by Marvin Ramírez
Organizan colecta de fondos para ayudar a la viuda y a su hija de 3 años: Marlon Mayorga poses with his dog, which accompanied him until his dead.
Approximately 200 people gathered at a fundraiser with music and food, to celebrate the life of someone in the community who lost his life to what he helped prevent: street violence in our cities.
Marlon Mayorga, 41, was shot half-a-block from his home, at about 10:30 p.m. in the 3200 block of Champion Street behind St. Jarlath Church. He had been walking his husky-German shepherd mix, something he was known to do nightly, police said. Oakland police hadn’t established a motive for the killing but had not ruled out robbery. No arrests have been made.
Mr. Mayorga, a community activist who dedicated his life to caring for individuals and families struggling with substance abuse and survivors of domestic and street violence, was born in Nicaragua in 1968.
He and his family had to leave the country as a devastating civil war engulfed it, and settled in Daly City in the 1980’s. After getting involved in drug use, he successfully overcame the addiction and enrolled at college, earning a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters in Social Work from California State University at San Francisco.
Mr. Mayorga worked in the mental health field for several years and spent the last six months of his life working for the University of California of San Francisco’s Trauma Unit as a Social Worker. He also worked as a manager at Walden House, a well-known substance-abuse treatment center and taught salsa dancing.
“He was here last weekend, said, Oscar Orellana, owner of Club Roccapulco, who offered his club for the fundraiser held on June 7, and which was organized by the San Francisco Bay Area Latino Men’s Circulo, attracting many of his friends and colleagues in the social work community.
Musicians of high caliber performed at the event for free, which included John Santos, Orlando Torriente, Jesus Díaz, Anthony Blea, John Calloway, Camillo Landau, Javier Navarette, Julio Bravo, and others.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering as much as $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of suspects. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.
Mr. Mayorga is survived by his wife and daughter, his father, mother, sisters and brothers who live in the Bay Area and in Miami.
Any one who wish to help his family can send a check in care of the Marlon Mayorga Memorial Fund, Acct #5559675342, Wells Fargo Bank, 151 40th Street, Oakland, California 94611-5236. All funds collected will be for his wife and 3-year-old daughter.
