The musical, “Let The Eagle Fly,” which portrays the life of legendary organizer and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez is a moral drama of the best variety.
On Friday, March 26, the performers’ catchy bilingual melodies, agile humor, passionate acting and powerful message of nonviolent struggle captivated the audience of around 100 who filled San Jose City College’s theater for the duration of the three-hour production.
Among those in the crowd was Cesar’s brother, Richard Chavez, whom actor Eduardo Ambriz DeColosio depicted as a feisty but endearing ruffian-turned-activist who sports a flashy zoot suit in one scene and hums along to the California Grape Girls’ jingle in another, yet loves and supports his brother and the farm workers’ cause all the while.
When El Tecolote asked Chavez how it felt to see his life acted out on stage, he replied with a smile, “It’s a strange feeling. But when it’s done the way they do it, it’s very fulfilling.”
Producer and Director Richard Falcon told El Tecolote that, “of all the shows that have ever been done,” the Chavez family considers “Let The Eagle Fly” the most accurate rendition of their story because it “captures the relationships” between Chavez and those closest to him.
Indeed, the musical adroitly developed the main characters’ personalities and demonstrated the strength of their ties to one another, humanizing Chavez and the farm workers’ struggle in a way that history books and memorials could hardly hope to.
Helen Chavez, superbly portrayed by Brissa Nathalie Ibarra, played a role almost as prominent and at times more dynamic than her husband’s. It was Helen—sharp-witted, wise, supportive and nagging, not to mention beautiful—who welcomed Fred Ross (Jim McCann) from the CSO into their home and lives against the men’s wishes, a decision which transformed the reserved and passive Cesar (Octaviano “Aki Starr”, a former Versace model who has sung for the Pope, and at the Cannes Film Festival) into the confident leader of a 15-year equal rights crusade.
John Reeger, author of the book that inspired the musical, and Julie Shannon, who composed the music and lyrics, definitely did their research on nonviolence, and captured the tension over the use of this tactic within the farm workers’ movement. Early in the first act, a young Cesar’s mother scolds him for attempting to confront an unjust overseer, advising, “God gave you your heart, and your eyes and your mind, so you don’t have to use your fists.”
In the midst of the Delano grape boycott, a confrontation breaks out between Chavez and another UFW leader, Victor Mendoza (Charles Andres Castillo), after a group of growers assault Manuel Rivera (Raymond Borja). The entire argument consists of a back-and-forth firing of quotes from Gandhi (“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”) and Emilio Zapato (“I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees”).
Even the lyrics to the upbeat number “Si Se Puede,” a clever adaptation of the popular protest slogan, reference ahimsa, the Sanskrit word for non-harming that Gandhi employed in his struggle against the British.
While some of the allusions might have gone over the heads of general audience members, the basic message was clear and compelling enough. The actors also tried to involve the audience by reenacting boycott petition drives, creating a sense of common purpose and participation.
This aspect of the musical was important because, as Richard Falcon told El Tecolote, “There are farm workers still dying in the fields, so the message is still very very dear.”
Chavez also gave a speech in the final scene connecting the farm workers’ struggle with other contemporary civil rights issues, specifically immigration, education and health care.
“Let The Eagle Fly has the potential to catalyze a whole new generation,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez stated in a promotional flyer. Whether used for educational or activist purposes, this musical is one that will enrich schools nationwide.