Hologram version of Dolores Huerta will be the star for years to come at her Peace and Justice Cultural Center

Robert Price
·2 min read
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – Ideally, Dolores Huerta will be on hand to snip the ribbon at the grand opening of the Dolores Huerta Peace and Justice Cultural Center.

That’s the multi-million dollar community center that’s been in the works for at least four years now.

But if the 94-year-old civil rights icon isn’t there in person, she’ll be there in another sense, doing precisely what Dolores Huerta Foundation organizers would want her to do — talk about her personal struggles and those of U.S. farmworkers.

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How? With a hologram — a three dimensional image of Huerta that won’t merely speak to visitors at the cultural center, but answer their questions in real time.

It’s the same technology that has allowed Holocaust survivors to tell their stories — long after they’ve passed — to Holocaust Museum visitors.

Lori DeLeon of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and Huerta’s oldest surviving child, said the foundation took on the project for posterity’s sake.

“It’s really important to be able to pass the message on to future generations,” she said. “That’s why the holograph is so important. Not so much for us now but for future generations, so that they can learn a little bit more about her.”

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Ask Hologram Dolores Huerta about the day years ago Arizona officials told her, “No, se puede” — “No, you can’t” — and she then delivered that message to members of the farmworkers union. She explains it like this:

“They jumped on their feet and they started shouting, ‘Si, se puede, si, se puede!’ and doing the unanimous hand clap. And that is how the phrase was born.”

When might we expect to see that version of the legendary labor leader tell her life story on a holographic stage? If all goes well, September 2026. The project is due to break ground at 21st and Eye streets this fall.

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