As traditional incense smoke burned at Joaquin Murrieta Park, relatives of Dolores Huerta performed a ceremonial song to honor the civil rights activist and labor leader at a Tucson memorial.

Huerta, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, now the United Farm Workers, and helped lead the 1965 Delano Grape Strike, died Oct. 28 at 96.

Tucsonans gathered that same night to mourn and honor her memory.

“When Dolores said you could buy grapes, that’s when we bought grapes,” said Cecilia Valdez, a member of the Dolores Huerta Unity Coalition.

Huerta also coined the phrase “¡Sí, se puede!”

“I’ve known her for over 20 years. She’s been coming to Tucson,” Valdez said. “We represent her and we loved her because she cared about the people that nobody else does care about. She was the person that actually organized (the union), even though they get credit to Cesar Chavez for it. She was at the table.”

Huerta was arrested more than 25 times for her activism and civil rights work.

“She seemed indestructible. Someone that would be with us forever, because even at the age of 96, she was still out there fighting for injustice, fighting for the sanctity of humanity,” said Unity Coalition co-chair Eva Carrillo Dong. “Her life was not easy. It was full of struggles. She almost died when she was beaten for what she believed.”

Carrillo Dong said Huerta visited Tucson many times for rallies.

“She was constantly fighting for justice, and putting her life on the line. She was a champion for all people whose voices needed to be heard,” Carrillo Dong said. “She spoke out for all workers’ rights, for all immigrant rights, for all LGBTQ plus rights, human rights.”

Many other union and community members shared memories of Huerta, including coalition member Isabel Garcia.

“She was a vital part of this labor movement that really changed the bottom line for everybody,” Garcia said.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva also attended the event, sharing stories of their experiences with Huerta.

“There’s so many things that I could say about Dolores Huerta, but the most important thing that I can say is that she was a friend,” Romero said. “She was a mentor, and she changed my and my family’s life without even knowing us.”

Grijalva encouraged attendees to follow Huerta’s lead.

“I think that one of the things that we have to take from Dolores is the inspiration to keep going,” Grijalva said. “When she could have given up many times, she kept going forward. She broke glass ceilings for many of us.”

Huerta also impacted children in the community, including 13-year-old Jimena Reyes.

“She was there for everyone in this world. She fought for everyone and she even put her life at risk for those people because she’s just so powerful and she’s so strong,” Jimena Reyes said. “She will be missed, but never forgotten.”

Her mother, Marta Reyes, a coalition member, said Huerta did not get the credit she needed.

“Right now, we’re going to change that and we’re going to give her all the credit that she deserves,” Marta Reyes said.

Carrillo Dong urged attendees to turn their grief into action.

“We mourn her now. We weep for her now. But then we must pick ourselves up, like she always has, and honor her by using our voices and the power we all have within us,” Carrillo Dong said.

Emma Diaz is a University of Arizona alum and freelance journalist based in Tucson.

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