A huge, boisterous crowd of people protesting recent arrests of immigrants around the country took their message to the streets Monday following a rally in Watsonville Plaza.
Several thousand people marched along Main Street to the Overlook Center (Target Store) and back again before heading up Main Street as darkness fell.
They then moved up Freedom Boulevard, waving signs such as “No Humans are Illegal” and hollering slogans, including “Si Se Puede,” or “Yes We Can.”
Fortified by hundreds of cars and trucks packed with people waving signs and Mexican flags out their windows, blaring horns and loud music, the crowd blocked traffic and worked their way to Cardenas Market on Freedom Boulevard and swarmed the front of the building, hollering their disapproval of the owners keeping the store open during the nationwide “A Day Without Immigrants” event.
Watsonville Police asked the owners to lock their doors as some protesters reportedly heaved rocks at the store’s windows. As the motorcade blocked traffic along Freedom Boulevard, the crowd moved further north to Vallarta Supermarket, where the crowd of people and cars blocked the entrance and parking lot of the business for about 30 minutes.
“Without immigrants you will not be able to get the food you need,” said Terea Denlos Santos, who worked the berry fields around the Pajaro Valley for decades. “Without immigrants this country would not be what it is today. These are hard workers.”
From there they moved on to South Green Valley Road to Home Depot, where they staged another rally with people and vehicles in front of the business. Then they moved to Starbucks on Main Street in Watsonville Square, where they swarmed the front of the cafe and banged on the glass and waved their placards and flags.
Next, the group blocked traffic along Main Street as they headed south to the Overloook Shopping Center and once again gathered in front of the Target Store and the Starbucks inside the business. Then they returned to Main Street and moved south to another Starbucks on Main Street at Auto Center Drive for another rally.
In their final display, the crowd of marchers and file of vehicles worked their way back to Watsonville Plaza, blocking lanes of traffic along Main Street as Watsonville Police stayed in the fringes following their movements.
By 9pm the crowd ended their day at the plaza where it all began six hours earlier.
It was not clear late Monday if there was any property damage reported, or any arrests. The Pajaronian has reached out to Watsonville Police Department for comment.
