Sixty years ago, Filipino and Mexican farm workers stood shoulder to shoulder in the Delano Grape Strike, igniting a movement that reshaped labor history and inspired generations. Celebrate the courage of past generations, honor the creativity that sustains movements, and plant seeds for the struggles ahead with the Democracy Center and Great Leap’s free program.
Learn how the strike’s lessons are carried into today’s urgent struggles through a short film by award-winning filmmaker Juan Mejia's short piece on the strike and carrying its lessons into today’s urgent struggles. Then join a conversation moderated by Democracy Center Director, James E. Herr, about how movements are remembered, inherited, and renewed with Victor Viesca, Quetzal Flores, and Faith Santilla. Together they’ll explore how music and artistry fuel collective action—whether in the fields of Delano or the streets of Los Angeles—and how those tools remain vital as communities today face climate crises, inequality, and threats to democracy.
Bios
James E. Herr
James E. Herr is the director of the Democracy Center. The Democracy Center convenes people of all ages and diverse backgrounds to examine issues about race, identity, and social justice to transform attitudes, celebrate culture, and promote civic engagement.
Quetzal Flores
Quetzal Flores is a Grammy Award–winning Chicano producer, composer, and musician from East Los Angeles. He is the founder and artistic director of the award-winning band, Quetzal. He also cofounded and produces FandangObon, a Los Angeles inter-community participatory music and dance project bringing together Japanese American, Black, and Chicanx/Latinx traditional practices.
Faith Santilla
Faith Santilla is an artist, organizer, and award-winning poet who came to national recognition when she won her first poetry slam during Dominique DiPrima’s radio show on 92.3 in Los Angeles in 1998. Her work has been published in articles, anthologies, and books. She has been a labor and community organizer for over twenty years.
Victor Viesca
Victor Viesca is a professor of Liberal Studies at Cal State LA. His writing, teaching, and curatorial projects focus on Latinx urban art and culture of Los Angeles. He was the exhibition curator for the Smithsonian Institute traveling exhibition, American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, and the exhibition, Entre Tinta y Lucha: 45 Years of Self Help Graphics & Art.