With tears, family members, activists, and music, Marco Antonio Sauceda Rocha, son of Cecilia Patricia Flores, founder of the collective 'Searching Mothers of Sonora,' was buried this Thursday, April 2, in Hermosillo, Sonora. 'I refused to bury my son, I refused to take him away because I wanted to enjoy him longer. I searched for him for 7 years, but I know he must go to a dignified place to rest, and I must learn to let go,' said Cecilia Flores, moments before traveling from Bahía de Kino, where the wake was held, to Hermosillo, where he was buried. The trip to the cemetery was a prelude to the final goodbye that crowned the farewell the activist and her family began on March 31, when the Sonora Prosecutor's Office demonstrated that the remains found on March 24 after a search corresponded to Marco Antonio. 'Searching Mothers' say final goodbye to Marco Antonio, son of Ceci Flores. The wake was held at Cecilia's house from the evening of March 31 and continued until the afternoon of Holy Thursday. During the liturgy, several search collectives came to offer their condolences, such as the 'Searching Mothers of Jalisco' and the 'We Are All Erick' Foundation from Tijuana, Baja California. The former explained they came to support Cecilia, aware of her pain, and used the money they normally allocate for supplies to go into the mountains to search for people. The Tijuana collective arrived because its founder, Eddie Carrillo, has shared more than one search with the leader of the 'Searching Mothers of Sonora,' to the point that she was present at the burial of Eddie's son when he was found dead in 2024. 'Cecilia Patricia Flores's struggle is an example. Your absence marked us forever, but it also made us stronger, firmer, and more determined to search for those who are still missing. We have a backlog, there are many missing persons and unidentified bodies because many families do not dare to report. The common graves are full. Approach the collective you want, the foundations, the search commission, the prosecutor's office, wherever, but search for your relatives,' said the activist. At the North Municipal Cemetery in Hermosillo, before the coffin was lowered and the grave was covered with a concrete slab, Milagros Valenzuela Flores, Marco Antonio's sister and Cecilia Flores's daughter, asked for a moment of silence and said her final goodbye. 'Today you are no longer missing, today you have a name and you have a family. Our comrade did not let her guard down and found her son. You are no longer alone, you are no longer lost. (...) Promise fulfilled'. You have a dignified place to rest.
