SAN ANTONIO – Friday marked three years since the Quintana Road Tragedy, and community members are holding a vigil Saturday morning to remember the 53 lives lost.
Authorities found 67 migrants on June 27, 2022, inside a semitruck on the Southwest Side. The discovery is considered the deadliest case of human smuggling in U.S. history. The total death toll was 53, and one of the victims was pregnant.
Here’s what we know about the vigil on Saturday:
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people will walk from St. Joseph Catholic Church on New Laredo Highway
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they’ll walk down New Laredo Highway and turn onto Cassin Drive
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from Cassin Drive, they’ll turn onto Quintana Road and their goal is to reach the memorial by 10 a.m.
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others are encouraged to meet at the memorial at 10 a.m. for prayer and remembrance
Angelita Olvera, the woman who upkeeps the memorial, said she hopes Saturday can be a time for the community to come together.
“It’s just so sentimental,” she said. “We pray for these souls.”
Olvera said she hopes a crowd is present on Saturday to honor the victims.
“We need to join together and pray, especially as to what’s going on in this country,” Olvera said. “Today it was them. Tomorrow it might be us. The way the immigration situation is in this country right now.”
Flyers for the vigil on social media indicate that the memorial will run until 1 p.m. Olvera said that water and food donations are needed on the day of the event.
The memorial’s address is 9600 Quintana Road.
“Thanks to the advocacy of community leaders, we have a memorial where people can respectfully honor the lives lost and reflect on this tragic event,” newly elected District 4 Councilman Edward Muniga said. “Joining residents from across the city at this site gives us all an opportunity to pay our respects and reminds us of our common humanity.”
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