It’s an orphanage in South Mexico, in an area not very developed and with high poverty rates. Some of the surrounding villages don’t even have running water or electricity. According to 38-year-old Cristina Hernandez of Canyon Country, many nearby families send their kids to the Casa Hogar orphanage just for the resources.
Hernandez has made the trip to the home in Oaxaca a couple times over the past couple of years, giving her time to help however she can. Since her first visit, she’s stayed in touch with the director of the facility, who was, herself, an orphan there as a child. Upon hearing from this director that the orphanage often must make heavy budget cuts — sometimes even cutting the food budget for the kids — Hernandez felt the need to act.
“She (the orphanage director) was saying that sometimes money can be tight, and sometimes they have to cut corners,” Hernandez said during a telephone interview earlier this week. “When she said that, I just thought, ‘I never want that to be a question — of where to cut into the budget of how they feed the kids.’ My goal is to raise enough money for a foreseeable future where that’s not an issue for her.”
Hernandez, 38, is working with L.A. Dance Connection, which offers local dance lessons and workshops, in hosting salsa dance lessons Saturday night at the Pointe Studio in Newhall to raise funds for the Casa Hogar orphanage. She’s anticipating a good time and a good turnout, she said.
Hernandez grew up in and around Los Angeles. Her family comes from Mexico, but when she travels to Mexico, it’s not to visit family — most of her relatives have moved away. She goes there to explore.
About five years ago, she discovered a nonprofit group called Unity 4 Orphans, which is a San Diego-based group that helps orphans around the world. Hernandez did four trips with them, crossing the border to visit orphanages, taking them supplies and spending time with the kids there.
She loves the work. She loves being able to help, and loves being there for the kids. Eventually, however, Unity 4 Orphans, she said, stopped doing the trips to Mexico. But she wanted to continue going.
“I figured that if I’m already booking a trip to explore somewhere in Mexico,” she said, “I might as well also find other similar organizations that might need some help.”
Hernandez discovered Casa Hogar about two years ago. The home, she learned, cares for children of all ages, many with special needs. Some of the kids are orphaned, some have incarcerated parents, and some come from single-parent families.
“The most amazing part is just her (the director’s) focus on educating these kids,” Hernandez said. “They’ve had kids that they raised from either toddlers or babies, and now they’re college students, or they’ve graduated, and they’ve become dentists and doctors. She has an architect student right now that she’s putting through college.”
Hernandez felt an instant connection to the place, the people and the mission.
One day, while taking salsa dance lessons in Canyon Country, which she’s been doing for about two years, Hernandez shared with her instructor, Lionel Araya, her experiences with Casa Hogar. She showed him photos of the kids, and she mentioned the budget cuts. Araya, who is the principal partner of L.A. Dance Connection, had the idea to do a salsa event to benefit the home.
“She was already in the mix,” Araya said in a recent telephone interview. “And I thought, ‘We’ve been doing these events — these salsa events — why not do it to help some people?’”
Araya added that the salsa community in Santa Clarita is a large one, and also very generous. When something like this comes up, he said, they’re the first people to want to help.
It’s enough to just help Hernandez, he said.
“She’s a ‘people’ person,” Araya said. “She gets along with everybody. She’s one of these people who connects easily with everybody. She makes people feel comfortable and is just a very genuine, sincere personality.”
Araya hopes the event on Saturday will draw around 80 participants. It’s a beginner salsa dance class, and those who don’t know how to dance — and even those who might not like dancing — are encouraged to attend.
The lesson will be followed by social dance and community interaction. All proceeds will go toward the Casa Hogar orphanage.
And while any money that the event might raise will help, Hernandez is still looking to take more trips to Casa Hogar to donate her time to the kids.
“Because it’s also not just about the money,” she said. “If you’re a continued volunteer, you really do build a connection. It’s about having a presence with these kids.”
The salsa fundraising event will take place at the Pointe Dance Studio at 23120 Lyons Avenue in Newhall. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the class is set to start at 7 p.m. The cost to participate is $25 at the door.
