La Marcha: Stories of Resilience During the 1966 Texas Farm Workers' March

An encore presentation and panel discussion will be presented by Bishop Joel N. Martinez, retired UMC, and Rebecca Flores, retired president of Texas UFW to the community at large at the Seguin Public Library. During this event Teatro De Artes De Juan Seguin's Ballet Folklórico De La Rosa will provide a dance performance from the State of Puebla which will include historical information about Puebla (as related to agriculture).

In 1966, farm workers in the melon fields of Starr County began a strike for a living wage and humane working conditions. This is the amazing story of their grueling 490-mile march for justice from the Rio Grande Valley to Austin that helped launch the Chicano Movement in Texas.

Bishop Joel N. Martinez was born in Seguin, the grandson of a sharecropper. Throughout his long career as a pastor and a global executive in the United Methodist Church, he fought for the civil rights of laborers.

Rebecca Flores was the President of the Texas Union of Farmworkers (TUFW) and a State Director for the National AFL CIO. From 1983 to 1988, she helped pass historic farm worker legislation. Both Martinez and Flores worked with Cesar Chavez to organize farm laborers and advocate for immigrant rights.

Dances performed at this event will be: La Guayabita and Chica Linda. Teatro will have on display an agriculture exhibit sharing the history of San Isidro "Patron Saint of Agriculture", along with agriculture tools/artifacts on loan from Rincón Family Farm including historical information. El Circo de La Vida – Circle of Life “Se Cosecha Lo Que Se Siembra – You Reap What You Sow” Print by Edward Gonzales will also be on display.

The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,700 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 97,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible