Oh Mother, What A Great Day It Was!
OLAX Hosts A Fabulous "Dia De La Madre"
Last updated 5/31/2023 at 10:23am
Over 250 folks came to celebrate and thank their mothers and grandmothers at Christmas Circle on May 14, American Mother's Day. (Mexican Mother's Day is always on May 10). With the financial support from Rams Hill, We Klean, Borrego Outfitters, Kendalls, Jilbertos and Borrego Springs Soroptimists, the matriarchs received a pretty corsage, a gift bag from Borrego Springs Soroptimists and all moms and friends received a free meal of chicken fajitas, rice and beans – prepared by Jilbertos. There were hot dogs for the kids!
Organized by our local OLAX (Organización de Latinx) – a group established to represent and give a voice to Borrego Springs' large Latinx population, the event celebrated our mothers who keep our town together through their work in our Park, schools, hotels, restaurants and stores. Sadly, many had to work on Mother's Day and had to quickly stop by on their lunch break to receive their corsage, plate of food and accolades.
For those mothers who were present, there was much going on to show Borrego's appreciation for their time and sacrifices. MC'd by OLAX's President Israel Ochoa, the event started out with dancing by our lively After School Dance Troupe, followed by music by the band Lobitos Los de la Barra and a special show by Selena impersonator, Miriam Lizeth Gutierrez Lomas. Our very own local celebrity, middle schooler Elizabeth Hernandez, sang a few of her favorite tunes.
An earring booth was busy allowing children to create beautiful handmade jewelry for their moms as well as a self-serving photo booth set up to capture the happy faces and create long lasting memories.
The highlight of the day was no doubt the essay writing contest conducted by OLAX in our classrooms prior to the event. Teachers had students write essays on, "Why My Mom Is The Greatest''. Oh my! The tears that fell on the faces of the OLAX judges as they read these in order to choose 20 of the "best". It was an extremely difficult task. Each winning essay awarded the mom a super gift from purses to makeup to a lovely gift from local Meta Skincare.
As Alexander wrote about his mom, Gloria Torres, "I love my Mom – she is my world and the person who gave me birth.....happy Mother's Day, Mom...you are a hard working, beautiful, strong loving mom. I love you so much Mom".
Breanna's winning essay spoke about her step-mom, Susana Baron, as " ...the best mom because she works hard to pay the bills, to buy food and buy clothes for me and my four brothers. She's not my real mom, she's my step-mom but she feels like my real mom and that's why I love her".
All essays stated that our moms are great cooks, work hard to provide for their children and love their children unconditionally. Could there be a better recipe for raising happy, confident and kind children?
Happy Mother's Day and Thank You to all of our wonderful Mothers!
OLAX wishes to thank the community for their support, especially Rams Hill:
Israel Ochoa – President
Alicia Ramirez – Vice President
Esmeralda Garcia – Secretary
Carmen Ochoa – Treasurer
