Editor’s note: This opinion piece is part of our Underground Good series, which offers a glimpse into the mindsets of ordinary people doing good in their community. It was written by sociologist, trainer and evaluation consultant Sharon Brisolara. Find the rest of our Underground Good series here Here. Would you like to nominate someone? You can do this Here.
If you have attended Hispanic/Latino cultural events in Redding over the past few years, you have probably seen Lidia Manzo and her family host, coordinate and organize numerous cultural celebrations.
Lidia is a long-time Shasta County resident and mother of three children. Her family formerly owned and operated the popular La Cabaña restaurant in downtown Redding. She is the current owner of Redding Cleaning Service and is working with others to form a Hispanic-Latino coalition in the county.
Her passion for sharing her culture is palpable in this interview and reminds me of theologian Frederick Buechner’s definition of vocation: the place where your deep joy meets the world’s great hunger. Lidia’s story offers a reflection and perhaps an invitation to how we too might think about vocation.
We often start these conversations by asking people to introduce themselves and share the main thing they want to share. How would you like to introduce yourself to readers?
I’m from Mexico. I was born in Mexico and I’ve lived here in the United States since I was eight years old, so I’ve lived most of my life here. Giving back to the community and doing good is very important to me. My parents have always been volunteers. They taught us to always give back. That’s something I want to pass on.
Sometimes you can give back by setting a good example and instilling the idea that there are so many good things you can do in your free time. There are a lot of young kids who don’t know what to do with their time. It can seem like there aren’t a lot of fun activities for young adults and teens in Redding. You know, there are a lot of families that can’t afford dance classes or sports. One of the reasons I started organizing events was because I wanted to get more youth involved in activities. When I organize community events, kids have the opportunity to do fun things and be part of the community.
Events are also an important way to make sure we don’t lose our roots. It’s important that people don’t lose their culture or traditions – food, art, music and more. It would be great to have even more opportunities in the future, like Mariachi, a Ballet Folklorico group and also other cultural dance groups.
What else is important to you when it comes to major cultural events in the community?
I’ve lived here for 28 years and I haven’t seen any big Hispanic/Latino events in a long time. A lot of people don’t realize how many Hispanics live in Shasta, but there are a lot of Latinos living here.
Since I started the events, a lot more people have come. We’ve had between 500 and 1000 people at the different events. Others have been part of the events, as artists or vendors, sharing their art, music and cooking with us. We have so much talent here and the events are a way to show off and share a little.
I really don’t know how to put it all into words, but it’s about letting people know that we are here. We are part of the community. We do good things. We are family oriented and we are good people. We work hard. We have a lot to give and we give back to the community in many ways.
What was the first event you held and how did it come about?
I worked at the radio station La Mega in 2007 and did a lot of fundraising there. I worked at Mega mainly as a volunteer for about four years.
I like working with the public. I like working with the community. It comes very easily to me. Maybe it’s my passion. I started thinking about it two years ago. I thought, okay, my kids are grown. I have more time now. What can I do to give back? How can I do something good and have fun doing something I’m passionate about?
I think you get to a point in life where you ask yourself, what is my purpose in life? Do we have a purpose? I’m trying to figure that out, but I think we all have a purpose. And I think mine is to work with the community and give back. I’ve felt that in my heart and it makes me happy. It’s rewarding to give back.
I’m very proud of our culture. That’s what made me want to create opportunities to share our music, culture and traditions: to promote our culture. And I thought, if people want this, but nobody does anything…? That was the beginning.
I know we need more events where the Hispanic community comes together. And the events are not just for the Hispanic community, they are for everyone. They are an opportunity to celebrate all the diversity here.
What events have you organized?
Hispanic Heritage Day and Cinco de Mayo; both were held in downtown Redding. My first event was on November 4th at Hawes Farm.th-6th in 2022. That’s really how I started. I was there for a family celebration and thought, “This would be a nice place for an event.” I didn’t think much about it. I didn’t think about the amount of work that a big event would require. I don’t know why I started with an event that lasted three days, but I think it was good because that made everything easier later on.
We had two days of live bands, three days of ballet for Folklorico, as well as vendors, food and DJs. We showed coconut the film. It was a family event.
In 2023, we hosted the first Cinco de Mayo event in Shasta County in partnership with the Shasta Arts Council and others. We had music, baile folklorico, vendors, food, and an art show. It was really great. Artists showcased their art, Hispanic art. Everyone loved it. It was very, very successful. We just had our second Cinco de Mayo event at the Sundial Bridge in Turtle Bay. A lot of people came out to that as well. Among other things, we had Aztec dancers who came from Corning and activities for children.
I think the best part for me was when the children came to me and thanked me. They were happy about the prizes and had fun painting and blowing bubbles.
People who have never done this before may have no idea what it takes to pull something like this off. Can you give us a little insight into what it’s like?
I have my own business, my own job, so I work on events in my free time, during breaks, or whenever I’m not busy. Last Cinco de Mayo, I really started organizing two weeks before. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do it or not, but then I just decided and said I’m going to do it.
I started looking for sponsors, who luckily responded right away. That way I was able to cover part of the costs. Then I had to get all the permits from the city. Everything was in place. But preparing and organizing everything takes a lot of time. I went to bed late on many days and it definitely took up all my free time.
I couldn’t have done it without my family. All my sisters, my brother, even my parents, my nephews and nieces participated. This last event was like a family affair. The whole family helped.
Were there other partners or organizations that helped you?
For the first Hispanic Heritage event downtown, we partnered with Viva Downtown and there were even more people involved in that event. So far, I’ve had mostly help from my family. They also like to do things like that, so it’s not hard for them. They also helped me come up with ideas for the events.
What ideas do you have about what you would like to do or do differently in the future?
It would be nice to invite different types of artists. There is so much culture to share: fashion, history, festivals that speak to different aspects of our culture.
What is your business?
I started a cleaning business called Redding Cleaning Service two years ago in February 2022. I was nominated for Best of Northstate in 2023 and 2024. I’ve been fortunate to be busy without having to advertise.
My cleaning business has allowed me to work on these projects. When I was working in the restaurant business with my family, you were stuck there for a long time. Right now, my schedule allows me to work on events.
What motivates you to want to continue doing this and even expand your efforts?
I see the need and people want me to do this. Like this last event, I felt too busy to do an event, but I got so many calls, so many people reached out to me. They asked me, “Lidia, what are you doing? Are you doing anything?”
I see the need in our community. I feel like if I don’t continue to do at least a few events, maybe nothing will happen. Hopefully more people will come along and we can keep going.
I’ve gotten a lot of help from friends, their kids, and high school kids. It’s helped me a lot to see how excited they were about it. They enjoy being a part of it and that’s what motivates me.
What can people do who read this and want to support a future project?
They can reach out to me. There’s a lot of talent out there, a lot of people with skills and passions. We can use the help and they have the opportunity to give back. That’s what we need for events: we need skills, talents and just the love and passion to do it.
Are you looking for specific skills or talents?
Artistic talent, being outgoing, reaching out to people. A lot of people don’t like to do that. We could use help finding sponsors if we’re in a position to ask for help. Some people don’t want to ask for help or they don’t want to be out there. So I think being a leader is a good skill to have.
Is there anything I haven’t asked you about the events or how they are run that you think should be added?
In the future, I would like to offer scholarships to first-generation students at the events. There are other things happening. The Shasta County District Fair is having its first Hispanic Heritage Day. I’m very excited about that.
You know, I think sometimes people don’t want to get involved because they think they’re not making a difference. But they are! Any kind of help, anything they can get involved in and be a part of is good. Volunteering, donating time, is very important.
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