San Antonio's South Side community will this weekend unveil a memorial to commemorate the lives of 53 migrants who perished in a tragic human smuggling incident in 2022. According to a San Antonio Report article, the unveiling marks the two-year anniversary of the day when dozens of men, women, and children were discovered in a suffocatingly hot, unventilated tractor-trailer on the city's South Side. Construction of the permanent "Migrant Memorial" began recently near where a makeshift memorial has stood since the event.
The memorial features 53 limestone boulders, each representing one of the migrants who lost their lives, with sizes corresponding to the ages of the victims—ranging from 13 to 55 inches. The youngest, 13-year-old Pascual Melvin Guachiac Sipac from Guatemala, will be remembered with a boulder 13 inches tall. A central plaque will list the names of all 53 individuals, along with their countries of origin. This tangible legacy was constructed to allow people to come to sit, to reflect, and to, maybe in some small measure, to understand the immense loss that occurred that fateful June day.
The cost of the memorial was less than $100,000, far below the initially projected $15 million estimate, which included additional roadwork expenses. Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, an advocate for the memorial's funding through the Neighborhood Accessibility and Mobility Program, told the San Antonio Report, "We are honoring the [community’s] grief and the culture, making sure we give them a space to pray and to reflect. And just to think about what happened." The community has felt a strong need to create a space that both acknowledges the tragedy and celebrates the lives of those who were desperately pursuing better opportunities.
Residents have maintained a memorial since the incident, leaving flowers, displaying the names and countries of origin of the deceased, and even providing water bottles—a poignant reminder of the desperate need for water in the trailer. Angelita Olvera, who has been caring for the site from the start, said in a statement obtained by the San Antonio Report, "They wanted to get air, wanted to get water, wanted for someone to please open up those doors to the trailer." Her words echo the anguish and empathetic response from a community that continues to feel the impact of the tragedy.
A rosary will be held by neighbors at the site on Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., during which there will be prayer and sharing of testimonies relating to the migrant experience. Moreover, 15 minutes away, an event will be hosted by one of the artists who painted the "Sacrificios" mural, Andrea Rivas, at Mission County Park. Rivas, of Honduran descent, feels a personal connection to the tragedy, particularly as six Hondurans were among those who died. "It's an emotional gathering," she told the San Antonio Report. "It's not meant to be a party or a ceremony. It's meant to go back to your roots."
