Mass. Residents Open Their Hearts And Wallets To Earthquake-Hit Mexico
BOSTON (CBS) - Tortas are a favorite in Mexico, and local restaurant owner Mayla Ramirez plans to bring as many as she can to her home city Thursday.
Mexico City was hit by an earthquake Tuesday that killed and trapped hundreds of people. Ramirez survived a similar quake in the same spot 33 years ago to the day. "There was no water, electricity…no jobs, transportation," she said.
So when it happened there again, she and her family exchanged a flurry of text messages. Now that she knows her relatives are OK, she plans to fly out to the affected area to hand out food. "To start, I want to buy bread to make tortas, get water, and medicine if we can," she explained.
She's using 20 percent of Wednesday's sales from her restaurant Mexico City Taqueria in Ashland to pay for supplies.
Another group of people from Massachusetts with ties to Mexico are also making donations. MassMex has raised more than $9,000 on its Gofundme account. "All of our friends are there, our families are there," said Paola Peynetty Velazquez, who was born and raised in Mexico City. "What we can do is give them money."
The group is donating to a team of rescuers called Topos. "They're an elite team that go out to the wreckage," said Arthur Natella. "They excavate and find people."