Before going to the graduation ceremony, Cesar Chavez Jr. poses for pictures with his family outside of their West Lawn home. Also pictured are his father Cesar Chavez Sr., his mother Lilia Chavez and his 9-year-old sister Alexia Chavez. Cesar is very close to her sister, who was born with a brain malformation and is unable to speak. “He’s come to understand her and accept her for who she is,” Lilia said. “He’s become very closer to her. He talks about her all the time.”
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Rites of Passage define our lives. They signify the progress of time as well as our citizenship in a tribe, in a culture — in life itself.
Chicago commemorates these moments in ways that reflect its diversity, but through difference, we find commonality. We are all connected through these formal and informal ceremonies that remind us how much family, love and time shape us.