¡Feliz César Chávez Day!

Cesar Chavez Day is a U.S. federal commemorative holiday, proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2014.


EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a version of the “evergreen” feature we run every Cesar Chavez Day. This version lacks the listing of what’s open and what’s closed because everything is closed. Stay safe at home, pochos!


The holiday celebrates the birth and legacy of the civil rights and labor movement activist Cesar Chavez on March 31 every year. [Wikipedia.]

Who was Chavez?

Mas…¡Feliz César Chávez Day!

¡Feliz César Chávez Day!

Cesar Chavez Day is a U.S. federal commemorative holiday, proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2014.


EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a version of the “evergreen” feature we run every Cesar Chavez Day. This version lacks the listing of what’s open and what’s closed because everything is closed. Stay safe at home, pochos!


The holiday celebrates the birth and legacy of the civil rights and labor movement activist Cesar Chavez on March 31 every year. [Wikipedia.]

Who was Chavez?

Mas…¡Feliz César Chávez Day!

Alvaro Huerta, Ph.D: The day my Mexican father met Cesar Chavez

cesarstamp640

Long live the farmworkers!

My late father, Salomón Chavez Huerta, first arrived in this country as an agricultural guest worker in the mid-1900s, during the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program represented a guest worker program between the United States and Mexico. From 1942 to 1964, the Mexican government exported an estimated 4.6 million Mexicans to meet this country’s labor shortage not only in the agricultural fields during two major wars (WWII and Korean War), but also in the railroad and mining sectors.

Like many braceros of his generation from rural Mexico, my father didn’t speak too much about the horrible working / housing conditions he endured while toiling in el norte. This included low pay, overcrowded housing, terrible food, limited legal rights, lack of freedom outside of the labor camps, racism, verbal / physical abuse and price gauging from company landlords / stores.

Mas…Alvaro Huerta, Ph.D: The day my Mexican father met Cesar Chavez

Community offers a loving goodbye to Lupe Ontiveros

They say everyone loves you when you’re dead. Everyone can also love you when you’re alive, if you’re Lupe Ontiveros.

The funny, talented and bursting with life Mexican-American actress passed away last Thursday in Whittier, CA.

My son and I attended Lupe Ontiveros’ Rosary service last night in Pico Rivera to pay our last respects to Lupe and her family. (See my photo of program from the memorial service.)

It was overflowing with family, friends and fans. One of her three sons read an opening note (sent via Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis) from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama,  a message of condolence from the White House.

Everybody in Chicano theater and film was there, including Zoot Suit playwright Luis Valdez, actor Edward James Olmos, Vanessa Marquez, Pepe Serna, Evelina Fernandez, the guys from Culture Clash, UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, current UFW President Arturo Rodriguez and many more. A girl in a “Goonies Forever” T-shirt sat near us in the balcony.

Continued at NBC Latino…

PochoCast #5: Alcaraz y Madrigal on face-chewing and boobs (NSFW)

POCHO primos Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz and Migrant Editor Al Madrigal chop, channel and lower the ñews:

  • Miami munchies and Canadian cannibals
  • Salma Hayek’s boob optimization
  • POCHO web traffic
  • Wisconsin recall
  • Organized labor
  • Lalo’s copyright trouble on Facebook
  • These kids today

— Produced by Jefe de Creative Marcelo Ziperovich(NSFW language.)

Letter from the Editor: Respect the pinche artist (*updated)

Yesterday I drew and subsequently shared on Facebook my syndicated editorial cartoon on Dolores Huerta receiving her Presidential Medal of Freedom (above.)

Many of you shared it, as was my request. Thank you! We are all proud of the living legend Dolores Huerta, and the respect she has garnered, especially this week.

However one person, an FB user named Steven downloaded my heartfelt artwork, defaced it and even removed my name and made his own anti-Obama and Dolores Huerta statement. His political opinion is not the issue here. I have held much the same anti-political parties opinion in the past. What has angered me is the disrespect to my work as an artist. Let me explain why, just to be completely clear.

Mas…Letter from the Editor: Respect the pinche artist (*updated)