2023-07-18 22:16:18
Clara Chapala, 87, leads a group exercise during the weekly meeting of Manitos, a social group for Spanish-speaking older adults, at the Hart Senior Center earlier this month in Sacramento. The group meets weekly to carry out activities with the aim of preventing cognitive deterioration. Paul Kitagaki Jr. [email protected]
The year was 1998. As for the date, they are not quite sure.
Today, even the initial members, dubbed “the firsts”, have a hard time remembering. But what they do know is that the group started on a Wednesday, with 33 people and one rule: English was not allowed.
At that time, María Lueras, then a program coordinator for the city of Sacramento, saw the desire among older Latinos to socialize in Spanish.
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“They needed a place to meet and speak their mother tongue,” said Lueras, now 84.
So Lueras and 32 seniors gathered in the 670-square-foot Cypress Room of the Hart Senior Center. And so Manitos was born, short for little brother.
Twenty-five years later, members ages 60 to 100 still meet every Wednesday. Over the years, the number of members has been declining, especially after the pandemic. Only 13 of the first remain. But averaging 70 elders, the group moved its meetings to the Redwood East Room, the largest in the center, many years ago.
Although the only rule of the group applies less now, the main objective is still socialization.
However, for some members, the Manitos have evolved into much more than just a weekly outing. Many, like 83-year-old Martha Flores, have found joy in connecting with her Latino roots and making lifelong friendships.
“Thanks to this group we have found friends, we have had happy moments and we continue every Wednesday because we consider Manitos our second home,” said Flores.
A space to speak and learn Spanish
Most Wednesdays start the same, with Liberato Correa, 83, strumming his guitar and the voices of the members filling the halls of the center. One morning in early July, Correa led the group in a rendition of “De Colores,” a popular traditional song in Spanish.
Music is just one way the group shares their culture. As the day progresses, members help each other practice their Spanish.
Clara Chapala, who leads the exercise classes, asks for help from time to time during the exercise portion of the meeting.
“How do you say heel and toe,” Chapala, 87, said, asking members to translate the words she tells them to move.
“Heel and toe,” the crowd yells back.
Liberato Correa, 83, plays the guitar – as he has done for 13 years – during the weekly meeting of Manitos, a social group for Spanish-speaking seniors, at the Hart Senior Center, Wednesday, July 5, 2023, in Sacramento. Paul Kitagaki Jr. [email protected]
The group includes some second- and third-generation Latinos, who don’t speak Spanish as well as their parents. For them, Manitos has provided a space to practice their language.
The current president of Manitos, Antonia López, a third-generation Mexican, is one of those people. At 76, she considers herself one of the “babies” and credits the weekly meetings with improving her Spanish.
“They help me, they continually correct me and give me better words to say,” Lopez said.
But others, like 100-year-old Josefina Dávila, have no choice but to speak Spanish. As the oldest member of the group and a native of Mexico, her English is limited.
López says that the Manitos are especially important to members like Dávila. Every year, the group does an internal survey asking why members continue to attend.
“Many say it’s because they don’t have anyone to talk to,” López said. “They live with their children or grandchildren, but they speak English.”
Activities that take place later are also useful for something.
When dancing cumbias, the members can actively move their bodies. Then, at lunchtime, they hold an auction of clothing donated by members. The money raised goes towards their annual outings, which include picnics and trips to the group’s favorite restaurant, Golden Corral.
Each day usually ends with cheers at his weekly lottery game. This game of chance has proven to be beneficial to health. Often members want to continue playing after the appointed time.
“We have to kick them out of the room,” Lopez said.
generations of friends
López joined Manitos in 2016 with her mother, who had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Even with a fleeting memory, the group became a safe haven. López remembers that her mother’s face would light up every time the group sang.
“It was a very warm space for her,” Lopez said. “She transformed. She was smiling”.
Four years have passed since her mother’s death, and López is still with the group in part to keep her memory alive. She is not the only one.
Pablo Espinoza, a Sacramento resident, shows up at meetings every few months despite losing his father in 2019. Espinoza said the group fostered his father during the onset of his dementia, helping him through difficult times with songs and dances.
“For me this place represents much more than an organization for seniors,” Espinoza said. “When I come here, my heart beats differently. It’s almost like my father is still singing the songs.”
Those long-lasting relationships are why many in the group compare Manitos to a family. Several members rate the social outing as the highlight of their week, pointing to each other as the main reason they keep coming.
“It is the greatest achievement of my life, apart from my four children,” said Lueras.
Yolanda Quevedo, 84 years old; Josefina DaVila, 100, and Augustina Madrid, 86, sing and dance to music performed by Liberato Correa during the weekly gathering of Manitos, a social group for Spanish-speaking seniors, at the Hart Senior Center on Wednesday July 5, 2023, in Sacramento. Paul Kitagaki Jr. [email protected]
Manitos’ success has not gone unnoticed. Over the years, the group has expanded to two other locations: a second at the Sam and Bonnie Pannell Community Center in South Sacramento and a third at the Robertson Community Center in North Sacramento.
Manitos was honored at the end of June with a resolution from the Municipal Council that he already proudly displays outside his meeting room. At a meeting later this month to celebrate the group’s 25th anniversary, the California Department of Aging will also send a representative.
“It’s a small program, but it has had a ripple effect on many individuals and families and our community,” said Susan DeMarois, director of the California Department of Aging.
The anniversary celebration was on the minds of many members that morning in early July. They were chatting about the special guests who will be attending: Councilmembers Eric Guerra and Katie Valenzuela. They want to dance. They are ready to celebrate with their friends.
“This is about our members and what they have meant to each other,” Lopez said.
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