MIAMI – Hundreds of drivers waited for free food on a cloudy Wednesday in Miami. The giveaway was part of a 38-year-old charitable tradition to help families prepare for Noche Buena, Spanish for “the Good Night,” a late dinner celebration that spills into Christmas morning.
Drivers, mostly Hispanic, waited for hours before sunrise in a line that stretched for blocks in the Little Havana neighborhood. Cubans expected pork since the main course at any Cuban Noche Buena celebration is the lechon, a roasted pig.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who is Jewish, cut a ribbon and volunteered during the distribution, which started at about 8 a.m., outside of Cámara de Comercio e Industria Latina de los Estados Unidos, Spanish for The Latin Chamber of Commerce of the United States.
“We are so happy to be able to spread a little holiday love and joy throughout our community, especially people who need a little extra helping hand,” Levine Cava said.
Joe Chi, the president of CAMACOL (the acronym in Spanish), said the event followed the vision of the late Mario O. Gutierrez, a founding member who was a PepsiCo executive who supported the values of corporate responsibility.
Gutierrez, a Cuban-American Catholic who died during the pandemic, started what is now known as the JABAS giveaway 38 years ago with just 20 food baskets. Organizers said the event, just 11 days before Christmas Eve, benefitted at least 700 families.
For years, CAMACOL required a voucher, but this year the event’s committee implemented a first-come-first-serve drive-through model with the help of police officers who coordinated traffic. The first drivers in line said they had slept there overnight.
A few showed up in scooters, but volunteers did not turn them away. Pedro Mesa, of Sedano’s Supermarkets, helped to distribute bright ruby red bags full of gifts.
“This year, we are happy to say that we have more products in those bags, so they are going to be able to feed their own family members,” Mesa said. “Six, seven, eight members are going to be able to have a great Noche Buena.”
Pedro Mesa chaired the event’s committee with a list of sponsors that included PepsiCo, Coca-Cola Beverages of Florida, Publix Supermarkets, Presidente Supermarkets, Goya Foods of Florida, Verizon Wireless, Café La Llave, Friendly John, Dadelift, Grace, Cordialsa USA, and Flowers Baking Co.
The partners also included the Miami Marlins. The local baseball team recently co-hosted a holiday party for about 30 of the neighborhood’s children who worked on arts and crafts and went home with a wrapped gift to open on Christmas Day.
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report. Are you planning an event to spread holiday cheer in South Florida? Share the details with Share@Local10.com.
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