Cesar Chavez Blvd groundbreaking ceremony, events canceled amid allegations

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) - San Luis, Arizona Mayor Nieves Riedel confirmed Wednesday the Cesar Chavez Boulevard groundbreaking event for next Monday has been canceled due to allegations against Chavez.

In addition to the groundbreaking event, Mayor Riedel also confirmed that the Cesar Chavez Day activities have also been canceled.

In San Luis, his legacy is hard to miss, from the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center to streets that bear his name, and even the home where he died.

Many residents remember their days as field workers and can recall meeting him in person.

"The people that are my age, I'm 73, we all got to know him well, and the people who say follow him today, they didn't get to know him," said Ramiro Muro, a San Luis resident.

Muro met Chavez and fellow activist Dolores Huerta in Oxnard, California when he was a fieldworker.

"They would tell us, 'You guys are doing a great work. Keep it up and don't let anyone humiliate you,'" Muro shared.

For some in the community, the news is hard to take.

"It made me so sad because for all these years, we've had this vision of him always helping people...All this time, we've been taught about all his good work," said Steven Keely, another San Luis resident.

Keely says the canceled events take away the opportunity to celebrate what Chavez stood for.

"Well, he's not here anymore, so I think we should focus on the positive because after all, it's more than Cesar Chavez...It's about what he fought for, which was farmworker's rights," Keely expressed.

As investigations continue, statues, like the one near the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center, remain on display in San Luis for all to see.