Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Dia Del Campesino health fair for farmworkers in San Luis celebrates 30 years

Farmworkers receive free health screenings from employees of Onvida Health at the Dia Del Campesino in San Luis on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
Victor Calderón/KAWC
Farmworkers receive free health screenings from employees of Onvida Health at the Dia Del Campesino in San Luis on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.

In 1994, a group of local farmworker advocates organized the first Dia Del Campesino (Day of the Farmworker) to connect healthcare agencies and other social services in Yuma County to this often undeserved and invisible community.

Five years later, Campesinos Sin Fronteras was established after co-founder and executive director Emma Torres said they saw the need for year-round services. CSF is headquartered in Somerton and there is a second office in San Luis. The agency also operates Radio Sin Fronteras, with a focus on health news.

You could feel the excitement in the air as the gate opened at the 2024 Dia Del Campesino on Dec. 6 in San Luis.

As soon as they entered, farmworkers received a bracelet, a raffle ticket and a reusable bag before they were greeted by dozens of workers and volunteers offering free health screenings, medical information, promotional items and warm food and drinks from local agencies including Onvida Health and Sunset Health.

Volunteers offer free health screenings at the Dia Del Campesino in San Luis on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
Victor Calderón/KAWC
Volunteers offer free health screenings at the Dia Del Campesino in San Luis on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.

"Everything is great," said farmworker Maria Dolores Rosales, who lives in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico and has worked in the lettuce fields for about 25 years. Rosales said she and the other workers feel gratitude for the work they do in local agriculture.

"We like the medical screenings, the warm food. It is a friendly atmosphere," she said.

Laura Torres is the youth and family services director for Campesinos Sin Fronteras, which organizes the annual fair. She's also the daughter of Emma Torres. Laura said she remembers growing up with the fair.

"I remember all the faces of gratitude, that has stuck with me all these years," she told KAWC. The gratitude from farmworkers, she adds, is what has made it all worth it for all the organizers who meet frequently in the months leading up to the fair.

Farmworker Armando Pacheco also lives in San Luis Rio Colorado and said he has worked here in the fields for almost 15 years. He had both hands full with giveaways of reusable bags and other goods including a warm blanket.

"We workers appreciate the support they give us here and of course the small gifts," Pacheco said.

The steady stream of farmworkers came through the early morning, even as others headed out to the buses taking them out to the fields in Yuma County.

Farmworkers could pick up a free warm meal including a tamale at the Dia Del Campesino in San Luis on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
Victor Calderón/KAWC
Farmworkers could pick up a free warm meal including a tamale at the Dia Del Campesino in San Luis on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.

Victor is originally from West Sacramento, California and has lived in Arizona for more than five years. He began his print journalism career in 2004 following his graduation from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Victor has been a reporter for the following daily newspapers: The Monterey County Herald, The Salinas Californian and the Reno Gazette-Journal, where he covered stories including agriculture, education and Latino community news. Victor has also served as a local editor for Patch, a national news organization with hyperlocal websites, in Carmichael, California in the Sacramento area. He also served as the editor for The New Vision, the newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, which includes Yuma and La Paz counties. Victor lives in Somerton. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends and following most sports.
Related Content