This year is the first in which Latinos will be the largest minority at the polls.
A Zumba class, a march with posters, and a group of Mariachis were part of the novel strategy that a group of Hispanics in Los Angeles used on Tuesday to promote the vote among the Latino community, which on Tuesday held the primary elections in California .
Like every morning, the group of more than 20 women gathered in the city of Whittier, in Los Angeles County, to do their usual Zumba time.
However, this day was very special for Hispanics, because several of them were going to vote for the first time after decades of living in the United States.
“It seemed like a way to inspire our Latin people (…) so that through what we do every day, the exercise, they go out to vote,” said Luz María Tierno, Zumba instructor.
So they arrived dressed in sportswear with allegorical drawings to the United States and made a good part of their exercise time carrying posters, which they themselves did, with the phrase "Dancing and voting."
"It is a privilege to vote because we give voice to our Latino people," said Tierno, who is part of the first voters.
Heated and radiating energy, the Hispanics left their class to walk several blocks accompanied by a mariachi who brightened the road to the polling station with a serenade.
“In life we have bad moments, good moments, but this has been one of my best moments in my life and I feel very happy,” said María Guadalupe Collin, 58, and who drove the idea.
Collin, who as undocumented was the owner of two businesses, says that today, who is a new citizen, celebrates the fact that he can vote because he can raise his voice for those who cannot.
"For a while I was back, down (as undocumented), now I am up to reach out (to the undocumented) with my vote," says the Hispanic, a native of Mexico City.
That joy prompted her to walk for more than 20 minutes with her companions and the mariachi, to the polling station, where before they paid they danced an adaptation of “El Mariachi Loco” in the eyes of other voters.
"The crazy Mariachi wants to vote, the crazy Mariachi wants to vote," the women who turned a party on election day sang and chanted.
For Angélica Salas, director of the Immigrant Human Rights Coalition (CHIRLA), each new voter is a triumph for Hispanic communities, and that is why this occasion should be celebrated.
"The Hispanic community uses Mariachis for weddings, for birthdays, so celebrating these achievements with our music is very important," said Salas.
With about 32 million, this 2020 will be the first election in which Latinos will be the minority with the largest number of voters, about 13.3% of those registered in the United States, according to recent estimates from the Pew Research Center (PRC).
In California, the Hispanic vote gains even more strength, and is considered one of the bastions of voters that can make a difference in this super Tuesday, where the Golden State provides 415 delegates.
“This year is key for our community, and we need every Latino vote. This year it is defined if we are going to continue with the policies of Donald Trump who wants to punish the Latino community, or we change the course, ”said Salas.
Both Tierno and Collin said they voted for candidates who among their priorities had proposals to improve education, health, and immigration reform.
