‘An inspiration to many’: Dolores Huerta’s legacy lives on in Santa Cruz County activists she inspired

The last time Watsonville-based activist Omar Dieguez saw Dolores Huerta was during a trip to Sacramento in August to advocate against the use of pesticides in farming. 

Dieguez was amazed at how Huerta, who was 96, still had the energy to continue fighting for farmworker and women’s rights. He remembers approaching her as she walked with her daughter Camila, holding her hand and letting her know how thankful he was to have someone to look up to in the activist space, he told Lookout. 

“Every single time I do a presentation at school or in the community, I always bring [Huerta] up,” Dieguez said. “I always talk about how at the age of 96, she still believes in what her passion was: fighting for farmworker rights, against pesticides and women’s rights.” 

That is the legacy Huerta leaves for generations to admire and draw inspiration from, Dieguez said.

Huerta died Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield, at age 96, according to a report by the Associated Press. The cause of death was cancer, according to The New York Times. 

Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers union to improve working conditions in the nation’s fruit and vegetable fields and also coined the phrase “Sí, se puede!”, which became a rallying cry for the country’s Latino and immigrant communities. 

The longtime labor activist made headlines earlier this year after revealing that she was sexually abused in the 1960s by the farmworker movement’s co-founder, César Chávez, leading to the birth of two children. 

For Watsonville activist Providencia Alaniz, Huerta was always so kind and loving to her whenever she’d visit town. 

“She absolutely inspired me to continue on being an activist and speaking up and having a voice and saying what’s on my mind,” Alaniz said. She added that Huerta taught her that women have the power to stand up for what they believe in and become strong leaders. 

Huerta’s small stature and courageous spirit will always be something Alaniz remembers about her. “She made her voice be heard, and she was a tiny little thing,” she said. 

Whenever Huerta visited Watsonville, Alaniz said the late activist wanted to connect with everybody in the community because that was who she was: an advocate for the people. 

“It was important to have a leader like that come to our town,” Dieguez said. “Our town is full of history, full of struggles and it was important for her to come and support our region.” 

Huerta made her last visit to Watsonville last year when she spoke at the “No Kings” protests. She fired up a crowd of nearly 3,000 to stand up against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement, calling it “an attack on people of color.” 

“We are going to resist, and we’re going to keep on protesting until it stops,” Huerta told the thousands of protesters last year. 

“She is a true leader. An inspiration to many of us, and a reminder to people like us that la lucha sigue y nunca se acaba [the fight continues and it never stops],” Dieguez said. 

Education leaders across the county also honored Huerta and her impact. County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah said Huerta “transformed communities” across the country and inspired many to stand up for their rights through grassroots organizing.

“I had the privilege of meeting her several times and was always struck by the power and warmth of her presence,” he said in a statement provided to Lookout. “As a former teacher, she understood that a child’s opportunity to thrive in school is inseparable from the dignity and well-being of their family, a conviction that remains urgently relevant as immigrant communities face renewed attacks on their rights.”

Pajaro Valley Unified Superintendent Heather Contreras said Huerta was a “true leader” who inspired women of all backgrounds.

“She showed us the depth of sacrifice required for family and community, and modeled how to break through the endless barriers women must overcome on their journey to taking their rightful place as leaders,” she said. “That sacred promise lives on in Pajaro Valley Unified School District today.”

Cabrillo College President Jenn Capps said Huerta was a “fierce champion” for equitable access to education and community empowerment.

“Her lifelong commitment to movement-building continues to inspire Cabrillo’s students, faculty and staff to lead with purpose, speak up for equity and stand in solidarity with marginalized communities,” she said.

Lily Balloffet, faculty director of UCSC’s Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas, told Lookout that Huerta had a special relationship with the university, visiting on several occasions, including as a commencement speaker for Oakes College in 1988.

“So much of the work that the center does is really directly honoring her legacy as an organizer, as someone who lived the belief that change comes from the bottom up,” Balloffet said.

Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez, the founder and executive director of Barrios Unidos in Santa Cruz, said Huerta is “the mother of our movement.”

He said Huerta greatly inspired Barrios Unidos’ community involvement and anti-violence activism. 

“It saddens me today that such an incredible leader and legend and human being, one of our elders, passes on,” Alejandrez said. “When such a person like Dolores leaves us, it hurts. And for me, we must keep her legacy and continue her work.”

Alejandrez recalled Huerta visiting Barrios Unidos for their community events and anniversary parties. The last time he saw Huerta in Watsonville, he brought a faded T-shirt she had signed years before. This time, however, when Alejandrez asked Huerta to sign it, her security detail got between them.

“She told the security, ‘Do you know who this is? This is Nane Alejandrez of Watsonville.’ And she just stood there and signed my shirt and told the other person, ‘You gotta see what they’re doing,’” Alejandrez said. “I always gave her respect, because people always wanted to talk with her, but I was like, ‘Wow, she just blessed me with that.’”

Alejandrez said Huerta taught him “how to survive and how to maintain focus.” At Barrios Unidos, he wants to teach the next generation about the path that community elders like Huerta left for them to honor their legacy. 

“It’s funny, I was going to make an altar today,” Alejandrez said. “I have a really nice drawing of Dolores, which I didn’t even think about. I’m going to place it on the altar to tell her, ‘Have a good journey.’ We’re getting ready to celebrate Day of the Dead on Monday. I was hoping to run into her again.”

He remembers calling Huerta on the phone to check in with her, knowing she often got “bombarded” with questions about her pioneering career fighting for better labor conditions and civil rights.

“Most of it was to sit with her and know that I was in the presence of greatness,” he said.

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