ST. GEORGE — The grief is still fresh for the families of Mercedes Torreblanca and Guadalupe Lupita Montalvo, good friends who died in a vehicle rollover on Interstate 15 near the Arizona-Utah border last weekend. The crash left a 2-month-old boy without a mother.
But in a cul-de-sac off Valley View Drive in St. George Friday afternoon, the families and friends of the two people who died will be having a celebration. And the public has been invited for tacos, tamales and a car wash to help raise funds for the families and the child.
A flyer for the event – starting at 4 p.m., Friday at 1191 W. 220 North Circle near Shadow Mountain Park – describes it with the Spanish word “quermez.” Roughly translated, it means a celebration carnival for the benefit of others.
And Sandy Montalvo, who is organizing the event, said her last memories of both women are of them singing and dancing at celebrations in the last few weeks.
“My last memory of Lupe was at my son’s 11th birthday. We were having a really good time singing oldies but goodies,” said Montalvo, no relation to Lupita Montalvo but a family friend.
The same goes for Torreblanca, a “cousin of a cousin,” who made Montalvo’s niece’s sweet 16 birthday despite just giving birth to her first child.
“We were just having a really good time dancing and her taking pictures with her baby,” she said.
The two 21-year-old women who were good friends at Dixie High School died when the sports utility vehicle they were riding in on a trip to Las Vegas Saturday with five others rolled over on Interstate 15 near Cedar Pocket.
Bart Graves, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Transportation, said the crash involving the one vehicle is still under investigation.
A GoFundMe page for Torreblanca describes her as a “diamond” who leaves behind a husband, newly-born son, parents and three sisters. Other family members talked of her love of soccer as a player at Dixie High and growing up in St. George to her most recent work as a Utah Tech student and an employee at Family Healthcare.
Montalvo, known to family and friends as “Lupe,” is mentioned by her older brother Barri Giovanni Tiburcio on a separate GoFundMe page as “a loving caring person and would always be there for her family and friends and as someone who meant “the world” to him.
The car wash and Mexican food street carnival Friday afternoon, starting at 4 p.m., and going “whenever the food runs out” will be a celebration of both with funds raised to go to burial and services as well as to Torreblanca’s son, Sandy Montalvo said.
There will be Venmo access but people are asked to bring cash. A $20 donation will be needed if someone seeks to get their car a wash along with enjoying the food, drink and desert selections.
For more information, call 435-525-1223.
Editor note: When making charitable contributions it is advisable to consult with professionals for tax advice and investment risks.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.