Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Unveiling of Dolores Huerta mural by Robert Vargas in Los Angeles by Mary Cummins

Today was the unveiling of the Dolores Huerta mural by Robert Vargas in downtown Los Angeles, California. The location of the mural is 103 4th St on the back of the Barclay Hotel building. You can see it on Main street. It took over a year for this mural to get the approvals and begin the design and painting process. The name of the mural is "Walking into history."

Dolores Huerta's daughter Juanita Chavez spoke at the event. She said her mother is doing well but still laying low because of recent events. Dolores will be at the official unveiling May 16th. The unveiling was today to coincide with her 96th birthday. The mural was made possible by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. It's the fifth and final mural in the "We are human" series. An AHF representative also spoke at the event. @ahfcares @therobertvargas AHF @mary_cummins

Ten minute video of Muralist Robert Vargas, Dolores Huerta's daughter Juanita Chavez, and Carlos Marroquin National Director, Food for Health Programs at AIDS Healthcare Foundation speaking at the event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ3FvcKw070

From the official press release, "The artwork will spotlight Huerta’s enduring legacy as a co-founder of the United Farm Workers union and a fearless advocate for workers’ rights, racial equity, and social justice. Drawing on her storied history organizing farmworkers and championing the rallying cry “¡Sí se puede” which translates as “Yes, it can be done” and her call to action “Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk” – the mural will draw community attention to her lifelong leadership and activism.

Beginning April 6, 2026, Vargas will begin painting the large‑scale piece, with plans to unveil the completed mural on April 12, 2026 at 2pm PST with a press conference in honor of Huerta’s 96th birthday. The event will include local city officials and civil rights supporters in attendance.

“This mural is more than an image — it’s a statement of resilience, history, and community,” said Vargas. “Dolores Huerta’s leadership helped change the course of labor rights in this country. She embodies courage, tenacity, and unrelenting hope. In a time when we are reckoning with who we choose to honor publicly, this mural represents a deeper recognition of voices that lifted entire movements.”

I was trying to figure out which old photo Robert used as the basis for his mural study. It looks like this photo if you cut out Cesar Chavez, flip the photo horizontally and alter the shirt just a little. Keep in mind the mural was designed a year ago before the whole Cesar Chavez thing happened. If this is the photo, it is even more powerful. Chavez is cut out of the photo, cut out of her legacy. She now takes up the entire frame instead of just less than half of it. Photo taken June 27, 1976 in Keene, California at a UFW rally by Richard Avedon. A photo of Cesar by himself is in the National Portrait Gallery in D.C. Did Vargas have to ask permission to use the photo for the mural? I'm sure Avedon would have allowed him to use it. Avedon died in 2004. Oddly enough all the major online art galleries including the Smithsonian who had this photo are removing it. Here is the only live link I could find and it's only of Cesar https://www.nga.gov/artworks/204021-cesar-chavez-organizer-united-farm-workers-keene-california

It looks like the same photo. The skin is darker and red flowers are added to the shirt. The shirt also looks a little like a traditional guayabera shirt in the mural. I flipped the image vertically below so you can see it better.

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate is a certified residential licensed appraiser in Los Angeles, California. Mary Cummins is licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate appraisers and has over 35 years of experience.

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Sunday, March 29, 2026

No Kings Protest in Los Angeles California, City Hall, Grand Park by Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins No Kings protest Los Angeles LA City Hall 2026 #marycummins #losangeles

The No Kings protest in Los Angeles took place at LA City Hall and Gloria Molina Grand Park on March 28, 2026. There were a total of over 8,000,000 people at all of the No Kings protests throughout the nation. The protest was positive and peaceful when I was there from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm. I took the bus because I knew the freeway on/off ramps would be closed and parking is always impossible.

The musical group Los Jornaleros del Norte @JornalerosDelNorte http://losjornalerosdelnorte.com/ were there performing their protest songs like Cumbia de la Migra and some crowd favorites like Llorar y Llorar. There were also mariachis, Dandidi the Harlequin of Liberty and an art exhibit about people killed in ICE custody or during ICE raids. Lots of street vendors and people asking you to sign petitions. Also present were CEOTAX.la, Black Lives Matter, the event organizers 50501, SEIU 2015 and a plane flying around City Hall with a banner that said "NOT A KING - HE'S YOUR DADDY!"