Uncovering the Truth About the Santa Rita Center

The Santa Rita Center is where Cesar Chavez did his famous 24-day fast here in Phoenix.

In my naive mind, I thought the Santa Rita Center would be a community center with lots of pictures of Cesar Chavez and the Mexican-American political movement. Instead, I found a forgotten piece of American history with holes in the roof which let the rain pour in. I found the tiny room where Cesar fasted now holding cleaning supplies and junk. What broke my heart even more was to learn that Chicanos por la Causa (CPLC) have owned the property since 2007. How can an organization which holds a huge painting of Cesar being carted out of the Santa Rita Center after his fast, not have its renovation as one of its number one priorities? And with the looks of the center, it needs to be on the fast track to funding priority. I asked for Cesar's guidance and so began our journey.

In case you are new to Phoenix, the Chicano community can be pretty divided. There are the groups that go unnamed that do God's work and help the "gente" without much fanfare and media attention. There are other groups that have the politicians on their side and while they do good work, I always wonder about what goes on behind closed doors. Non-profits and politicians rarely make good bedfellows. I don't care who's who, all I care about is this historic landmark and the need to honor a man who gave so much for our people's struggle.

One of the first things I learned is that $757,000 was allocated to the Santa Rita Center as part of a Light Rail bill. Congressman Ed Pastor's office told us that the bill passed both the House and Senate but was not appropriated during the change from Republicans to Democrats. The woman I spoke to said that the Democrats dropped the ball. So, I want to know why we got the light rail funds, but the Santa Rita funding never made it? I want to know what our politicians received in exchange for the center's funding? I want to know what was more important than putting a new roof on that center so that our history would not wash away during our next monsoon season?

I also have learned that the center is opened once a year for various festivities to honor our Civil Rights leader. If you'll notice, most of these events take place outside of the center. The inside may be an embarrassment to show off?  Don't we, as a Mexican-American community, deserve more? Aren't we, as all Americans, responsible for caring for these historic landmarks? This neighborhood is one of the poorest in Phoenix. Shouldn't they have a point of pride that will shine a spotlight on their needs? These families deserve better than this.

On Tuesday, my partner-in-crime, Eduarda, and I headed out to get some answers. What we found was a bushel of more questions. Pastor's office was as friendly and receptive as a swarm of hornets. Seriously, my dealing's as a democrat calling McCain's office were much more hospitable. Chicanos por la Causa's secretary thought the City of Phoenix owned the property. Remember, this is the office with the painting of Cesar with the Santa Rita Center in the background hanging on a wall as you come in. Bless her heart, she was horrified by what we told her and said she was sure it was going to be renovated. I have to wonder, though, when? And before defenders of CPLC get up-in-arms about my questioning of the iconic organization for Phoenix's Hispanic community, let me just say that I'm a fan of any group working for my people-in-need, but my fight is for the center, not any special interest group.

Our biggest dose of help came from the Mayor's office where two of the nicest and most considerate men researched as much as they could for us. We learned that the Santa Rita Center was allocated funds through a bond for $50-60,000 to be used for condition assessment. That sounds marvelous, right? Until we learned that it would not be available until 2013. All I could visualize were those gaping holes in the roof allowing the harsh elements of Arizona to slowly tear the center apart from the inside out.

I have found that we get a lot of run-around when trying to find out what's going on. I've sent emails to Chicanos por la Causa, but have yet to hear back. I have a new name I was given of someone who might help. The thing is that everyone at CPLC seems to give a different name to contact. Shouldn't this be a project of the utmost importance? I understand quite well all of the services CPLC offers, but I also know they have the money to get this going.

So, if anyone knows how to get the ball rolling, please contact us. We are willing to raise the funds for the center if CPLC were open to a partnership. Better yet, if CPLC is open to selling the property we would look into that option as well. We just want this center to be restored and we have many wonderful ideas of how this center can help renovate and renew the entire surrounding neighborhood.

We ask that you contact your politicians at the city, state and federal level and ask why the Santa Rita Center is going ignored and left to its own demise. Call Chicanos por la Causa and ask what are the plans for the center. Call community activists and ask for their help in getting the Center put on top priority listing for consideration. Cesar Chavez and his legacy deserve more than we are giving him. Anyone who visits the center will feel the pain of having our Civil Rights Leader dishonored and his place of glory desecrated.

In no way is this plea meant to shame or harm any person or entity. In fact we know several individuals who want to get the center renovated. The problem is they do not have enough support from the right people. We are hoping to help them get a boost in motivated individuals willing to make change happen now.

The Santa Rita Center is located at 1017 E. Hadley in South Phoenix. Please take a visit. You will have to look through the gates, but you'll see enough to get motivated. Please spread the word and send this post to as many people as possible.

Thank you



**Update**
We were contacted by Chicanos por la Causa and were put in contact with the people in charge of renovating the center. We will let you know when change starts happening. We also received a letter from Representative Pastor. We'll cover the information in a future post. Apparently Light Rail money came through, but not the money associated with this bill.