Since 2018, Eduardo Chavez has been on film tours promoting his documentary, “Hailing Cesar,” to colleges and high school students which chronicles his journey to better understand the legacy of his grandfather, labor leader Cesar Chavez.
It wasn’t until 2023, however, when he visited an elementary school in a rural town in southern Idaho, that he realized the importance of sharing his story with younger generations.
“When I left that trip from Idaho after talking to these elementary school students, I said, ‘I want to make my next project to be centered around kids that age,’” Eduardo Chavez said.
Last month, Eduardo Chavez released his first children’s book, “Mi Abuelo César” — or in English, “My Grandfather César” — inspired by his visit to Alturas Elementary in Hailey, Idaho. The book, he said, reflects on his own personal journey as a 7-year-old hearing about his grandfather from his father and learning about his fight for farmworker rights.
“I wrote this story to hopefully educate and inspire young people at the ages of five to nine, to maybe be able to learn these themes for the first time and go on their own journeys with their parents and learn about their history and why it’s important to be proud of where we come from,” Eduardo Chavez said.
Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers alongside Dolores Huerta, was a pivotal labor leader and civil rights activist known for his advocacy for farm workers.
Huerta is also a labor leader and social justice advocate, fighting for farm worker rights to this day.
Cesar Chavez’s influence reached Washington state, as well. In April 1968, he led a two-day march of more than 2,000 people from Yakima to Granger to demand better conditions for farmworkers.
Eduardo Chavez said he stopped in the Yakima Valley in 2018, months after releasing his film and before his film tour began, while on his way to Eastern Washington University to talk about his film.
He also spoke at Central Washington University the following year, he said.
“My grandfather passed away when I was only 2 years old so I do my best to try and understand the magnitude of what he did, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully get it. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely met so many people that lived through the 60s and 70s, that really helped me contextualize why that was so important then and now,” Eduardo Chavez said.
He said visiting central Washington and meeting with people that worked with his grandfather helped him feel the magnitude and the positive influence he had in the areas farm worker communities.
“They’ll always tell me there’s an incredible history here,” he said.
Eduardo Chavez said when he visited Alturas Elementary, he was nervous and wondered if the kids would understand the idea behind his film.
During that visit he only spoke and didn’t show the film, he said.
“I was five minutes into speaking to them, when I realized I can just be myself, and I don’t need to tailor this message, because they’re young and they were so smart,” Eduardo Chavez said. “They were also very excited, because they were in the middle of a lesson learning about my grandfather.”
For the Hailey community, his visit left an impression.
Herbert Romero, a community organizer and cultural liaison in Hailey, said he connected with Eduardo Chavez in 2021 after wanting to bring Cesar Chavez Day events to the area.
Romero said he initially called his friend, Los Angeles-based muralist John Zender Estrada, hoping to invite him to share his work with the community.
“(John) is known to have many historical Cesar Chavez murals in Los Angeles so when I called him, I said, ‘I would like for you to come and talk about your work, why Cesar Chavez is so important, and why you do the murals, and I want you to do a mural here,’” Romero said. ” And he says, ‘You know what Romero? I have something better. I’m in contact with Eduardo Chavez, his grandson.’”
Since then, Romero has worked with Eduardo Chavez to bring him back yearly to talk about his film and his growing understanding of his grandfather’s advocacy.
He added he was present when Eduardo Chavez visited Alturas Elementary, where students didn’t hesitate to ask questions, and Chavez didn’t hesitate to answer them honestly.
“It was so powerful. The answers that he gave, they were very down to earth, in a way that they could understand. And the questions – some of them were very deep, you know? – about his experience, about him, his grandpa, so it was incredible experiencing that in action and seeing him doing that,” Romero said.
Brad Hansen, principal of Alturas Elementary, said while he wasn’t at the assembly, he said it was important to have him talk to the students and share the significance of learning where they come from.
Hansen said he hadn’t known about Eduardo Chavez’s book.
“By coming, it brings those stories to life, to our front door. We can tell kids the story is nonfiction and it really happened, but when it’s a person in the flesh, the illustrations now have life,” Hansen said. “Eduardo, his grandfather and Dolores Huerta share the message that we all matter, and to be proud of who you are and to leave a lasting mark on your communities.”
After Eduardo Chavez’s talk, he remembers a few students came up to him, taking off their shoes so he could sign them.
And then earlier this year, Chavez returned to southern Idaho for a series of events, including a screening of his documentary at the Hailey theater.
“At the theater, there were some kids that were there that were in middle school and they were there with posters,” Eduardo Chavez said.
“They wanted me to sign a poster, and I was talking to them, and they were like, ‘Oh, you probably don’t remember us, but you signed my shoes when you were here a few years ago,’” he said. “It was some of the same kids that were there, but now they were older, and they were there to see the movie. It meant a lot to me.”
Eduardo Chavez said he’s doing a book tour in California but hopes to return to southern Idaho soon, and to visit other schools across the Inland Northwest.
“Keeping our history alive is really quintessential for Latino people moving forward, because sometimes, as a young Latino person growing up, you don’t see a lot of heroes,” he said. “If we don’t keep this history alive, where people that look like us and have the same color of skin as us, are and were doing these incredible things, where can a young person draw inspiration from?”
