Vigil for Cameron Davis Capara and Vincent Anthony Siqueiros draw hundreds in Tucson

Hundreds of people gathered under a cloud-striped sunset at Catalina Park to mourn the two men killed outside a Tucson gay bar three days earlier. 

The two-hour candlelight vigil Wednesday night included personal stories from the families of Cameron Davis Capara and Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and calls for action in support of the LGBTQ community and against bigotry and violence.

“We’re not here to give hate any more attention,” said Sam Cloud, who serves on the City of Tucson’s Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Issues. “Hate has no place here.”

Capara, 33, and Sisqueiros, 42, were shot to death in front of the Venture-N bar early Monday morning in what Tucson police have determined was a targeted hate crime. 

The crowd for Wednesday’s vigil filled the block-sized city park at Fourth Avenue and First Street in the West University Neighborhood, about a half-mile southeast of the Venture-N. Speakers included elected leaders, members of the clergy, community activists and everyday people who counted the two men as friends.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, Ward 6 City Councilwoman Miranda Schubert and District 5 Pima County Supervisor Andrés Cano each addressed the gathering, which some estimated at around 1,000 people.

In honor of Capara’s work as a social justice photographer, documenting ICE raids and community protests against the wars in Gaza and Iran, one of his fellow activists rallied the crowd in a loud chant of, “The people united will never be defeated!”

A few audience members stood silently throughout the ceremony holding a banner declaring Vincent and Cameron “siempre presente!” Several others carried signs advocating for gun control and calling on people to “unite against anti-LGBTQ violence.”

“When the world told him to turn himself down, Vincent turned himself up. When people questioned his worth, he stood taller. When people judged who he loved, he loved harder,” said Siqueiros’ sister, Kate Marquez. “No gun gets to define my brother. No hatred gets to erase his joy. No judgement gets to diminish the love he gave or received.” 

Siqueiros’ mom, Dianna Marquez, told the story of how she went from being the 6-year-old boy’s Sunday school teacher to his adoptive mother.

Capara’s father, Jeff, talked about his son’s activism, his talent for photography, the small army of cats he cared for and the professional-grade hugs he liked to give out.

“Cameron was one of the most compassionate people I have ever known, and at 63 years old, I’ve met a lot of people,” Jeff Capara said. “He cared deeply about people in Tucson or those thousands of miles away, people who were marginalized, overlooked or misunderstood. He didn’t just talk about caring; he lived it.”

Famed local drag queen Lucinda Holliday served as emcee for the ceremony and led the crowd in a moment of silence for the men.

A moment of silence was also observed for Capara and Siqueiros in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier Wednesday at the request of Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva.

The Democrat from Tucson used the occasion to repeat a call she made on the House Floor Monday, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, for Congress to pass gun-control legislation.

Wednesday’s vigil closed with songs by Tucson’s Reveille Men’s Chorus and an invitation from Holliday to head over to Venture-N after it was over.

The bar reopened at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and by 5 the parking lot was nearly full.

As Holliday put it, “We’re not going to sit idle and let this hate destroy us.”