GERARDO ZAVALA
Mar 9, 2024
Thriving Pink’s ProspeROSA is restarting its “cafecito” in the park aimed at providing a space for the county’s Latino population to connect and discuss issues relating to breast cancer.
The event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. the first Saturday of every month from April through September at Woodside Park located at 1599 Cottonwood St. in Woodland. Attendees will also get to participate in a walk around the park together inviting people to “caminar con guerreras.”
ProspeROSA is a Spanish-speaker-centered program run by Thriving Pink, a Yolo County-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people in the county impacted by breast cancer. It created its “cafecito” in the park event last year to provide outreach and support to the Latino and Spanish-speaking breast cancer community.
Maria Del Rio, Spanish community coordinator for the program, said during the first event that it’s important to address the lack of support for the Latino population battling breast cancer.
“For Latinos, we’re very community-driven,” she said during the first “cafecito” event in May 2023. “Building networks and sharing a meal, that’s meaningful and provides support.”
Del Rio is a breast cancer survivor and argued that she would’ve benefited from a support group with other Latinas prior to the creation of the event.
“I was diagnosed at 27 with stage two breast cancer and… my friends were there to support me, but I couldn’t find a network of people that was my age or knew someone who has gone through this,” she recounted.
Dr. Alicia Silva, a chairperson for Thriving Pink, spearheaded the creation of ProspeROSA — the nonprofit’s Spanish-centered program — after noticing that there was a lack of resources available for her Spanish-speaking patients.
She highlighted the need to create more awareness among the Latino community because although breast cancer rates for Latinos in Yolo County are roughly the same as the average rate for other communities, they are often diagnosed in more advanced stages leading to worse outcomes.
“So this is really important and really special,” Silva stressed in May 2023.
ProspeROSA’s headquarters are located at 501 2nd St. in Davis and serve as a place for individuals to connect, build community, check out books and other resources in Spanish and English and participate in programs, according to Board of Directors Chair Joni Rubin.
To learn more about Thriving Pink and its programs, visit thrivingpink.org.