Media Credit: Elizabeth Moskowitz Cynthia Herrera, Lauren Waelder, Chris Konstantinidis and Minerva Corona wait to perform a dance at the César Chávez Day Celebration.

For Melessa Rodriguez, a Mexican-American studies and journalism sophomore, the César Chávez statue is much more than a cast iron image of a man, it is a symbol of the power and diversity of the students on UT's campus.

"It is amazing that students have that much power to make that happen," she said, pointing to the statue.

Many shared her pride at a César Chávez Day celebration hosted yesterday in the West Mall. The Latino Leadership Council worked with more than 10 Latino student organizations to host the event.

"Seeing the Chávez statue finally finished has been the highlight of my career here at UT. At the unveiling ceremony, I got chills when that tarp came off," Rodriguez said.

Chávez was a labor union organizer who is remembered for his nonviolent movement for the rights of farm workers in America.

"He was to the Latino community what Martin Luther King Jr. was to the African-American community," Rodriguez said.

Rebecca Flores, the keynote speaker at the event, harvested crops with her family as a child and was recruited to help Chávez in his fight for the rights of farm workers while finishing her master's degree at the University of Michigan. She now works as the Texas state director of the United Farm Workers.

Her speech detailed the plight that farm workers faced in the 1960s and still fight today. She enthralled her audience with anecdotes about Chávez and his dedication to the cause.

"It took a man who looked like us, who spoke our language, for us to believe we could do something to change things," Flores said.

A dinner and performances by Los T-Birds and UT's Ballet Folklórico followed Flores' speech.

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