1993 Noche De Muertos

Curator Essay

Candle /Jtgrave

"Altar Para NuestrasAbuelas·Carlota A. Lucero,Guadalupe Molina, y Eulalia V Pulido" by Aileen F Lucero and SylviaMontero

This altar was created by Sylvia F. Montero and Aileen F. Lucero, and it is dedicated to grandmothers who sacrificed their lives so that generations of their culture would not perish. Carlota A Lucero was born in New Mexico and is Aileen Lucero's grandmother; Guadalupe Molina was born in Mexico and is Sylvia Montero's grandmother; and Eulalia V. Pulido was born in Mexico and is George Rivera's grandmother.

Este altar fue creado por Sylvia Montero y Aileen F. Lucero, y esta. dedicado a las abuelas que han sacrificado sus vidas para que generaciones de su cultura no pereciera. Carlota A Lucero naci6 en Nuevo Mexico y es abuela de Aileen Lucero; Guadalupe Molina naci6 en Mexico y es abuela de Sylvia Montero; Eulalia V Pulido naci6 en Mexico y es abuela de George Rivera.

How many times have you heard someone say that he or she was from the valley? Or perhaps you're the person who's made that statement. It doesn't matter if it's the San Joaquin or Coachilla, the Yakima or the Willamette. Or others more distant, like the Rio Grande. The Valley is where the crops are grown, and the Valley is where you're from if your family traces its roots in this country through the rows and irrigation ditches of its killing fields. To describe them in his manner does not stretch the truth. Ask anyone who's ever put in 12-hour days thinning sugar beets with el cortito, the short-handled hoe. Ask them how their lower back feels. Ask any bracero. But if your family came al Norte through the tortilla curtain to work in the fields anytime within the last thirty years, then you knew about Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union, the UFW, y La Causa. As few have done in this century, Cesar Chavez rose from a background of economic poverty to national and world-wide recognition. And in the process, he redefined labor relations and exerted a profound effect upon the lives of millions of people. What Cesar accomplished may be summarized as follows In 1965, when he formed the UFW, farm workers in California earned less than $1.50 an hour. Nearly all farm workers were migrant, and most were Mexicano or Chicano, with some Filipinos, a few Anglos, and a handful of AfricanAmericans. Coupled with their slave wages was a total lack of fringe benefits, such as medical and unemployment coverage, no seniority rights, and absolutely no standing to challenge employer abuses or exploitative labor contractors. In part, these conditions arose because farm workers were not included as a protected class of workers under the National Labor Relations Act Their cause was not aided by the fact that nearly all farm workers were illiterate and uneducated, a fact that persists to this day. The advent of the UFW, however, brought a sharp rise in wages for its members and, for the first time, farm workers were eligible for medical insurance, employer-paid pensions, unemployment insurance, and other benefits. Moreover, they had access to a system with which they could challenge employer abuses. Most importantly, Union members gained a sense of dignity and accomplishment. In some cases, perhaps, a sense of empowerment as well. But this is not the time to tum the pages of history to