“We Are Going to Rise:” Austin César Chávez March Unites Generations

Under gray spring skies, community members gathered at Terrazas Branch Library on Saturday morning to honor the legacy of labor leader César Chávez in what has become an annual tradition on Austin’s East side.

The 24th Annual ¡Sí Se Puede! César Chávez March brought together multiple generations of activists, elected officials, and community members in a display of solidarity and remembrance of the iconic civil rights leader’s work. 

The event began with a traditional blessing ceremony outside of the library, where participants formed a circle to honor the four cardinal directions. The ceremony was led by Susana Almanza, founding member and director of PODER, a grassroots female-led social justice organization formed in East Austin in 1991, and Carmen Llanes Pulido, a 2024 candidate for Austin mayor.

Attendees were encouraged to distribute their energy in a circle formation, alternating male and female to create balance. 

“If you’re somewhere in between, get somewhere in between,” Llanes Pulido instructed. “Just get comfy and spread your energy out.” 

The spiritual opening set the tone for a day that balanced celebration with calls to action. As the blessing concluded, the group prepared to march, with organizers emphasizing the importance of keeping the tradition alive.

The procession moved down East César Chávez Street as participants chanted “¡Sí se puede!” while wearing red United Farm Workers T-shirts and carrying signs about immigrant rights. The Mexican flag waved above the crowd as they marched through a changing East Austin landscape, where new high-rises tower over historic neighborhoods—a visual reminder of the gentrification concerns mobilizing many local activists.

Celine Rendon, a member of Community Powered ATX, an East Austin coalition that fights for housing and social environmental justice, emphasized the importance of intergenerational solidarity in addressing current challenges facing Latino communities.

“Right now there’s a lot of fear in the Latino community around ICE deportations and immigrant rights,” Rendon said. “It’s important for us to show up for youth and elders together, talking about these issues as well as housing and gentrification and those intersecting issues.”

Upon arrival at the Pan American Recreation Center, attendees gathered by the Hillside amphitheater to hear from community leaders and elected officials who spoke about Chávez’s enduring impact and the work that remains to be done.

Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who has attended all 24 years of the march, spoke to the attendees of the ongoing nature of social justice work.

“We’re in a long-time struggle and as the science says, we’ve got to be in this struggle together,” Doggett said. “We are here inspired by César Chávez and all that he represented — a really uphill struggle, literally from the ground up where the farm workers were collecting the produce that sustains us, but being treated too often like the dirt they were working in.”

Doggett said today’s political challenges cannot be overcome through traditional channels alone, noting the importance of grassroots organizing in every neighborhood.

“The struggle that we’re a part of right now in Washington is one that can’t be won in Washington. It has to be won in neighborhoods just like this,” he said. “We need everyone involved to push back every day in every way against this Trump Musk administration and to say we will never accept a country that is dominated by oligarchs and billionaires. We’re going to fight for the ordinary people, the people that César Chávez fought for.”

State Rep. Lulu Flores connected Chávez’s legacy to current political challenges, noting that his 98th birthday will be observed on Mon. March 31, with his centennial coming in just two years.

“Chavez has left his impact in our Austin community, and the Latino communities across this country,” Flores said. “We have two years to organize and to turn things around at the State House and at the House of Representatives of U.S. Congress and our U.S. Senate. They might think they’re burying seeds, but we are going to rise.”

Following Rep. Flores’s remarks, Alicia Perez-Hodge, Austin’s first Latina assistant city manager, shared a message about the importance of unity and organization. James C. Harrington, who served as César Chávez’s attorney for 18 years, offered personal reflections on the labor leader’s journey, while Travis County Constable George Morales emphasized the continued importance of collective action. 

After the speeches concluded, the park came alive with community interaction as attendees connected with local organizations and activists. Information booths lined the perimeter of the stage area, where representatives from various community groups shared resources and engaged with participants against the backdrop of vibrant murals depicting the struggle for social justice by trailblazing local artist Raúl Valdez.

It was 16-year-old McKayla Rios’ second time attending the march. The teen is a member of PODER’s Young Scholars for Justice program, and remembered delivering a prayer the first time she attended. She shared the importance of returning to support her community.

“I think it means helping the community and making the world a better place because if nobody does anything, then no change will be made,” Rios said.

Members of the Brown Berets, a historic Chicano civil rights organization formed in the 1960s, attended the march to connect with other community organizations and continue their mission of protecting Chicano culture.

“Being a native Austinite, it really warms my heart to see the community come together,” said Peter Baez in the program’s concluding remarks. “As our city continues to evolve, it is imperative that we stay connected as a community and lean in and lean on each other to ensure that we are supporting those and ensuring that Austin is prosperous and our community members are prosperous.”