To help Mexico earthquake victims, local residents organize benefit concert, collect donations

A benefit concert for the victims of the Mexico earthquake will take place this coming Saturday at Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead and will feature several popular local Mexican bands and DJ’s.

“Unidos por Mexico,” or United for Mexico concert, is an event organized by a group of local residents and businesses who have joined forces and created a group called “Voluntariado Mexicano de Long Island” or Mexican Volunteers of Long Island.

“We are very sad to see so much pain and damage in Mexico,” said Flanders resident Paola Zuniga-Tellez, who is a member of the group. “There are so many deaths and people affected in one way or another. Mexico needs us.”

Marvin Garcia, a local resident and the main organizer of the concert, said he wanted to help the group with fundraising efforts and he thought a concert would be ideal to bring people together for a good cause.

“I called the bands and they all agreed to do it. We are all in this together,” he said.

Popular Riverhead band “Los Morros de Mexico” will lead the night followed by “Unicornio Musical” and “Grupo Imaginación.” The groups specialize in upbeat Mexican rythms such as “banda,” rancheras and “corridos” that highlight brass instruments, piano and accordions.

DJ Junior, DJ Sombra and La Mamizuki, three well-known music DJs and hosts in the local Spanish music sphere, will round up the night and keep everybody dancing.

Their goal, the organizers said, is to raise funds to transport all donations collected throughout the past several weeks to Mexico. Transportation has been a big issue due to the high cost of it, said Alicia Saldierna, a Voluntariado Mexicano de Long Island member.

In order to gather all donations made at different locations throughout Long Island, Liga de Justicia, a law firm with offices in Manhattan and Long Island, as well as members of the community and local businesses have helped the group to transport hundreds of boxes of donations from different locations in Long Island to the Flanders-Northampton Volunteer Ambulance, where they have stored all items for the past few weeks.

So far, Voluntariado Mexicano de Long Island members Saldierna, Janet La Guera, Zuniga-Tellez, Dulce Rojas and others have reorganized and assembled over 40 pallets.

A portion of those will be shipped by air this coming weekend and the rest will be transported by truck at the end of next week. Oscar Molina of MOE Fine Stone Construction, a local business, is helping them take the pallets to the airport.

“The work these women are doing is amazing. We are here to support them,” said Maira Alejandra, Liga de Justicia radio show program director and marketing director.

The law firm is sponsoring the concert this Saturday and promoting it on their daily show at radio La Fiesta 98.5 FM.

Wildwood Lanes is located at 3951 Lake Ave in Riverhead. The event will be open to everybody 21 and over.