The Return to Aztlán

Object Details

Artist

Alfredo Arreguín, born 1935

Sitter

Cesar Estrada Chavez, 31 Mar 1927 - 23 Apr 1993

Dolores Huerta, born 10 Apr 1930

Miguel Hidalgo, 8 May 1753 - 30 July 1811

José María Morelos, 1765 - 1815

Emiliano Zapata, 1879 - 1919

Exhibition Label

Born North Gila Valley, near Yuma, Arizona

Encouraged by the civil rights movement, labor organizer Cesar Chavez began in the early 1960s to protest the unfair treatment of farm workers in California and the Southwest, the majority of whom were Mexican or Mexican American. In 1963 he and Dolores Huerta founded the forerunner of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), which launched a boycott of California table grapes in 1965 as part of a movement to improve working conditions for field laborers. This eventually resulted in a national boycott of grapes by many sympathetic Americans. This painting links modern-era activists Chavez and Huerta to historic figures Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos (leaders in Mexico’s War of Independence) and Emiliano Zapata (Mexican revolutionary and champion of agrarian reform), who shared their Mexican heritage and a commitment to justice. The painting’s title refers both to the mythical homeland of the Aztec people and to the cultural realm of greater Mexico.

Nacido en North Gila Valley, cerca de Yuma, Arizona

Incentivado por el movimiento en pro de los derechos civiles, el sindicalista Cesar Chavez comenzó en los años sesenta a organizar protestas por el tratamiento injusto que recibían los trabajadores agrícolas de California y el suroeste de Estados Unidos, que eran en su mayoría mexicanos o mexicano-americanos. En 1963, Chavez y Dolores Huerta fundaron la organización predecesora de la United Farm Workers of America (Unión de Trabajadores Campesinos de América) y en 1965 iniciaron un boicot de las uvas de California como parte del movimiento para mejorar las condiciones de los trabajadores rurales. Este acto terminó por generar un boicot nacional por parte de muchos estadounidenses solidarios. Esta pintura vincula a los activistas modernos Chavez y Huerta con las figuras históricas de Miguel Hidalgo y José María Morelos (líderes de la Guerra de Independencia de México) y Emiliano Zapata (revolucionario mexicano y defensor de la reforma agraria), quienes compartían la herencia mexicana y el compromiso con la causa de la justicia. El título de la obra alude a la mítica tierra ancestral de los aztecas y a la cultura mexicana en general.

Provenance

The artist; gift 2007 to NPG

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Felix Arreguin Velez and Catalina Toledo de Arreguin

2006

Object number

NPG.2007.214

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Painting

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

Stretcher: 152.4 × 121.9 cm (60 × 48")

Frame: 154.9 × 123.8 × 6.4 cm (61 × 48 3/4 × 2 1/2")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Exhibition

The Struggle for Justice Refresh

On View

NPG, West Gallery 220

Alternate Title

Cesar Chavez

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Cesar Estrada Chavez: Male

Cesar Estrada Chavez: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Labor leader

Cesar Estrada Chavez: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist

Cesar Estrada Chavez: Military and Intelligence\Navy

Cesar Estrada Chavez: Presidential Medal of Freedom

José María Morelos: Male

José María Morelos: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Revolutionary

Miguel Hidalgo: Male

Miguel Hidalgo: Politics and Government\Foreign leader\President\Mexico

Emiliano Zapata: Male

Dolores Huerta: Female

Dolores Huerta: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Labor leader

Dolores Huerta: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist\Civil rights activist

Dolores Huerta: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Dolores Huerta: Society and Social Change\Civic leader

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.2007.214

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm454028c65-7619-4a67-83e6-b7a33b90a163