Hundreds of abuelitas, señoras, parents, grandparents and even perr-hijos showed up last Saturday to Mariachi Plaza for the tenth annual Fiesta Para La Comunidad hosted by The Y at Weingart East Los Angeles, in collaboration with Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital.
Everyone, including the perr-hijos, had to wake up early to secure their thanskgiving dinners (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera).
Those first in line, stood there as early as 4:30 AM to ensure they went home with one of 400 free turkeys and all of the other giveaways being offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“I’ve been here since 4:30 AM,” said Panchito Zetino enthusiastically. “I come every year and it’s now my fifth year.”
Zetino, who is from Guatemala, is a lifelong East L.A. community member and says he has witnessed the growth of the community event each year. He further expressed that he is thankful to all who come together to make it possible for them to secure their thanksgiving meals and access to community health resources.
“It has gotten a lot better and changed a lot,” he said. “[Grocery prices] are really high and there are a lot of people who don’t have enough money for a turkey so that’s why we see a lot of people here today.”
Volunteers across various backgrounds came together in the spirit of the holidays to help distribute turkeys (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera).
Kassandra Sànchez, volunteer at The Y, says that this is just one way they address the growing need to combat food insecurity.
“At our center alone, we have distributed over 9 million pounds of food since the start of the pandemic,” said Sànchez. “You can see a lot of the abuelitas, the matriarchs who stand in line for their families since 4AM.”
David Hayes-Bautista Ph.D., addressed the audience, saying he is thankful to them for showing up and thanking the community of Boyle Heights for allowing White Memorial Hospital to serve them for over 100 years.
“Our offering of 400 pavos, guajolotes, or chompipes, is our way of thanking you for your support and loyalty,” said Hayes-Bautista.
The offerings included turkeys, bags full of produce, dog food and baby diapers. During the fiesta, K-Love Radio hosted a small competition onstage for audience members to win tickets for Caifanes and Ramon Ayala. La señora Hernandez, who stood in line since 4AM, took home the Caifanes tickets.
The fiesta also included dance performances by local youth cheer and folklorico teams.
Youth folklorico dancers prepare to go onstage at Saturday's Fiesta Para La Comunidad at Mariachi Plaza (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera)
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