For local Latinos, this Mother’s Day is bound to be special, says Jesus Ruvalcaba, the owner of Paper Tacos, a Salinas-based company that specializes in bilingual greeting cards.
The holiday will not only fall on a Sunday, but also on May 10, which is the traditional day for Mother’s Day in Mexico and most of Latin America, Ruvalcaba notes. This year, his greeting cards are already in stores like Big Saver Foods, Vallarta Supermarkets, Northgate Gonzalez Market, El Super and Superior Grocers.
The culture of motherhood and devotion in Latino culture is huge, Ruvalcaba says. There’s the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, arguably Mexico’s most potent religious and cultural symbol (also depicted in one of Paper Tacos’ greeting cards for Mother’s Day) and the fact that the 10th of May has been celebrated for over a century and is one of that country’s biggest holidays.
“For us, it’s like Christmas,” Ruvalcaba says. “It’s really special for us.”
So far, Paper Tacos has distributed 35,000 cards for Mother’s Day. Some of the words and artwork are unique in their bilingual nature and culture, Ruvalcaba says.
One of the cards reads “La reina de la casa (The queen of the house),” while another depicts a mother with her daughter sharing a cup of coffee at home headlined with “Cafecito y pan con mamá (Coffee and sweetbread with mama).”
But Paper Tacos is far from being the only local business or organization celebrating the May 10 festivity. This Saturday, May 9, Hijos del Sol, a local nonprofit, is having a Mother’s Day event called “A toda madre,” (a playful use of words that means “the best”).
The art exhibit will take place at 443 E. Alisal St. in Salinas. The free event will include refreshments, appetizers and music and will run from 4-6pm. A follow-up from 1-4pm on Sunday also includes art-making workshops.