Gallery
Chavez & HOPE
The struggle to create the United Farm Workers Union is just one example
of César Chavez’ many optimistic efforts that made poor and
hard working people hopeful of achieving a better life. The East
& Spring – The east is commonly associated metaphorically with
the rising sun , new beginnings and hope. The Spring season begins
a new cycle in nature —birth, renewal and the planting season of
agriculture.
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Chavez & DETERMINATION
In 1971, Arizona passed a law outlawing boycotts. Labor leaders
kept telling César: “No se puede! --A camaign against
the law is futile."Chávez anwered “Si, se puede!" (Yes,
it can be done). And it became a rallying cry of the movement. The
South & Summer - The south is often linked with the warmth of the
sun and the agricultural growing season. Metaphorically it is linked
to the growth cycle of youth into adulthood and the determination
needed to over-come obstacles and meet new challenges.
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Chávez & COURAGE
César & the United Farm Workers endured the taunts, threats
& physical attacks by hired bullies with one primary defense: a courageous
commitment to non-violence."...the truest act of courage...is to
sacrifice our-selves for others in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice."
The West & Autumn - The West is commonly associated with Sunset
and Darkness, the end of the Autumn harvest cycle, and fear of the unknown.
Courage allows us to face the unknown and take a stand based on
principled
commitment.
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Chávez & TOLERANCE
In 1968 César undertook a 25-day water only fast aimed at a labor
movement that was unraveling due to frustration & intolerance. Chávez
said he would fast until union members renewed THEIR pledge to respectful
action. "Love is the most important ingredient in non-violent
action…Hatred saps all the strength and energy we need to plan." North
& Winter - The North is linked with Winter. It offers natural
beauty, but also hardship, scarcity & adversity. For many traditional
cultures the North is linked with their ancestors, who migrated from the
North looking for a better life. The ancestors metaphorically represent
Knowledge, patience and tolerance.
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Newgrange (Ireland) (3200BC)
The megalithic chambered cairn of Newgrange is located on the east coast
of Ireland. It was built around 3200BC making It older than Stonehenge
in England and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Built by Neolithic farming
communities, it has a clear astronomical alignment. Newgrange is best
known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice
sun.
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Kulkulkan Pyramid, Yucatan, Mexico (700-800 AD)
Thousands of people travel to Chichen Itza, the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan
Peninsula, each March to experience the Equinox at the renowned Kulkulkan
Pyramid. The phenomenon is celebrated at about 3:00 p.m. when the setting
sun casts a shadow across the corner of the pyramid onto the descending
stairway giving the illusion that a serpent is slithering down the side
of the stairway. Chichen Itza is also noted for its "El Caracol"
observatory.
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Intihuatana Stone, Machu Pichu (1400s)
Located high in the Andes outside of Cuzco, this city was only "discovered"
in 1911. It was never found by the Spaniards. It is a breathtaking archaeological
site with unsurpassed stonework. One of Machu Picchu's primary functions
was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana Stone (meaning 'Hitching
Post of the Sun') has been shown to be an indicator of the seasons. The
Incas held ceremonies
at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward
movement in the sky.
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GuanXing Tai Observatory, China (1276AD)
This "Tower for the Measurement of the Sun's Shadow"---one of
the most important observatories of its day---is located at Yang-Cheng.
At the site the sun casts a shadow along a low wall that extends perpendicularly
from the pyramid's north face for 120 feet, yielding precise dates for
the solstices.
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Meridiana of San Petronio, Bologna, Italy (1576)
A hole in the ceiling of the cathedral projects a shaft of sunlight onto
this bronze strip at solar noon on the pavement below. Although the Roman
Catholic Church once waged a long and bitter war on science and astronomy,in
general, they were quite involved in astronomy. The church adapted cathedrals
across Europe, and a tower at the Vatican itself, so their darkened vaults
could serve as solar observatories. Why? - so church officials could more
accurately establish the date of Easter and unify its followers.
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Jantar Mantar (India) (1725-1734AD)
Majarajah Jai Singh II had eighteen instruments erected between 1725 and
1734. They were designed by Sawai who was well aware of European developments
in this field and wanted to create observatories that would out do anything
already in existence. The instruments are built so that shadows fall onto
marked surfaces identifying the position and movement of stars and planets,
telling the time, and even predicting the intensity of the monsoon.
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Cahokia Indian Mounds, (1000AD)
Is it in Peru? Guatemala? No, Collinsville, Illinois. The remains of the
most sophisticated prehistoric Indian civilization north of Mexico are
preserved at the 2200 acre Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site. On the
Equinoxes and Solstices celebrations are held at the circular sun calendar.
The calendar consists of 48 large cedar posts arranged in a 410 foot-diameter
circle around a central observation post. It was probably used to determine
the changing seasons and certain ceremonial periods important to an agricultural
way of life.
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