Editor:
With the deepest love and respect for our diverse and resilient communities, I strongly encourage all citizens to understand with profound urgency that the COVID-19 virus is deadly, and that we have the opportunity to make simple, but clear, changes in how we live, to save lives.
As the co-founder and Creative Director of Moving Arts Española, where hundreds of students and families gather weekly to enjoy and share a deep sense of community, our Executive Director, Salvador Ruiz, and I elected to close our doors for at least three weeks. We are doing so in an effort to follow the state and national mandate to aggressively minimize person-to-person contact and ensure that we limit the spread of this dangerous virus by social distancing and isolation. This is the only defense we have at this time.
The most vulnerable populations are the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, but new data from New York City, the national epicenter of the disease, shows that large percentages of new cases are found among those between 20-45 years old.
As a community leader, it is my moral obligation to share what may be the most important message I will write in my lifetime. These are some of the actions I am taking to fill some emergency needs of those most vulnerable:
• Working in partnership with the Santa Fe Community Foundation, 10 regional non-profits will begin food distribution and meal service independently, and, in partnership, with the Espanola Public Schools for our vulnerable children, elders and homeless.
• Moving Arts will mount an online series of classes starting next week to keep our students engaged and the community filled with inspiration.
We will be challenged like never before to adapt as a resourceful and resilient society. Stay informed, stay close to home and family and be diligent.
Roger Montoya
Velarde