{"id":322734,"date":"2025-10-22T02:46:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T02:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/322734\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T02:46:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T02:46:10","slug":"grandson-of-labor-leader-cesar-chavez-publishes-kids-book-inspired-by-rural-idaho-elementary-school-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/322734\/","title":{"rendered":"Grandson of labor leader Cesar Chavez publishes kids\u2019 book inspired by rural Idaho elementary school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HAILEY (The Spokesman-Review<\/a>) \u2014 Since 2018, Eduardo Chavez has been on film tours promoting his documentary, \u201cHailing Cesar,\u201d to colleges and high school students which chronicles his journey to better understand the legacy of his grandfather, labor leader Cesar Chavez.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I left that trip from Idaho after talking to these elementary school students, I said, \u2018I want to make my next project to be centered around kids that age,\u2019 \u201d Eduardo Chavez said.<\/p>\n

Last month, Eduardo Chavez released his first children\u2019s book, \u201cMi Abuelo C\u00e9sar\u201d \u2013 or in English, \u201cMy Grandfather C\u00e9sar\u201d \u2013 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 farmworkers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote this story to hopefully educate and inspire young people at the ages of 5 to9, 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\u2019s important to be proud of where we come from,\u201d Eduardo Chavez said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Huerta is also a labor leader and social justice advocate, fighting for farm worker rights to this day.<\/p>\n

Cesar Chavez\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He also spoke at Central Washington University the following year, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever fully get it. But as I\u2019ve gotten older, I\u2019ve definitely met so many people that lived through the \u201960s and \u201970s, that really helped me contextualize why that was so important then and now,\u201d Eduardo Chavez said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll always tell me there\u2019s an incredible history here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Eduardo Chavez said when he visited Alturas Elementary, he was nervous and wondered if the kids would understand the idea behind his film.<\/p>\n

During that visit he only spoke and didn\u2019t show the film, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was five minutes into speaking to them, when I realized I can just be myself, and I don\u2019t need to tailor this message, because they\u2019re young and they were so smart,\u201d Eduardo Chavez said. \u201cThey were also very excited, because they were in the middle of a lesson learning about my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Hailey community, his visit left an impression.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201c(John) is known to have many historical Cesar Chavez murals in Los Angeles so when I called him, I said, \u2018I 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,\u2019 \u201d Romero said. \u201cAnd he says, \u2018You know what Romero? I have something better. I\u2019m in contact with Eduardo Chavez, his grandson.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eduardo<\/a>Eduardo Chavez, grandson of the late influential labor leader Cesar Chavez, releases his first children\u2019s book that showcases his journey in trying to understand his grandfather\u2019s legacy. | Monica Carrillo-Casas, The Spokesman-Review <\/p>\n

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\u2019s advocacy.<\/p>\n

He added he was present when Eduardo Chavez visited Alturas Elementary, where students didn\u2019t hesitate to ask questions, and Chavez didn\u2019t hesitate to answer them honestly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so powerful. The answers that he gave, they were very down to earth, in a way that they could understand. And the questions \u2013 some of them were very deep, you know? \u2013 about his experience, about him, his grandpa, so it was incredible experiencing that in action and seeing him doing that,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n

Brad Henson, principal of Alturas Elementary, said while he wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Henson said he hadn\u2019t known about Eduardo Chavez\u2019s book.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy 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\u2019s a person in the flesh, the illustrations now have life,\u201d Henson said. \u201cEduardo, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Eduardo Chavez\u2019s talk, he remembers a few students came up to him, taking off their shoes so he could sign them.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the theater, there were some kids that were there that were in middle school and they were there with posters,\u201d Eduardo Chavez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted me to sign a poster, and I was talking to them, and they were like, \u2018Oh, you probably don\u2019t remember us, but you signed my shoes when you were here a few years ago,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eduardo Chavez said he\u2019s doing a book tour in California but hopes to return to southern Idaho soon, and to visit other schools across the Inland Northwest.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeeping our history alive is really quintessential for Latino people moving forward, because sometimes, as a young Latino person growing up, you don\u2019t see a lot of heroes,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t 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?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t \t \t \t=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https:\/\/www.eastidahonews.com\/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”> \t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HAILEY (The Spokesman-Review) \u2014 Since 2018, Eduardo Chavez has been on film tours promoting his documentary, \u201cHailing Cesar,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":322735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1022,171,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-322734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115415534124910092","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}