In Barrio Logan, it's Cesar Chavez Parkway | Celebration marks changing of street signs in community

The San Diego Union - Tribune; San Diego, Calif.; Apr 6, 2002; Deborah Ensor

It's official.

The road that runs through the heart of San Diego's Latino community is now called the Cesar E. Chavez Parkway.

Formerly Crosby Street, the 1.7-mile thoroughfare from Commercial Street to the San Diego Bay is now a symbol of pride for the entire neighborhood, as well as for the family of the labor rights leader and Mexican-American hero.

"Our family is very proud that my brother is being remembered this way," said Richard Chavez. "I hope the street signs serve to remind future generations of Cesar's work."

Chavez and numerous dignitaries -- including U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego); Mayor Dick Murphy; county Supervisor Greg Cox; and Assemblyman Juan Vargas -- unveiled the new street signs in Barrio Logan yesterday. The City Council had unanimously approved the change in February.

In an emotional speech before the crowd of about 600, Chavez chose to share personal memories of his brother. "Most of us know what Cesar did," he said. "I should recount a few things that you don't know."

He told stories of a vacation the two took together to Sonora, Mexico, and of a big birthday bash for which Cesar Chavez did all the cooking.

"Other than being together and trying to change the world, I have very close memories of Cesar," Richard Chavez said. "We were not only brothers, we were the best of friends."

Rachel Ortiz, executive director of Barrio Station, broke down in tears as she talked of Chavez's "dedication to bring others out of despair."

"He taught us to be unafraid to pursue social justice," she said. "This is a marvelous gesture of great visibility for an angel who once walked this earth."

Councilman Ralph Inzunza, who led the renaming effort, told the story of his grandmother, Marina, a farm worker from a poor, rural part of Mexico who crossed into this country illegally to make herself a better life.

"She picked everything under the California sun," Inzunza said. She paid her taxes, never broke the law. She married, had nine children and became a part of "her own small American dream." But she never became a citizen and she never learned English.

"She represented the type of person, the type of family, that Cesar Chavez worked so hard for," Inzunza said. "My grandmother passed away last year, and it is in memory of her that I unveil and dedicate this sign to all those who Cesar Chavez worked for." Before the unveiling, about 1,600 people attended the fourth annual Cesar Chavez breakfast at the San Diego Convention Center.

Jessica Baris, a sophomore at Serra High School, was the grand prize winner of the annual Chavez essay contest. "I believe if we forget the message of this great American, we will not move forward," Baris wrote.