The owner of El Santo restaurant hopes his business can make a difference in the lives of autistic children in B.C.
Alejandro Diaz is organizing an upcoming fundraiser for the Canucks Autism Network. It’s a charity that hits close to home for the father of three boys: seven-year-old Harrison, six-year-old Parker and two-year-old Beckett.
“Parker is on the spectrum,” he said. “He was diagnosed earlier this year. It’s quite a long process.”
As the father of a child on the autism spectrum, Diaz wants to raise awareness about the developmental disorder and funds for the Canucks Autism Network. His family has learned firsthand about the lengthy waiting lists to get an assessment and the need for supports such as speech therapy and behaviour consultants for children with autism.
“He’s a smart guy. His social skills is what he has to work on,” he said of Parker. “On the spectrum, there are different levels. Some kids cannot talk.”
The Canucks Autism Network provides sports, recreational, arts and social programs for individuals and families living with autism and seeks to increase awareness and provide training in communities across B.C. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder that’s diagnosed based on communication and behavioural challenges, but these traits vary greatly from person to person on the spectrum.
“I was looking for a charity that would have similar values. We found that they are great partners,” Diaz said. “Having a kid that is autistic, there are so many programs that are not funded. It’s the funding for these, and also the awareness. Sometimes people see kids with autism and they think they are just misbehaving kids. They are just wired a little different.”
Along with being judged for their behaviours, kids with autism are sometimes excluded from some social activities with their peers, he added.
“Something that breaks my heart is for a six-year-old to come and say, ‘I was not invited to a party because such and such does not want to invite ‘bad kids.' Sometimes the parents tell kids they cannot invite such and such because he’s not a good kid,” Diaz said. “It’s not that he is not a good kid.”
The Oct. 2 fundraiser at El Santo includes live musical entertainment, a five-course pairing dinner (the drinks are a surprise), guest speakers, a chance to mingle with other supporters in the autism network and live and silent auctions. The live auction prize features a dinner for two at El Santo, a one-night stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, two tickets to a Vancouver Canucks’ game and a signed Canucks jersey.
Tickets are $125 and available at El Santo, 680 Columbia St., or at www.eventbrite.ca (search for El Santo CAN).
“It is going to be a fun night,” Diaz said. “There’s going to be a learning part. Good food, good music and lots of surprises.”
Five things to know about El Santo:
* Alejandro Diaz opened the restaurant at 680 Columbia St. in December 2015 to showcase food from his homeland.
“When I think of Mexican food, I think of fresh, I think about diversity. Most people know Mexican as tacos and enchiladas. I wanted to show the contemporary part of Mexican food,” he said. “If you go to Mexico City, you will find El Santo in Mexico City.”
* Diaz is committed to supporting the local economy as much as possible – whether it’s buying tables from a local supplier, produce from vendors at the Royal City Farmers Market or toilet paper from Kruger.
* El Santo, which is Spanish for The Saint, is making a name for itself among diners from around Metro Vancouver.
“What is really nice about that is it is not just good for me, it’s good for the community,” Diaz said. “We have regulars from West Vancouver, Richmond. They come once or twice and then they bring their friends. It’s good for New West.”
* All of the tortillas are made fresh at the restaurant. A crane was needed to load the 1,500 kilogram tortilla machine into the restaurant.
* Industrial tortilla machines aren’t too common in Canada, which made it challenging for the Canada Standards Association to certify the machine. Because the technicians had “never seen anything like that”, Diaz had to show them a video on how the tortilla machine works so they could assess its safety and certify the device.
