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'Cesar Chavez' Finally Brings the Activist's Life to the Screen

Hispanic audiences are going to the movies in unprecedented numbers. They made up 18 percent of moviegoers last year, the biggest uptick among all groups, according to a report by Nielsen NRG, and they were the most active, accounting for 25 percent of all movies seen. And yet, it's still very rare for a film featuring Latino actors to come out of Hollywood.

This weekend (timed to Monday's celebration of Cesar Chavez Day), however, there will be a film in theaters not only starring and directed by Hispanic talent, but based on the life of one of the true heroes of Latino culture. "Cesar Chavez" is the first theatrical film to tell the story of the esteemed farm labor organizer and activist from his early days leading the grape boycott through the hunger strike that made him a national figure.

Michael Peña — who was most recently part of the Screen Actors Guild Award-winning ensemble cast of "America Hustle — takes on the leading role of Chavez, but the film doesn't focus solely on the title character.

Peña told the press that, as the son of farm workers, he was honored to portray the man who had meant so much to his own family. "I remember telling my dad, who is a really tough guy, that I would play Cesar Chavez and there was about 10 seconds of silence until he said, 'Ta bonito' and then hung up," recounted Peña. "Now I understand why he gets so emotional about Cesar Chavez." Having previously trimmed down to play an LAPD officer in "End of Watch," Peña put on 30 pounds to better resemble Chavez (and then used makeup to present the effects of his 25-day hunger strike).

The film also places equal importance on the women in Chavez's life: his wife Helen, played by America Ferrera, and his collaborator Dolores Huerta, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Now 83 years old and a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, Huerta met with Dawson to help guide her performance. "I have so much respect and admiration for her contributions and the sacrifices she made," Dawson said. "It meant so much to me when she gave me her blessing to play her."

The film is also notable for the people behind the camera, starting with director-producer Diego Luna. Best known as an actor in films like "Milk" and "Elysium," the Mexico native Luna makes his English-language directorial debut with "Cesar Chavez." His longtime collaborator Gael García Bernal, who co-starred with Luna in Alfonso Cuarón's "Y Tu Mamá También," also serves as an executive producer.

Luna believes the story of Chavez resonated with audiences both in his home country and in the U.S.: "Cesar is also one of the few modern heroes for any Mexican, this side and that side of the border, but most importantly, he is a universal symbol of the fight for justice, dignity and equal rights for all."

"Cesar Chavez" will be in theaters nationwide on Friday.