8th annual Lazo Rosa Binational Walk

CALEXICO — Residents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border provided a show of solidarity in support of breast cancer victims at the annual Lazo Rosa Binational Walk on Oct. 9.

Now in its eighth year, the walk drew about 40 participants, who dressed in their best pink attire to make the roughly one mile walk from the Consulate of México on Heber Avenue to the border fence on First Street.

The annual walk is put on by the Mexican Consulate in Calexico, Ventanilla, Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District and the nonprofit organization Women Who Live Foundation in Mexicali.

All four entities have been working together to assure breast cancer patients that support is available to them on either side of the border, Adriana Buelna, coordinator of Ventanilla De Salud, said.

During the walk, loud chants, pink balloons and banners carried by the crowd drew the attention of passersby.

The Calexico High School drumline and a temporary street closure, courtesy of Calexico Police Department, also added to the volume of the crowd’s rallying call.

Awaiting on the other side of the fence was an equally large “pinked-out” crowd. A Mexicali-based school marching band matched the noise of the Bulldogs.

A Border Patrol unit parked near the gathering, but allowed parties on either side to get as close to the fence as they desired.

Tonatiuh Romero, cónsul of Consulate of México in Calexico, shared his keynote speech, in Spanish, over PA system for both sides to hear.

Another keynote speaker on Mexicali side also shared some words.

The speeches concluded with Romero holding up half of a cardboard cutout of a pink ribbon against the steel fence, while the Mexicali speaker held the other half on the other side.

The event ended with participants releasing pink balloons into the sky as a final demonstration of unity in pursuit of a common cause.