{"id":21575,"date":"2024-01-25T14:10:06","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T21:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/?p=21575"},"modified":"2024-01-25T14:37:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T21:37:05","slug":"mass-shooting-in-half-moon-bay-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/mass-shooting-in-half-moon-bay-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Light, art and hearts: a vigil to remember victims of the Half Moon Bay mass shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

How far I am from the land where I was born!
\n<\/span>Immense nostalgia invades my thoughts
\n<\/span>Seeing myself so alone and sad like a leaf in the wind
\n<\/span>I would like to cry, I would like to die of feeling
\n<\/span>Oh Land of the Sun! I long to see you
\n<\/span>Now that I live far away without light, without love
\n<\/span>And seeing myself so alone and sad like a leaf in the wind
\n<\/span>I would like to cry, I would like to die of feeling
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2012Mixtec Song (1915), Jos\u00e9 L\u00f3pez Alavez, Oaxacan composer<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Amidst the pain, memories and desolation, the flame of candles and hearts light the way in the hope of a better future. This is how dozens of residents, leaders and officials of Half Moon Bay gathered on Tuesday night to remember seven agricultural workers who are no longer in the community, after their lives were taken by one of their colleagues on January 23, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Light,
Dozens of residents, leaders and officials gathered Tuesday night to remember the victims of the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay on January 23, 2023. Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The date is marked, exactly one year after the tragedy that forever marked the coastal town of Half Moon Bay, the non-profit organization ALAS held a vigil to commemorate not the death, but the life of these seven workers who, above all, were friends, family, and a pillar to bring food to the tables of thousands when it was most needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone arrived on time for the appointment, in the background you can hear a mariachi playing the tone for the ceremony that Helping Latinos Dream<\/a> (ALAS), with support from the Latino Community Foundation, held an emotional event in which acquaintances of the victims spoke about the bonds forged and the memories that remain alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
In the center of the photo, Mr. Huang, originally from Hong Kong and part of the Chinese farmworker community in Half Moon Bay, attended the vigil to commemorate the lives of his colleagues who were killed in the mass shooting on January 23, 2023. Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event was attended by the city's mayor, Joaqu\u00edn Jim\u00e9nez; Sao Leng U, a worker from Self-Help for the Elderly; the director of ALAS, Belinda Hern\u00e1ndez Arriaga, who led the event; and farmers from the Latino community, mostly Mexican, but also Chinese.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Light,
Joaquin Jimenez, mayor of Half Moon Bay (HMB), California, at the vigil to commemorate one year since the mass shooting where seven farm workers of Chinese and Mexican descent were killed. Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event closed with the unveiling of an art piece called \u201cCoraz\u00f3n de Campesino\u201d (Peasant\u2019s Heart) by Mexican artist Fernando Escartiz, a work that shows a heart with roots that symbolize the birthplace of the peasants, in this case Mexico and China. The heart has wings that symbolize migration, and all of it is crowned with a flame of fire that reflects the passion with which the peasants give themselves to the land; in the center of the heart, there is a vase to keep a fresh flower always as an invitation to remember what happened and prevent such a terrible act from happening again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The artist Fernando Escartiz and the director of ALAS, Belinda Hern\u00e1ndez Arriaga, who led the event. Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cCoraz\u00f3n de Campesino\u201d (Peasant\u2019s Heart), by Mexican artist Fernando Escartiz, is a work that shows a heart with roots that symbolize the birthplace of the peasants, in this case Mexico and China. The heart has wings that symbolize migration, and all of them are crowned with a flame of fire that reflects the passion with which the peasants give themselves to the land; in the center of the heart, there is a vase to keep a fresh flower always as an invitation to remember what happened and prevent such a terrible act from happening again. Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The heart, which emulates the Mexican \u201cmilagritos,\u201d will be permanently at the entrance to the ALAS offices.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was no shortage of food, somehow it always unites, gives and fills the soul. Tamalitos for everyone, from the classic ones with pork, to those for vegetarians, with spinach. Traditional sweet bread shells and delicious rice atole that, in the cold, warmed the soul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The event was attended by farmers from the Latino community, mostly Mexican, but also Chinese. Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one was left out, the entire event was simultaneously translated into Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, because if anything broke down that tragedy, it was the language barriers.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may be interested in:<\/strong> Joaqu\u00edn Jim\u00e9nez, from Mexican migrant to mayor of Half Moon Bay<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a1Qu\u00e9 lejos estoy del suelo donde he nacido! Inmensa nostalgia invade mi pensamiento Al verme tan solo y triste cual hoja al viento Quisiera llorar, quisiera morir de sentimiento \u00a1Oh Tierra del Sol! Suspiro por verte Ahora que lejos yo vivo sin luz, sin amor Y al verme tan solo y triste cual hoja al […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":21577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14,44],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-cover","9":"category-fotogaleria"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21575"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21588,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21575\/revisions\/21588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}