Fiesta-style event fetes fatherhood

By his own admission, Roland Davis wasn’t always a good father. He used to be involved in gangs and drugs, but groups that hosted the Father’s Day Fiesta on Saturday helped the father of five turn a corner.

“I was real violent back then,” said Davis, a frequent volunteer who this year enjoyed Saturday’s event as a spectator with one of his kids. “I learned that there was a better way of life, and I had a bit of an epiphany … I had to be a better influence for” my kids.

The 18th iteration of the event was hosted on the grounds of the San Antonio Housing Authority, with the San Antonio Fatherhood Campaign and the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions co-hosting.

More than 150 people attended the festival, designed to encourage the responsibilities and joys of parenthood, especially fatherhood, according to Adrian Lopez, SAHA director of community development initiatives.

Having worked with a number of families in distress, and being a father of two himself, Lopez understands the importance of highlighting fatherhood in the community.

“We serve upward of 60,000 individuals, and unfortunately 90 percent of our kids are growing up in female households mostly led by female heads of the house,” Lopez said. “This initiative is important because we’re trying to encourage dads to be part of that, the family unit.”

Corporations and organizations offered health screenings, financial advice and employment opportunities at the event. There also were performances by pop rock act Puro Constante and others.

Actor and San Antonio native Jesse Borrego, who was master of ceremonies, has been involved in the event for around 10 years. He’s a member of the American Indians in Texas organization, which is as a major donor for the fatherhood campaign.

“Our service is to be in the barrio as urban indigenous people and clearly challenge what is it that’s going on with our families. Why is there addiction, domestic abuse?” Borrego said.

“We see all of those as the ills of our community and then we attack it from what we know, which is fathers not being there,” he added.

For more information about services and ways to help the effort, go online to visit to aitscm.org or safatherhood.com

Photos by Josie Norris / San Antonio Express-News Anthony Ybarbo, 10, jumps through his hula hoop at the Father’s Day Fiesta on the SAHA grounds.

Aria Gamez, 3, rests her hand on the back of dad Aaron Gamez’s head at the Father’s Day Fiesta.