Taking care of their own: BPD hosts 3rd annual Community Day
Michael Parra and his brother grew up in east Bakersfield and understood the feeling of being “raised by a village” because he said the east side takes care of its own.
Now as one of the community resources at the third annual Community Day hosted by the Bakersfield Police Department at Jefferson Park, he gets to showcase how his company, Bike Bakersfield, is there to foster a sense of community. Parra said Bike Bakersfield has partnered with the BPD for safety courses and at the event Saturday afternoon, they promoted their E-Bike program.
“I think it’s really important that BPD gets out and shows there’s a kinder, softer side to them,” Parra said.
Carina Ortiz, the community relations supervisor for the BPD, said she was born and raised in Bakersfield and she grew up in a community that did not have a favorable view of law enforcement. But when she joined the BPD as a cadet, she said she developed her own view of the Police Department and said most of the BPD lives in Bakersfield.
She said events like Saturday’s Community Day help build trust with the Police Department and the people they serve.
“We want our folks to know who we are, what we’re about and how we’re here to serve them and really how we can do better,” Ortiz said.
Community Day included a car show, a raffle, water games, food, performances and local resources. One of the performances was from Danza Azteca Ameyaltzin Yolihuani.
Yuri Villalba and her son Angel were both Aztec dancers in the group. Yuri Villalba said the dances are a way to physically, spiritually and culturally keep her family’s traditions alive.
“We try to get our community together and getting our kids out of the streets, doing something good like getting involved with something productive and also cultural,” Yuri Villalba said.
Angel Villalba said he hopes the dances show the community their ancestry and hopes others are inspired to pass down their traditions.
“Community means that we all come together regardless of the situation — bad or good. Like our dances, we try to take all the bad stuff and turn it into something positive,” Villalba said.
Ortiz said community events like the one that happened Saturday are a special way to connect the residents of Bakersfield to gather and get to know each other.
“One of the things that’s really unique about Bakersfield is that, you know, we have that small hometown feel but we are huge,” Ortiz said.
