensitive, and very powerful. -- Multicultural Review Not all legends come to us from the far past--certain contemporary figures and events almost immediately gain mythic status. Cesar Chavez is one such larger-than-life figure who in his quest for social justice ranks with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an American leader. His death inspired noted New Mexican writer Rudolfo Anaya to write an elegy for him, a long poem based in part on the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's elegy for John Keats. The result is a beautiful book aimed at grade-school readers. Anaya's haunting and emotional text is vividly accompanied by illustrations by Gaspar Enriquez, an artist from El Paso. The paintings for the book have the directness of the mural style, with a visionary, almost dreamlike, element. Their bold colors, combined with bits of hyper-realism, are sure to attract young readers. A chronology of Cesar Chavez life at the back of the book adds a useful scholastic element. Biographical notes for both author and artist add to the sense that Cesar Chavez is not the only role model to be found in this slim but energetic book. -- New Mexico Magazine Anaya's passionate tribute to Cesar Chavez's life and work resonates with love and devotion. Using elegies by Shelley and Whitman as models, Anaya's poem recounts Chavez's indefatigable spirit as he labored to organize the campesinos. Numerous Spanish words and phrases, interspersed throughout, and Enriquez's powerful collages add to the strong emotional tone of this elegy. An afterword provides further information about this revered leader of farmworkers. -- Booklinks This book is an excellent source of information based on the life, accomplishments and impact one person had on a large group of individuals. Readers gain a sense of how important he was to many causes and that one person can make a difference in the lives of others. Not only are the words powerful that are used to describe the author's feelings, but the collage style illustrations, author's note and detailed chronology will assist readers in comprehending the life of Cesar Chavez. -- Iowa Reading Journal Skipping Stones Honor Book Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List Latino Literary Hall of Fame, 2000

Author Information

One of the most influential authors in Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya has earned international acclaim for his skillful mingling of realism, fantasy and myth in novels exploring the experiences of Hispanics in the American Southwest. Novelist, poet, short story author, essayist, playwright and children's book writer--Mr. Anaya has been called ""the godfather of Chicano literature in English,"" ""one of the best writers in this country,"" ""un hijo del pueblo,"" and ""a son of New Mexico."" His long list of national and international awards include the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano Literary Award for his first novel, Bless Me, Ultima. GASPAR ENRIQUEZ, whose super-realistic paintings are exhibited all over the country, was born and grew up on the south side of El Paso, Texas. He illustrated Elegy on the Death of César Chávez by Rudolfo Anaya. He lives in San Elizario, a small village near the border of the United States and Mexico, in a 250-year-old house built by his wife's great-great grandfather. He has a fine arts degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master's degree from New Mexico State University. He is an art instructor at Bowie High School in El Paso. In 1994, he received a Mid-America Arts Alliance Fellowship. His work was included in the important and ground-breaking Chicano Art / Resistance and Affirmation show that traveled throughout the United States in the early 90s.

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