Edilia "Dee" Toro

Places I call home: City of South Tucson, West Barrio Ochoa Neighborhood

What I love to do: I like to do a lot of things, art stuff like drawing, painting, crocheting, beading but I also like cooking, baking, walking my neighborhood and other close neighborhoods

My favorite place along the corridor and why: I have several places along the corridor that I like but the one closest to my heart is the John A. Valenzuela Youth Center. This place is like home to me, I was in the opening ceremonies to the JVYC so many years ago and was fortunate after my youth to be able to work there with the youth. Officer Valenzuela had such a large impact on the youth in the City of South Tucson and his life and legacy are written on the walls there. The staff are caring and devoted to the families they serve always have been and are so caring and understanding of the diversity of each child and each family that attend their center. It had such a large impact on me and the person I became because they showed me there was a world outside of my Barrio but always reminded me to never forget who we are and where we came from. To cherish who we are as people and always cherish our culture no matter our backgrounds. They left a very large imprint on my heart and I am proud to say that this place these people are my home, my heart. Now my son is fortunate enough to experience the same things his father and I had the opportunity to experience and more.

Organization I belong to: Currently I am an alternate to my grandmother for the Chukut Kuk District Council for the Tohono Oodham Nation. I also served two terms from age 18 to age 26 as primary for my community for my district. At that time I was the youngest to have a seat council.

Bio: I live on the line between the City of South Tucson and the City of Tucson. My family home has been there for over 100 years I am 5th Generation to live there with my son who is the 6th. We love where we grew up and following in the footsteps and traditions of our family. As you can tell family and our community are an important thing to me, because what we leave for our children and our future generations, the legacies we leave for them is important, they are the ones who will continue our traditions and care for what we leave behind. Like now, I am the owner of E and J Frybead, I am carrying on my grandmother's recipes that she passed down to us and that I now pass down to my nieces and nephews who help us with sales so that others can enjoy what we were so blessed to have growing up.