El Corrido de César Chávez
 

 

 
"El Corrido de César Chávez" was recorded by El Teatro Campesino on a 10 inch-33 1/3 r.p.m. record, "Viva La Causa-Songs and Sounds from the Delano Strike!" which was distributed by the United Farm Workers, but is now out of print. It recounts the farm workers' pilgrimage from Delano to Sacramento, California, in March, 1966. This corrido is sung to a traditional Mexican tune, "Carabina 30-30."
 

 
En un día siete de marzo,
Jueves Santo en la mañana,
Salió César de Delano
Componiendo una campaña
 
Campañeros campesinos este
Va a ser un ejemplo
Esta marcha la llevamos
Hasta mero Sacramento.
 
Cuando llegamos a Fresno
Toda la gente gritaba,
"¡Y qué viva César Chávez
y la gente que llevaba!"
 
Nos despedimos de Fresno;
Nos despedimos con fe
Para llegar muy contentos
Hasta el pueblo de Merced.
 
Ya vamos llegando a Stockton,
Ya mero la luz se fue;
Pero mi gente gritaba,
"¡Sigan con bastante fe!"
 
Cuando llegamos a Stockton
Los mariachis nos cantaban
Y qué viva César Chávez
Y la Virgen que llevaba!
 
Contratistas equiroles,
Esta va a ser una historia;
Ustedes van al infierno,
Nosotros a la goria.
 
Ese señor César Chávez,
El es un hombre cabal;
Quería verse cara a cara
Con el gobernador Brown.
 
Oiga, señor César Chávez,
Su nombre que se pronuncia,
En su pecho usted merece
La Virgen de Guadalupe.
 

 
One day, the seventh of March,
On the morning of Holy Thursday
César left Delano
Gathering a campaign.
 
Fellow farm workers,
This is going to be a lesson.
We will take this march
Right to Sacramento.
 
When we arrived in Fresno
All the people were shouting,
"Long live César Chávez
And the people who accompanied him!"
 
We left Fresno;
We left with faith
In order to arrive very content
At the town of Merced.
 
Now we are arriving at Stockton,
Now daylight was almost gone;
But my people were shouting,
"Onward with plenty of faith!"
 
When we arrived in Stockton
The mariachis played for us
Long live César Chávez
And the image of the Virgin he carried!
 
Scab contractors,
This is going to be a story;
You are going to hell,
And we are bound for glory.
 
This gentleman César Chávez,
He is a very whole man;
He wished to see himself
Face to face with Governor Brown.
 
Listen, César Chávez,
Your name that is pronounced,
On you chest you merit
The Virgin of Guadalupe.
 

 
Analysis

 
The treatment of César Chávez in this corrido is a combination of heroic qualities mixed with religious iconography, and the corrido also illustrates the importance of the march. Unlike the other corridos it begins in a fashion that is more characteristic of the corrido, with the announcement of the date and location. The corrido celebrates the march, and begins the march in Delano, and continues through the town of Stockton. We see that the goal is for César Chávez to come face to face with the governor. It seems as if the governor in this corrido is the antagonist. Like the other corrido of César Chávez, there are lots of examples of religious imagery. In this particular corrido, the image of the Virgin is mentioned twice, and the march begins on Holy Thursday. In addition, the main speech event is stanza five the last line, "Onward with plenty of faith" Also, the corridista explains that the scab contractors will go to hell in the seventh stanza. I believe that the focus of this corrido is to establish the importance of religion to the border community. César and the Virgin are the protagonists going to fight against the evil governor. This religious symbolism is important because it demonstrates the faith in the movement, which is spurred on, by the religious faith that the community carries.
 

 
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