Myriam Cerecer posa con su alumna Olivia Wilcox después de interpretar baile folklórico con un nuevo grupo por primera vez durante el acto de celebración de Monarca Initiative el 26 de abril. (Justin Wilcox/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

On the walls of the stage of D’Vine Event Center, three hand-painted Monarch butterflies adorn the stage in a diagonal line. As people walk into the center for a Tyler nonprofit’s Cinco de Mayo celebration and official inauguration, another Monarch butterfly adorns the wall.

“The Monarch butterfly is a symbol for the immigrant,” said Monarca Initiative co-founder and co-executive director Josefina Vazquez. “The Monarch flies to the north to Canada and the United States back to Michoacan [Mexico]. That’s why the Monarch is the symbol for the immigrant because of its trajectory. The monarch butterfly is one of the most resilient butterflies and it can live on average six or seven months.”

The celebration, held April 26, was Monarca Initiative’s first time presenting itself since being founded two years ago by co-founders and co-executive directors Lorena Rebagliati and Vazquez. They created Monarca Initiative to help immigrants in Tyler and to form community.

It is not just the language that is different. While that may be difficult, immigrants are adjusting to multiple things, Rebagliati said.

“Being able to help a little in adapting to a new community, a new culture, language too, for me it means a lot, ” Rebagliati adds. “Because I did not have that. I had to do it by myself.”

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Since coming to East Texas, she has found herself with wonderful people who help people. Now, she is able to help others.

Food, dancing and singing filled the celebratory evening. There were aguas frescas, mole, puerco en salsa chile colorado, fajita and flan among other cakes and dishes they received as donations from families for the evening.

Karla Bermudez, an acting major at the University of Texas at Austin, drove from Austin for the celebration to sing and support the Monarca Initiative. Bermudez is originally from Venezuela and has lived in Tyler for almost 18 years.

“Something that I love about Tyler is the sense of community, especially among the Hispanic community,” Bermudez said. “That’s why I love the Monarca Initiative.”

When Bermudez first came to Tyler from Venezuela, it was important for her and her family to find other Venezuelans. They were able to find friends from all over Latin America including Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. This is why having the Monarca Initiative in Tyler is important as it helps form community among immigrants.

Bermudez sang “Mi Tierra Veracruzana” by Natalia Lafourcade and “Amor Prohibido” by Selena during her first performance. She chose the Natalia Lafourcade song because she loves the way she writes her music and includes metaphors “because you can sense the love” she has for Latin America, Bermudez said.

“Even though she’s singing about Veracruz and her life, it reminds me so much of my country, Venezuela,” Bermudez said. “That song is a placeholder for anyone who loves their country, who loves it so much and misses it.”

In addition to singing, Monarca Initiative danced for the first time baile folklórico, a form of traditional Mexican dancing, through a group they recently formed. Vazquez started the group. Cerecer, Monarca Initiative board member, danced baile folklórico. Cerecer, Vazquez and Myrna Reyes, 39, performed on stage with three other dancers after a month and a half of rehearsal.

They matched their makeup to their dress colors and wore flower adornments in their hair. The shoes and dresses were ordered from Michoacan, Mexico and made to order in each dancer’s measurements. They trained with a choreographer from Michoacan and practiced every week for two hours.

“He is very patient,” Reyes said. “He has taken the time to help us participate so that Latinos have an outlet here in Tyler, Texas now that every day [the community] is growing more. So our influence can be seen every day in Tyler.”

Reyes enjoyed participating in the group as it has allowed her to meet new people. She looks forward to future performances. They already have a performance lined up for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

“We loved it,” Reyes said. “More than anything, the union we have with our fellow dancers, how we coordinate everything, all of us are here because we like it, because we want to be here, we want to dance.”

The night of celebration was also a fundraising event. Sponsors could pay to have booths and sell items or promote their business. Orchids of Hope had a booth and information about their new nonprofit focused on prevention of abuse and addiction. The money goes back to supporting the work Monarca Initiative does in helping immigrants.

“The majority of people are just getting to know us from this event,” Cerecer said. “[Monarca Initiative] initiated, started working, offering classes, supporting people but they did not let people know who they were publicly, what they are doing, the support they give the community. This is their formal presentation.”

Cerecer encouraged people to buy cakes and food as music blared throughout the night. Kids played in the bounce house and got their faces painted. Local community members came out to support the Monarca Initiative.

“[We] feel happy,” Rebagliati said. “Overall happy with the support we have received from the community, because this is what gives us strength and energy to keep serving the community.”