California's most powerful politicians and some of its least empowered laborers crowded elbow to elbow in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Thursday to bid farewell to Miguel Contreras, the son of migrant farmworkers who grew up to be one of the nation's strongest labor leaders and a dominant force in Los Angeles politics.
Dressed in brightly colored T-shirts with union logos or in the togs of their trades -- chef's toques and hardhats -- workers filled the pews of the cathedral and applauded as Contreras' shrouded casket arrived at the back of the church to the skirl of bagpipes and the thrumming of helicopters.
The ceremony began with "Amazing Grace" and ended with a mariachi version of "De Colores," punctuated by respectful, then rousing, applause for a man credited with reviving a moribund union movement at a time of rapid demographic change.
The standing room-only crowd, estimated at 4,500, included many of the most prominent politicians and labor leaders in the state and nation. From Congress came U.S. Reps. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Anaheim). From Sacramento, State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres and Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles).
From Los Angeles, Mayor James K. Hahn, former Los Angeles Councilman Richard Alatorre and filmmaker-activist Rob Reiner mixed with all 15 members of the City Council and three of five county supervisors.
John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, came with his two top lieutenants, Richard Trumka and Linda Chavez-Thompson. Four national union presidents joined them: Andrew Stern of the 1.8-million-member Service Employees International Union, Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm of the recently merged union Unite Here and Arturo Rodriguez of the United Farm Workers, who was a pallbearer.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, speaking alternately in English and Spanish, presided over the funeral Mass. But it was Maria Elena Durazo, Contreras' widow, who offered the most stirring eulogy.
In a strong voice that quavered at moments, Durazo told mourners that since her husband's death, she had heard Miguel Contreras described as "a kingmaker, a man of great influence, a consummate behind-the-scenes dealmaker."
"These views miss the real Miguel Contreras," Durazo said. "They ignore why he was able to do what he did. While he reveled in the game of politics, he succeeded because his constituency, the people he was trying to help, knew he was the real thing....
