September Celebrations Highlight Santa Cruz Unity and Opportunities
Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Authorities in Santa Cruz opened the civic month with a joint flag-raising ceremony marking the department’s 216th anniversary of its independence movement.
- Civic leader Stello Cochamanidis called for unity to help Santa Cruz and Bolivia overcome their crisis.
- Mayor Carlos Manuel Saavedra presented 25-year-old Camila Zenteno as the new Queen of Santa Cruz, with her coronation scheduled for Sept. 23.
Santa Cruz began its September civic celebrations with municipal, departmental and civic authorities sharing a single agenda, a public display of unity after previous years marked by political disagreements and parallel ceremonies.
The opening ceremony took place at Plaza 24 de Septiembre under a steady drizzle. The Santa Cruz anthem played as flags were raised in the city centre. Governor Juan Pablo Velasco, Mayor Carlos Manuel Saavedra, civic leader Stello Cochamanidis and council president Luisa Nayar led the ceremony.
The only way for us to overcome this crisis is by working in unity. We will continue doing this because our objectives are shared, and everyone has to contribute as they should. If we want Santa Cruz to emerge from this crisis, if we want the country to emerge from this crisis, we have to start doing it.
Cochamanidis said joint work was the only way forward. “The only way for us to overcome this crisis is by working in unity. We will continue doing this because our objectives are shared, and everyone has to contribute as they should. If we want Santa Cruz to emerge from this crisis, if we want the country to emerge from this crisis, we have to start doing it,” he said.
I arrived when I was 12. Today I feel very happy and I do not want to leave. Our coffee with milk is part of Santa Cruz’s tradition. We are happy and pleased about it.
Saavedra focused on the opportunities Santa Cruz offers to people born there and to those who arrived from other parts of Bolivia. He invited Cruz Aleluya Terrazas, who has sold the city’s traditional coffee in the square for more than four decades, to speak. Terrazas arrived from La Paz at age 12 and said she now feels like a local Santa Cruz resident. “I arrived when I was 12. Today I feel very happy and I do not want to leave. Our coffee with milk is part of Santa Cruz’s tradition. We are happy and pleased about it,” she said.
After the flag-raising, Saavedra officially presented 25-year-old Camila Zenteno as the new Queen of Santa Cruz. Zenteno said her reign would focus on serving residents and promoting the region’s culture and traditions. “To show a spirit of service to the people, beyond wearing a beautiful title as Queen of Santa Cruz; to be an ambassador for our culture and traditions,” she said. Her coronation is scheduled for Sept. 23 at El Arenal Park. The September programme also includes the Carrera de la Cruz Potenzada and the Day of Santa Cruz Tradition.
To show a spirit of service to the people, beyond wearing a beautiful title as Queen of Santa Cruz; to be an ambassador for our culture and traditions.
About this summary
Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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