Beatriz Mata photographs the altar she set up in the front of her house on Methow Street in Wenatchee with her daughter Enedina, in the silver coat. Their display was one of 17 visited by people on a Day of the Dead walking tour presented by Parque Padrinos in November.
Teresa Bendito-Zepeda is a Wenatchee native and a co-founder of non-profit Parque Padrinos. In 2020, she also founded her own business, Teresita's Consulting, to provide services like interpretation and translation to local organizations, including Confluence Health.
The interview with Bendito-Zepeda has been edited for clarity and brevity.Â
Were there any positives for Parque Padrinos that came out of COVID?
Teresa Bendito
Parque Padrinos co-founder
Provided photo
Our Facebook group grew from having 12 members in 2018 to now having about 630 members.
It's been beautiful to see different ways of celebrating. Now I have a new understanding and way of describing a celebration. It doesn't mean that we all have to be there. We can celebrate victories in our own ways, at different times — but as long as we're connected through the story or collective work, then it's still a celebration.Â
What were some of Parque Padrinos biggest accomplishments in 2021?
One of our biggest accomplishments was to partner with the Mexican Consulate and Pinnacles Prep to host a mobile visit from the consulate to provide services (like passports) to the Mexican people in our community. Also partnering with other organizations like Columbia Valley Community Health to provide essential services like flu vaccines at that visit.Â
What’s a personal accomplishment from 2021 that you’re proud of?
I was a college student throughout the past six years. Little by little, I was working towards my accounting degree. I finally graduated in December. I’m really proud of myself for finally finishing and bringing this win to my family, and the way I see it, to the community.
I'm a first-generation college student. My brother graduated with an accounting degree as well, but I am the first first female in my household to receive that. There were many times where it was just getting really tough to finish, but I went ahead and powered through.
What have been some of the biggest wins for your community this year? What about losses?
I always said during the past two years that I didn't want to go back to normal or the way things were because I saw how COVID-19 affected the Latinx community.
I think one of the wins was that we saw more more investment into equitable programs and initiatives and we're hearing about more groups and organizations that are putting a bigger focus on these types of issues.
Beatriz Mata photographs the altar she set up in the front of her house on Methow Street in Wenatchee with her daughter Enedina, in the silver coat. Their display was one of 17 visited by people on a Day of the Dead walking tour presented by Parque Padrinos in November.
The losses really came from the pandemic overall. At many times, what was being communicated about the situation of COVID wasn’t the same as what was happening with a lot of the community that was disproportionately affected by it.
That's something that's improved, but it caused a loss in the past and will continue to cause losses if we don't address it. I really hope the momentum keeps going forward and doesn't just end here with our recovery out of the pandemic.
This story was originally published in The World's 2022 Progress Edition. Read the original article here.Â
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