Teodoro Estrada, a volunteer at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, speaks about the “powerful story” told by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit, “Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields,” which will run through Oct. 1. “The photographs and the art really make the story more beautiful,” Estrada said. NATALIE LAPSLEY/THE RIDER PHOTOS
Learn the in-depth story of Dolores Huerta, a Latina civil rights icon from the farm workers movement of the 1960s and ’70s , through a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit on display at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.
“Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields/Revolución en los Campos” will be on display through Oct. 1 and explores Huerta’s life as a young woman, teacher, mother, activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW), which helped improved the lives of farm workers all across the United States.
Bringing the traveling exhibit to South Texas was a collaborative effort by UTRGV, the City of Brownsville and the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.
Dahlia Guerra, assistant vice president for Public Art & Special Projects, told The Rider she has brought several exhibits down to the Rio Grande Valley, keeping in mind that the community does not have access to it.
“I thought it’d be a wonderful opportunity to share her story with our community,” Guerra said. “And then there was a discussion with the City of Brownsville on collaborations, and, so, I thought it would be wonderful to put it in the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts.”
The museum, located at 660 E. Ringgold St., is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children ages 6 through 12, seniors and students with a school ID. Children under the age of 6 enter free.
This is the first time Guerra has brought an exhibit to Brownsville and she said it is important because Huerta was an activist who helped farm workers in California and that directly affected the agriculture community in the Valley.
“It’s important to tell her story,” she said. “Looking at it at a feminist point of view, she was an amazing Latina woman that accomplished so much, and she should be a role model for our community. All of our young women should go and see this exhibit and see what [Huerta] did in her 20s and then in her 30s and throughout her entire life.”
The exhibit is set in chronological order, with Huerta’s life on panels with information, quotes, photographs and graphics. It also features text in English and Spanish and includes a free smartphone app featuring interviews with Huerta, a short documentary video, custom educational activities to increase and encourage dialogue with visitors and additional education resources.
The app is available for download for iOS and android. Search Dolores Huerta in the Apple or Google Play store.
Huerta was born April 10, 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico, and moved to an agriculture community in Stockton, California, when she was 3 years old. As a teacher in Stockton working with many of the children of farmworkers, she would eventually step into a leadership role at a time where men dominated organized labor.
“I couldn’t stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes,” reads a 1962 quote from Huerta included in the exhibit. “I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.”
Alongside César Chávez, they founded the UFW in 1962. For years, the organization conducted strikes, protests and other nonviolent demonstrations to gather support across the world on behalf of farm workers.
Teodoro Estrada, a volunteer and tour guide at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art who helped install the exhibition, told The Rider it is a powerful story to learn about and the photographs and art make the story easier to understand and more beautiful.
He said that the use of banners and written messages in the early stages of the Farm Workers movement were very strong symbols that resonated with people, such as the UFW’s flag with a black eagle, ‘Si se puede’ and ‘Huelga.’
“Once the artists get involved then the word or the message become greater through the visual arts,” Estrada said. “Strikers are beginning to be a little bit more elaborate with their posters.”
Deyanira Ramirez, executive director of the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, told The Rider when Guerra first pitched the idea, she thought it was a great opportunity to bring Huerta’s story to the community.
Ramirez said the museum will host a grand opening celebration at 6 p.m. Aug. 19 and invites the entire community to come.
She added that the museum will also host two community days that will be free of charge to the public on Aug. 31 and Sept. 28.
Asked what Ramirez hopes attendees will gain from the exhibit, she replied, “I want for the community to take with them is that sense that we can fight for what we think is right. … ‘I’m this person but I can fight for what I believe.’ … [Huerta] did it for her reasons and everybody can fight for their own ideas.”
