SAN ANTONIO — The end of June, marks two years since the deadliest human smuggling event in San Antonio and in the country.
On June 27, 2022, migrants were found in a trailer of a semi-truck on Quintana Rd without access to food or water. 53 of them, dead before they were found.
"These are lost souls that are still here," said Angie Olvera, who lives nearby. "We just need to remind ourselves as to what these people went through."
Almost every day, Olvera comes to the memorial. She was there when it was built, and when the mural was painted. She picks up trash, adds new flowers, and honors whatever other request she can.
"This time it was them, you never know tomorrow it will be us," Olvera said. "That’s my motto. Today was them, might be us later on. Not my generation, but my kids generation, my grandkids, my great grandkids, and further down. You never know what the situation will be.”
Next to the memorial built by volunteers will soon be a permanent memorial garden.
"We will have little areas where people can chat and reflect, and more importantly, we will have the names and the countries of origin of every person that lost their lives on a plaque," said Adriana Rocha Garcia, councilmember for District 4. "We have a very detailed significance in that we're also placing rocks of different sizes because we know that it was different ages of the people who lost their lives."
It will stand as a permanent reminder of the tragedy.
"It's important to honor the 53 lives here because this is literally where they took their final breaths," Rocha Garcia said. " They were trying to get here looking for a better life.”
The memorial will be built by June 29. At 5 p.m. a rosary ceremony is planned for that day.