Latino Community in Boston Joins Forces to Help With Devastation in Caribbean and Mexico

There's a desperate race against time to save those trapped after Hurricane Maria battered the island of Puerto Rico. The San Juan Mayor is leading the charge. And right here at home, plenty of people want to help. Saturday night, members of the Latino community in Boston are joining forces to help the victims of the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean and the deadly earthquake in Mexico.

The organizers of the Puerto Rican Parade in Boston are turning their attention from celebration to helping victims of the devastation in the Caribbean and Mexico.

"Right now we need water we need clothes we need food, we need clothes."

"The Latino community is huge and we are going to get together and we are going to make this happen," said Edwin Alcea, president of the Puerto Rican festival, who lead a bi-lingual meeting for Latino groups from across New England at a gathering in Roxbury, Massaschusetts.

The intense hurricanes that battered Puerto Rico and the Domincan Republic; the powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Mexico. Many here have family and friends that lived through those natural disasters but organizers say they don't understand why more isn't being done to help.

"There are a lot of people in the community trying to understand, but the frustration, worry, and anxiety are getting the best of them. We are trying to ease that pain," said Alcea.

The focus here is planning and preparation.

"We want to go out and help from the bottom of our hearts."

Organizers say their first priority is raising money to help the 3.4 million people in Puerto Rico without power and dealing with widespread flooding.

"Cash is king right now for our island, it gets there faster," said Alcea.

"With us together and united, we can make a difference."

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