Tributes to the late civil rights leader Cesar Chavez have been taken down all over the country in the wake of allegations that he sexually abused underage girls for years. And one of those was a statue that sat in Cesar Chavez Park — which the city is also renaming — in Phoenix for 30 years.
It was made by longtime Phoenix Chicano artist, mask maker and sculptor Zarco Guerrero, who was there when city officials took it down.
It was a tough moment for the activist and artist, who has mixed feelings about the whole scandal. He came into The Show’s studios recently and explained how much Chavez has impacted his life since he was a high school student in Mesa decades ago.
Full conversation
ZARCO GUERRERO: When I was in high school, I really wasn’t politically conscientious, you know what I mean? I was involved in sports and school activities, you know how teenagers are…