Austin's Latino music community raises funds for victims of Uvalde school shooting

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin’s Latino music community held a benefit concert to raise funds for the survivors and victims of the Uvalde school shooting.

"The solidarity and the unity between the Latino musicians to make this happen is very inspiring," said Monica Maldonado, Founder of Mas Cultura.

Austin’s Latino music community came together at Antone’s downtown to hold a benefit called Austin Con Uvalde.

"We can't do anything really for what they've gone through, but we can at least raise a little money to ease their financial burdens," said Kiko Villamizar, Musician playing at Austin Con Uvalde.

Villamizar was one of the many musicians in the lineup to play at Austin Con Uvalde, but he also came up with the idea to hold this event.

"You never know the crazy expenses you have when you lose somebody like that beyond funerals and just life changes that people have to make," he said.

He enlisted the help of Monica Maldonado, founder of Mas Cultura, to take the money raised and provide support to Uvalde which is something Maldonado has been doing already. Her organization has already painted three murals in the Uvalde to show support for the grieving community.

"While we were there painting the murals, we had several families bring their children. I was just really taken aback by how the children love using the rollers and getting paint on them, and when one of the parents told me it was the first time they had seen their son smile since leaving Robb [Elementary] that day, that really hit hard," she said.

This event is one of the many ways the Austin community is giving back to Uvalde and Maldonado hopes it is not the last.

"We have access to more resources, our voices are louder. I think it's really important for Austin to support Uvalde," she said.