The Weekly Focus Newsletter
Published by SacLatino Magazine
August 24, 2017 - Volume 1, issue 6
RE-DEDICATION OF EL SOLDADO: A WORK OF LOVE, FRUSTRATION, AND ACCOMPLISHMENT! By Adrian Perez “Mothers are sacred in the Latino culture and disobeying t h e m , o r w o r s t s t i l l , disrespecting them, is a sign of cowardice.” ! ! ! ! ! ! ! - My Mom!
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In the Latino culture, mothers are the symbol of unconditional love. The one who protects when we need shelter and the one who provides when we need food or clothing. Yes, fathers do this too, but not at the level mothers do.! When a mother sends their child to school, thereʼs a clear expectation the child will return that afternoon. But, when a mother sends their child to war...! It only stands to reason that the pain and void of not seeing their child return cannot be filled with a letter explaining how valiantly they died for their country. This was the case for numerous Mexican American mothers who decided to fill that void by building a memorial in honor of their sons who died in World War II (WWII.)! These mothers organized themselves right after WWII and formed a group called “La Sociedad de Madres” (Mothers Society) and embarked on an effort to build a veterans memorial to honor their children.! In 1948, La Sociedad de Madres found a carved statue of a soldier that cost $4,000 to purchase and
ship it from Italy. The amount was challenging for the time period, but the members of the group were up for the challenge.! Hosting and preparing a series of fundraisers (tamale sales), La Sociedad de Madres reached their goal and on May 10, 1951 (Mexican Motherʼs Day) the monument was dedicated.!
Weekly Focus - August 24, 2017 - Page 1
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