SAN ANTONIO — When Ernest Martinez walked through El Mero West, a historic arts district on San Antonio’s West Side, his eyes lit up. 

“This is where it’s going to be,” Martinez said, walking in the rain. 

He was referring to the 27th annual César E. Chávez March for Justice, which starts in front of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. This year it was held on March 25. 

“The traditions continue — 27 years,” Martinez said. 

Nearly three decades of celebrating La Causa (the cause) that Dolores Huerta and Chavez started during the United Farm Workers movement. Last year’s march was the first since prior to the start of the pandemic and it had a huge turnout. 

It’s a legacy Martinez’ father, Jaime P. Martinez, created in 1997. The late Chicano legend came up with the idea when Chavez passed away in 1993. 

“My dad goes exactly like this — he goes, ‘We got to do something for César Chávez here.’ I didn’t know what he meant,” Martinez said. 

Grassroots activists such as Lourdes Galvan and Henry Rodriguez helped Jaime Martinez out in the early years of the march. Then it became a philanthropic march that raises over $50,000 in scholarships for students annually. 

“It wasn’t officially formed as a nonprofit until 2006,” Ernest Martinez said. 

Ernest Martinez now carries that legacy as the chair of the César E. Chávez Legacy and Educational Foundation (CECLEF.) 

Jaime Martinez wasn’t a random Chicano trying to honor Chavez, they worked alongside each other. 

Ernest Martinez cherishes a photo of himself, his father and Cesar Chavez. 

“My dad’s known for the César Chávez movement in San Antonio, but what many people don’t realize his decades of work and commitment to the labor movement,” he said. 

Left to to right: A young Ernest Martinez poses for a photo in between Cesar Chávez and his father, Jaime Martinez. (Photo courtesy of Ernest Martinez)
Left to to right: A young Ernest Martinez poses for a photo in between Cesar Chávez and his father, Jaime Martinez. (Photo courtesy of Ernest Martinez)

Ernest Martinez has vintage footage of his father introducing Chavez in San Antonio in 1979.  

“I’m honored to introduce a brother who needs no introduction: Mr. César Chávez United Farm Workers in California,” Jaime Martinez said in the video as he and Chavez hugged. 

Jaime Martinez, like Chávez, brings all walks of life together and made it a point to educate the next generation. 

“Education is key. My dad used to say this a lot, education is key,” Ernest Martinez said “We want to preserve the legacy of La Causa.”

Chávez said you can’t humiliate the person who has pride, and Martinez believes this march that his father started has filled many generations with Pride.