With the winter agriculture season under way, farmworkers employed throughout the region gathered at the Dia Del Campesino, or Day of the Farmworker, fair in the early hours of Saturday morning in San Luis.
Farmworkers lined up as early as midnight, three hours before the start of the annual fair at 3 a.m. on Saturday.
"I am here for the menudo and to get a flu vaccine," said Juan Veleasco, who works in the lettuce fields and was first in line. "I've come here to this event for a few years now. The music is good and the services are great."
The event is sponsored by the Somerton-based agency Campesinos Sin Fronteras (CSF), or Farmworkers Without Borders, which provides free services to farmworkers and low income residents. In November, CSF launched Radio Sin Fronteras 99.9 FM, a bilingual radio station with community news and music.
More than 40 local agencies took part in this year's Dia del Campesino. Executive director Emma Torres said it's all for the workers.
"This is a very special day, (it's) a celebration," Torres said. "Organizations come together to thank the farmworker population for everything they do for our community."
Farmworkers received vaccines, diabetes and other health checks, donated clothing, legal services and a hot meal before they boarded buses just before dawn to go to work in the local fields.
