PUEBLO — You may have noticed heavy traffic in Pueblo on Saturday, that’s partly because of a memorial ride for Isaiah Vialpando who was murdered in a case of mistaken identity because of gang violence in 2015.
The event kicked off in the morning at the Harley Davidson Outpost in Pueblo.
Positivity coming out of a tragedy, is the message of the ride's goal, helping young folks get a better education and a better shot at life.
I talked with Robert Cordova, Isaiah’s dad. He says over 500 people bring their Viclas, and motorcycles from all over the country every year for the event. This year was a three-day event. Cordova says to date they have given away 70 scholarships and raised over $40,000 in honor of their son, Isaiah.
“We are very thankful that so many people come in honor him but it’s, it’s hard to talk about him, but we know that he’s loved it and that’s why we do this," said Cordova.
This year Cordova expects to give away another 20 scholarships to students in Pueblo
“Every time we do these events we can do this just takes all of the community to come out and support us," said Cordova.
Vendors from California, Arizona, and Texas joined the event. Robert “Big Bob” Herrera has been making the trip from California for this event since 2022.
“It’s a good time it’s a party at the end of the day. It all goes somewhere positive you got white people, got black people. You have everybody here because it’s about coming together for one cause and that’s the community. Whether you’re here as a biker these people be involved they wanna stop the violence, stop the crime, and help it to stop it any way they can,” said Herrera.
It truly was an electric energy out here seeing the motorcycles go down on I-25. It was so many more than you would imagine the motorcycles just kept coming and coming and coming. People were gathering for a positive change in the community and reconnecting with old friends made through the ride in recent years.
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