Bay Area Guatemalans raise funds for 3 who drowned trying to rescue child

OAKLAND (KPIX) — On July 3, tragedy struck near Rio Vista when three men were drowned trying to save a young boy from the swift current of the Sacramento River.  On Sunday in Oakland, the Guatemalan immigrant community gathered for a fundraiser to help send the men who died back home to their families.

It has become a tradition in Oakland that, when a Guatemalan immigrant dies here, they hold a fundraiser at Raimondi Park to donate money to send the body back to loved ones. The man who usually organized the events was Edwin Rivas but, on Sunday, they were raising money for his family.

“I have a little more peace because I know that there’s support.  I know that people loved my dad,” said Rivas’s daughter, Wendy.

Rivas drowned trying to save his 8-year-old grandson, who was swept away by the Sacramento River near Rio Vista. Rivas’ two close friends, Edwin Perez and Danilo Solorzano also died in the attempted rescue. Juan Cabrera and another man were able to get the child safely back to shore.

“We just jumped, over there. These guys, they just jumped,” said Cabrera. “They don’t ask ‘hey, do we do this?’ They just jumped.  Me too, five guys at the same time.”

The family shared a photo of the three men smiling together at a campfire the night before the tragedy. They were all active in a local soccer league and, on Sunday, a visiting team wore the light blue jerseys of the Guatemalan team as a tribute to the fallen men. Family friend Esperanza Paiz said everyone is still struggling to deal with the loss.

“I’m sad.  Everybody is sad. Our friends, the family,” said Paiz.  “I can’t explain more because my heart is broke.  It’s broken now.”

The three men were also active in the Oakland community with Rivas joining councilman Noel Gallo on his weekly trash cleanups in the Fruitvale District.

“I knew them well, you know, from the soccer program to just giving back to the community,” Gallo said. “I was surprised when I heard the news that they had drowned.”

A GoFundMe page for the three families has collected more than $37,000 with donations coming in from all around the world.

Friends of the men were reluctant to label them heroes. They said anyone would have done the same to help a struggling child but Harold Zuniga said Rivas inspired people with the kind of selflessness that he learned from his small town in Guatemala.

“He came here to Oakland and brought that lifestyle with him out here.  And he shared it with us,” Zuniga said. “If we could get together like how he got together to put the community together and achieve a goal, it would be perfect for our community.”