 | ||
Sí, se puede (Spanish for "Yes, it is possible" or, roughly, "Yes, one can"; [ˈsi se ˈpwe.ðe]) is the motto of the United Farm Workers. In 1972, during Cesar Chavez's 25-day fast in Phoenix, Arizona, he and UFW's co-founder, Dolores Huerta, came up with the slogan.
Contents
The phrase has been widely adopted by other labor unions and civil rights organizations and drew widespread political and media attention as a rallying cry during the U.S. immigration reform protests, and was also used in the 2002 Disney film Gotta Kick It Up!
The saying Sí Se Puede has long been a UFW guiding principle that has served to inspire accomplishment of goals even in what at times may seem insurmountable situations. Sí Se Puede is a federally Registered Trademark of the UFW so the UFW can maintain the original meaning of this saying.
English translation
Sí se puede is usually translated in English as "It can be done", or "Yes you can". The more literal translation that the United Farm Workers uses is "Yes, it can be done!"
President Barack Obama adopted the English version "Yes, we can!" first during the 2004 Illinois Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate, and it became a slogan of his 2008 presidential campaign. "Yes, we can!" was the theme of Sen. Obama's speech following his second-place finish in the 2008 New Hampshire primary. Following the speech Obama was endorsed by the Culinary Workers Union in the Nevada Democratic Caucus, though it is important to note that news of the endorsement had already been circulating prior to this speech. The phrase was also used in the song "Yes We Can", which was performed by numerous celebrities in support of Obama. Another video created in support of Obama's 2008 presidential bid, entitled Sí Se Puede Cambiar, written and performed by Andres Useche and directed by Eric Byler, was released on YouTube on February 22, 2008.
During the Israeli legislative election campaign of 2009, Shas used a Hebrew language version of the slogan: "כן. אנחנו יכולים" (ken, anakhnu yekholim).
AeroMexico's trademark application
After AeroMexico, a Mexican airline, had filed a trademark application for "Sí se puede" with the US Trademark Office, lawyers for the United Farm Workers defended the phrase as the intellectual property of the UFW. After litigation, AeroMexico agreed not to use the phrase and abandoned its trademark application. "Yes, We Can" was also used as a slogan by Air Canada commercials in the 1980s. "And since Canada is our home, We can show you a Canada you've never known Yes we can, Air Canada, yes—we—can!".