THE COMPASSION OF JAZZ. Jim Cassell

       The United Farm Workers

      The United Farm Workers headquarters needed to move from Delano—it was too small, too dusty, and too small-town for such a big movement. Then Cesar heard about a property going up to bid—an old tuberculosis hospital with acres of land surrounding it (some of Cesar’s relatives had been treated at the hospital while it had been running). It’d be perfect for the new headquarters, but there was a big issue—it was in the middle of Kern County in the Tehachapi Mountains, which was heavily Republican.

      Once it became public knowledge that Cesar and the union were interested in the land, powerful conservatives in Kern County were determined to make sure he didn’t get it. A Jewish Hollywood producer who was very sympathetic to La Causa offered to help the union acquire the property. They worked out a plan where Richard Chavez, Cesar Chavez’s brother, would dress up like a chauffeur to drive the producer in a limousine to make a bid on the property. After the Hollywood producer won the bid, he turned the land over to Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, outmaneuvering the power brokers of Kern County.

      The new headquarters were in Kern, California, and were nicknamed La Paz. It was different, though, in the new center. The beauty of the union was that it felt like one big family, full of love and support and united by our common goal of fighting for a better life for the farmworkers. Now it felt a bit like a monastery—everyone was working all the time, without the previous feeling of camaraderie. That isn’t to say it was a bad work environment in the least; every person who worked for the union was a good person. We all worked hard and sacrificed.

      When I rejoined the United Farm Workers, I asked Cesar to let me be a photographer, but he said, “No, Jim, I want you to put on more benefits, like you did with Santana,” which I had done when their first album came out. Cesar had Joan Baez in mind, as they had a close personal relationship. This is the first concert I put on from scratch, whereas I had had the Fillmore Auditorium’s help with the previous Santana benefit.

      While I was still planning, Steve Miller called and asked to be a part of the benefit, though I have no idea how he had heard about it. When Steve Miller showed up, he told security he was part of the show and called himself “Stevie Guitar Miller.” I am sure the rough-looking chicano security guards didn’t believe him at first.

      The concert went really well. It was at the San Jose State football stadium, called the Spartan Stadium. Joan Baez headlined, and Steve Miller, Cal Tjader, a teatro group, and a mariachi band played as well. Joan Baez was very gracious and easy to work with. We called the show Fiesta Campesina,