Late this Wednesday
afternoon, Lawrie just happened to check his emails and discovered a message
from Marla Bainbridge Martinez asking if we would consider helping out as bartenders at a
fundraiser starting at four in the afternoon.
I heaved a sigh and stared longingly at my just-poured glass of Malbec wine. Our afternoon plans had included reading a book on the ocean-side patio, with a glass of wine in hand.
But it was a fundraiser put on by a group of island friends and businesspeople in support of a badly injured islander. Julio Zapata had recently been in a horrific motorcycle accident in the nearby City of Mérida. Julio has two young children and a third on the way. He is facing large medical bills for multiple surgical operations.
We couldn’t say no. It’s
what people in small communities do – help out. Lawrie and I scrambled to get
to the fundraiser for the four o’clock start time.
Navy truck. Providing an armed escort for the ice?
Driving to the venue at the Casa de la Culture via Guerrero Avenue, we trailed behind a golf cart, loaded with bags of ice.
Just ahead of the golf cart was an armed escort in the form of a
truckload of Navy marines. Presumably protecting against the threat of ice-bandits?
 |
| Lawrie, Fernanda are all set to sell beer and drinks |
At the ocean-side esplanade for the Casa de la Culture, busy hands were in the process of setting up the venue. Lights and sound systems installed. Band instruments unpacked. Beer was organized in the cooler and covered with the precious ice. Bid pages were arranged for silent auction items donated by several island businesses. And then our favourite beer dispensers arrived: Isla Brewing.
Okay, we’re good to go! Now
let’s hear some tunes from La Banda Sin Nombre, the Band with No Name!
The crowd was small but
very generous in their donations. Thanks to everyone for helping out. Here’s a
copy of Marla’s list of contributors: hopefully, no one has been left out.
Javi's Cantina Restaurant Tapas Bar, Bobo's Grill
& Bar, Isla Mujeres Bar Card, El Arrecife, Parque de los Sueños, Restaurant
Asia Caribe, CARM Tours & Transfers, The Joint Reggae Bar & Grill, El
Patio house of music, Gigi Kraycar, Nirit Ben David, Olivia Tastes from the
Mediterranean, Catrina Restaurant, BE Wings Restaurant, Nisa Disco, and Michael
(no last name given).
Aida bidding on an auction item
La Banda Sin Nombre y Deejay Dani for the tunes. Cheryl
Gabel and Kevin Gabel for running the auction. Isla Brewing Company - Cerveza
Isla. Emilio Fernando Sosa Delgado and Martin Burgos
for setting up. Jason Williams and Fernanda.
Some of the silent auction winners include: Mark and Monica Macpherson, Sandra
Murray, Tomas Christianson, Terri Huff, Dede Clark, Aida, and Patricio Yam.
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| Barbara Beck, Chris Shannon, Jimmy Picuri |
Between the beer sales, the
silent auction items, and an earlier GoFundMe campaign, the group efforts have
brought in about 41,000 pesos of the 70,000 pesos needed to pay for the
operations. It’s a great start! Donations are still gratefully accepted.
Contact Marla at Javi’s Cantina for details.
The weather was perfect,
the music enjoyable, and the crowd was happy.
Thank you, everyone, for your generosity.
Hasta Luego
Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat
Or
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