Farmworker event moves to Main Street in San Luis
SAN LUIS, Ariz. — Dia del Campesino, the predawn outdoor celebration that pays tribute to farm workers, will return to its roots when it takes place on Dec. 2.
Dia del Campesino — or Day of the Farm Worker — will be staged along Main Street in downtown San Luis, the same site of the inaugural event held more than two decades ago.
Organized by the nonprofit organization Campesinos Sin Fronteras, the event brings together farmworkers with health care providers, businesses and public and private sector agencies that can provide them the services they need. The event always begins at 3 a.m. to allow the workers to attend before they board the labor buses that take them to the fields.
In recent years, Dia del Campesino has taken place in Amistad Park, located next to the Mexican border, given that the event is attend not only by workers in the Arizona border city but those commuting to work from neighboring Mexico.
But the park has since been closed in anticipation of an expansion project that will extend the U.S. port of entry to what is now the park site.
The 23rd annual celebration, which will continue till 9 a.m. on Dec. 2, will take place at the parking lot of the former Del Sol Market building, 670 N. Main St., in the city’s downtown.
Several thousand farmworkers typically attend Dia del Campesino, during which they are treated to live entertainment and a free breakfast of menudo.
Emma Torres, executive director of Campesinos Sin Fronteras, describes farmworkers as “one of the most unprotected populations with the fewest benefits” in Yuma County.
The event, she said, allows the workers to make contact with representatives of medical providers, housing organizations, immigration services, businesses and nonprofit agencies that can serve them. The workers also can receive information about signing up for health insurance.
“More than 70 percent of them don’t have medical insurance,” Torres said. “We try to bring them the best services that we can. We want to bring to light who they are and what they contribute to the community, but also what their needs are.”
The workers can also get free flu shots and undergo blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol checks.
Joe Orduno Park, located on the city’s north side, has also hosted Dia del Campesino in the past, but San Luis Parks and Recreation Director Louie Galaviz said organizers from now on want to host the event downtown, near the border, an area that is more conveniently located.
“We think that in this location the event is going to be a success,” he said.