Communiqué

Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez goes from farmworker to the highest musical honor in “Singing Our Way to Freedom” – Sept. 17 at 9 pm


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SINGING OUR WAY TO FREEDOM

Saturday, September 17 at 9 pm

 

Singer Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez at microphone with guitar,circa 1974
Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez at microphone , circa 1974

SINGING OUR WAY TO FREEDOM chronicles the life and music of Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez from his humble beginnings as a farmworker in Blythe, California to the dramatic moment when he received one of his nation’s highest musical honors at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

As a young man in the 1970s, Chunky joined the picket lines in California and became Cesar Chavez’s favorite musician. His journey is a remarkable lens on a time when young Mexican Americans became Chicanos. Chunky learned how to employ humor, honesty and music to inspire folks to stand up and speak truth to power.

His arc of transformation from marginalized farm kid to charismatic social activist shows how one person can mobilize people to change the world, reminding us that the battle for freedom has to be fought anew by every generation.