Faces at the First Farmworkers’ Constitutional Convention

By José Montoya
Just the other day
In Fresno
In a giant arena
Architectured
To reject the very poor
Cesar Chavez brought
The very poor
Together
In large numbers.

Cuatrocientos delegados
On the convention floor
Alone
And a few
Thousand more
In the galleries —

And outside
( . . . parecia el mercado de Toluca!)

The very poor had come
Together
For protection —

Thousands
From the chaos
Of past shameful harvests
Culminating

That humble man’s
Awesome task
Of organizing
The unorganizables!

Farmworkers!
(Workers of the fields!)

Campesinos!
(Peones de los campos de labores!)

Not lifeless executives.
Not, stranger yet,
Pompous politicians!

What I saw
Were the familiar
Faces
Of yester grapes
And labor camps

Body dragging faces
Baked in the oven
Valle de Coachella
And frost blistered
En las heladas de Sanger
During pruning time.
Faces that have
Dealt with
Exploiters and
Deporters
You contratistas
Chuecos.

Faces!

Faces black
From Florida with love
And Coca Cola

Y Raza
De Chicago
Brown Brown
y de Tejas
y Arabes de Lamont
y Filipinos de Delano
y asi gente
That had come
From all the fields
Of all the farmlands
Of America

Farmworkers!
Campesinos!
The very poor!

The unorganizables—
Now, at a convention!

Yet,
No fancy vinyl-covered
Briefcases here,
No Samsonite luggage
Or Botany 500s,

Solo ropa del trabajo
Pero bien planchadita
Y portafolios sencillos
De cartón
Y cada quien con su
Mochilita
Y taquitos
En el parking lot

Where old acquaintances
Renew friendships
And compare the
Different experiences
Of late

No longer merely
Comparing wages and
Camp conditions like
Before . . .

          ( . . . a cuanto andan pagando
          pa’ ya pa’ la costa?)

New queries now, reflecting
The different experiences
Of late . . .

          ( . . . and how many times were
          You arrested, brother?)

And the talk of the market
Places continues
And they listen to
Boastful, seasoned travelers
Who have left, for the time
Being, at least,
The well-worn routes
Of the harvest followers
And they talk of
Strange sounding places . . .

                ( . . . pos sabe que yo andaba
                en el boicoteo pa’ ya pa’
                filadelfia.)

The talk of the market place
The parking place
The market lot
The parking lot
Where the families
Were bedded down
For three days
Amidst Amistad
Y canciónes

Canciónes y mas canciónes
Singing de colores,
About solidaridad
Pa’ siempre
And we shall overcome
En Español

Singing, singing  . . .

Componiendo corridos
To freeze in time and space
The events
Of that struggle . . .

          Año del ‘73
          Presente lo tengo yo
          De aquella infame cosecha
          Y el triunfo de nuetra union

          Ay valle de San Joaquin
          Campo santo de mi gente
          Porque nos tratas tan mal
          Como hijos desobedientes

And they sang of injustice and they sang
Of broken promises . . .

          Los chotas Tambien decian
          Que no querian violencia
          Pero eran puras habladas
          Maltrataban sin conciencia

Y mesclaban los versos de risa y los de valor

          No desfiaba un ranchero
          Un esquirol y su abuela
          Pero nuestro entrenamiento
          Fue en el valle de Coachella

Corridos serios and at times irreverent . . .

          En eso cambio el asunto
          Y empezaron arrestar
          Echanron corte Parejo
          No habia pa’ donde arrancar

          Perdoname Cesar Chavez
          Y la Virgen Guadalupe
          Pero antes de que me arresten
          Los voy’ hacer que se preocupen

And always they sang of hope . . .

          Ay díganle a mi cuadrilla
          Y a la oficina de Selma
          Que no rompan mi tarjeta
          Que ay les caigo pa’ la cena

Even inside
On that floor of decorum
Singing
In defiance
Of Mr. Robert’s own rules!

Singing
Singing and joking

          ( . . . el que esté en acuerdo
          con mi moción, que me la apele!)

Ca ca car ca ja das
And table pounding
Belly rolls

Then
Earnestly, without embarrassment
Back to work.

Faces!

Faces de farmworkers—
Organized!
Confident!
Unafraid!

Resoluteness
without impudence—

                ( . . . me dispensa hermano director,
                pero mi gente no ha comido.)

Faces!

Faces de campesinos,
Faces of the very poor,
Confident,
Unafraid—

The unorganizables,
The people of the earth—
La gente de la tierra
Today
Very seriously
Contemplating
The ratification
Of Articles 37
For history
And forever!

Copyright Credit: José Montoya, "Faces at the First Farmworkers’ Constitutional Convention" from Information.  Copyright © 1992 by José Montoya.  Reprinted by permission of Chusma House Publications.
Source: Information: 20 Years of Joda (Chusma House Publications, 1992)