In the south downtown area of Tucson, the Cesar Chavez statue at the Five Points intersection has recently been vandalized. 

Many were shocked and appalled by the sight of a beloved statue that was made to honor the labor leader and civil rights activist for his work with the United Farm Workers and his efforts to secure better wages and conditions for agricultural laborers. Created by local artist and sculptor Luis Gustavo Mena, the idea for the statue was started in 2020, and the six-foot-six-inch-tall statue was officially completed in March 2021.

Luis Mena was selected by the Five Points gateway effort in 2014. When he first started his sculpture, the process itself had several delays before it could be fully sculpted and completed. Originally, when Mena started sculpting the initial model, he made it out of clay in his studio in Barrio Anita.  He then cut the model into large parts and had them sent to a local foundry, Metalphysic Sculpture Studio, for the reassembly and bronze casting of the model to be made into the statue that many saw and loved every day. 

“The bronze figure—depicting Chávez holding clusters of grapes with a banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe blowing behind him—was conceived with input from neighborhood residents and arts-panel selection committees representing Barrio Viejo, Barrio Santa Rosa, Armory Park, and Barrio Santa Rita.” 

The statue was covered with a bright red substance, which was assumed to be acrylic paint due to a red lid being seen at the scene where the vandalism happened. Details about the hate crime remain unclear as of now. Unfortunately, the statue was taken down on Monday, the 23rd of 2026, and as of now, there are no plans to replace the statue.