On a late Sunday morning, Heidi Caballeros helped her team warm up for a soccer game with stretches, a light jog and even some salsa moves in the gym at the .
Caballeros is among nearly 30 Latina women who showed up to play in the first women鈥檚 soccer match that three local community groups organized.
For Caballeros, this was an opportunity to meet other Latinas in the community.
鈥淚t was a beautiful and comforting event,鈥� Caballeros said in Spanish, 鈥渂ecause we got to meet other people. Just because we鈥檙e on different teams, that doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檙e actually against each other. This was a friendly game where we could have fun.鈥�
Building connections across the city
The groups behind the soccer teams include , and .
Crisol is an acronym that stands for 鈥淐oalici贸n de Residentes e Inmigrantes Solidarios,鈥� or 鈥淐oalition of Residents and Immigrants in Solidarity.鈥� The group provides support and resources for the Latino and immigrant community in Stamford alongside events and programming that promote art and culture.
Grupo Quetzal serves Stamford鈥檚 Guatemalan community.
Nosotras CT is an advocacy group that supports workers鈥� and immigrant rights. They aim to empower and educate community leaders that can help push for positive change.
Seeing as how they are all based in the Stamford area and often collaborate with each other, the organizations came together to host a Latinas soccer match in hopes of promoting community engagement.
Team Crisol/Quetzal teamed up with dark navy blue shirts against Team Nosotras with white shirts. Caballeros was on Team Crisol/Quetzal.
Caballeros, who played for team Crisol/Quetzal, is a marathon runner from Guatemala. She moved to Stamford over a year ago. She said these kinds of events are important because of how it can help her feel more at home in the city.
鈥淲e strengthen the bonds of friendship. We also motivate each other as women. We have a great group of older, younger, and middle-aged women. Age doesn't matter here,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he idea here is to motivate each other, build community and keep moving forward.鈥�
Creating space for community amid stressful times
The coordinator for Crisol Acuarela, Beatrice Chodosh, said she felt proud to help bring Latina women from across Stamford to bond over a game of soccer.
鈥淚t wasn't just about soccer,鈥� Chodosh said. 鈥淚t was about creating a space where women of all ages and backgrounds could connect, have fun and feel empowered.鈥�
Chodosh said the turnout of women playing the game, as well as family members, kids and other community members on the sidelines, shows just how strong and caring a community can be when everyone comes together.
That sense of unity is something that Catalina Horak said is so vital, given the onslaught of news from across the country and the world, especially when it targets the immigrant community that these organizations advocate for.
鈥淚n this current environment, building community and having relationships and making sure that people don't see you for what country you're from, what's the color of your skin, it's more important than ever,鈥� Horak said, 鈥渁nd we have to be very intentional about creating opportunities like this.鈥�
Horak is a community member that volunteers for all three organizations. She said it was empowering to have women of all ages gather, ranging from young teens to older retired Latinas.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a beautiful opportunity to see people from different walks of the community having a good time,鈥� Horak said, including former teachers, city employees and community organizers.
The idea of the soccer match came from some of the young moms in the community groups, Horak said, who struggle to connect with a social network in the city.
Now with the first match under their belt, Horak said the goal is to keep this going with an annual women鈥檚 soccer tournament to continue building community and strengthening relationships between Latinas in Stamford.
Not to mention, Team Crisol/Quetzal is looking for a rematch after Team Nosotras CT won with a final score of four to three.
