Soccer tourney starts this Sunday

Starting Sunday, March 6 and running each Sunday through March, Vineyard Workers Services will present “La Copa César Chavez,” or the César Chavez Cup at Flowery School. Two games per Sunday will be played at 10 a.m. and noon. The public is encouraged to attend.

According to Mario Castillo, outreach coordinator for La Luz Center, the soccer tournament is as much about promoting good health as it is about acknowledging the contributions vineyard workers make to Sonoma Valley.

“These players are our year round vineyard workers who do so much to keep this industry going,” said Castillo. “Many of them don’t even know who César Chavez is so this tournament is especially important,”

The young men – all between 25 and 30 years old – are mostly from Michoacán and Jalisco, Mexico, and have never before played for an “official” team or competed for a trophy. Some have played together informally, but they have had to regroup because this tournament is to be played only by men who work in the fields.

At the end of the tournment, on March 27, there will be a reception at La Luz Center from 6 to 8:30 p.m. This event will be held in honor of César Chavez who championed the rights and dignity of field workers. It will celebrate these men in our Valley who help bring the best wines to our tables. The event will also include a recognition of the winners of the Sonoma Valley Pruning competition of 2011, and of twenty recent graduates from La Luz’s nutrition program “Tu Corazón, Tu Vida” (Your heart, Your life).

For more information, contact Mario Castillo at 938.5153.