By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
International Women’s Day activities returned to the Casa de la Cultura Saturday and Sunday.
The 39th International Women’s Day Celebration welcomed more than 20 guests for outdoor
activities and indoor workshops to discuss issues to honor and
celebrations at the Casa de la Cultura. The Casa held workshops focused on sexual and
physical wellness, women’s literature and artistic talents and spiritual roads to healing. (Photo
by Louis Zylka)
celebrate women,
culture and community empowerment through education and participation.
Xochitl Abrego, one of the event’s organizers, said the Casa’s International Women’s Day
celebrations have been on a hiatus since 2017. She said the event is a gathering of people to
embrace and discuss serious topics affecting women in the local community of Del Rio, across
the border and around the country.
“The same issues from the Casa’s celebrations during the first year in 1986 are still relevant
today, from small community issues to large countrywide and nationwide issues,” Abrego said. “I think realizing that our community needed a sense of healing is what really brought us all back
together to revamp (the events) and highlight that there are resources here for people to use,”
Abrego said.
Day one of the celebrations began with an opening spiritual
Celebrations at the Casa de la Cultura on Saturday. More than 20 guests attended the two-day
event to celebrate unity, strength and resilience in the community. (Photo by Louis Zylka)
ceremony, which took place outside in the garden area of the Casa.
After the opening ceremony, the events continued inside with workshops involving sexual and physical wellness, women’s literature and artistic talents and spiritual roads to healing.
The guest speakers at the event included Sabrina Flores, Vanessa Salinas, Sarah Pirrello, Karis
Amaya, Gabriella Rosales, Diana Abrego, Rosa Reyna and Lupita De La Paz. The speakers
included physical therapists, art teachers and local activists.
Pirrello, a local self-defense instructor, held a hand-to-hand self-defense class demonstrating
techniques including a wrist-grab and moves to help people defend themselves from an
attacker.
Food and music were also provided for the guests who attended.
The second day had an honorary session to represent the strong women of the year and an outdoor activity to plant healing herbs.
