Annual Peace and Unity March brings together community against ongoing violence
WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Peace and unity was the message that brought out the community today for the 31st Annual Peace and Unity March in Watsonville.
On Sunday, camaraderie and harmony spread throughout the city at the annual march. the event is meant to share the memories of people who had their lives cut short due to ongoing gang or gun violence.
The family Raymond Matias aka "Mundo" was there to honor him. "Mundo" was killed during a house party on Halloween night back in 2022.
"He was very kind. He was very brave. He was very honest. He was nice to everybody," Matias's mother Marlene Marquez said remembering her son. "He never let a kid get made fun of in school for not having nice clothes or not having things or for looking different. He defended everybody. He was - he was a genuine, really good light in everybody's life."
Advocates at the march saw the ongoing crime and domestic violence in Santa Cruz County and felt the need to spread the message of hope, not hate.
"I saw a lot of my friends getting involved in gangs in the community and I saw them either being incarcerated or or dying because of gun violence or gang violence," community advocate Fabian Leonor said. "So that's when I decided that I wasn't going to go that route. I was going to do something different for my community."
Featured at the event outside of the march was a ofrenda put together to honor those who had passed due to violence over the last three decades.
As the march went into town down Maple Avenue and back around up Riverside Road, people of all different walks of life spread their message and want of peace to those young and old.
"It shows to me that the community is open to taking back the community, you know?" Elevate Youth coordinator Omar Rodriguez said. "I believe that the youth are the future. I believe that the youth have a lot of voice, a lot of power."
It also gives window of hope for the youth coming to the event to know that they have support for a safer future.
"I hope that they take away the culture. I hope that they take away that that there's people in this community that want to see them succeed," Rodriguez said. "I hope that they are inspired to make change and for most of all, to come and learn about themselves, empower themselves."
The Peace and Unity March remains one of the oldest peace marches in California. A similar event inspired by the march happened in Salinas earlier this year.
