A coronavirus lockdown in Spain didn’t stop a community from getting together to celebrate a milestone.
Heartwarming video shared on social media shows 80-year-old Charo getting a surprise from her neighbors in Madrid as they dropped off a cake to her doorstep and then serenaded her with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” from their windows.
“Charo, it’s for you. Come out.” a man speaking Spanish can be heard shouting after he knocked on her door and retreated to a safe distance on the stairwell. “It’s from all the neighbors. Come out. Come out, and say hi. They are in the patio.”
After Charo opened the door and saw the cake on a small table in front of her door, she quickly burst into tears. She then made her way over to the open window where she waved as the neighbors paid tribute to her in song.
One of the neighbors, Nacho, told The Sun that the birthday girl was “going through a tough time.”
“Charo is 80 years old, she is a person at risk,” he explained. “We do not know what is going on with our homes, but she is lucky because she has a contract for one more year. However, others have been evicted.”
The neighbor is referring to Charo’s block of apartment buildings which have recently been bought by a network of companies resulting in higher rents and subsequent eviction notices, according to Newsweek.
“The least we could do as neighbours is support each other, especially where vulnerable people are concerned,” Nacho added.
Spain has more than 17,300 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 803 of those being fatal, making it the second-most affected European country next to Italy, according to recent media reports.
During the lockdown, residents can only travel to work, banks, grocery stores and hospitals.
At the end of the emotional video, a person can be heard asking Charo, “See you at 8:00 p.m. for the applause, yes?” which refers to the nightly tradition of Spaniards applauding medical workers from their balconies while in quarantine.
Watch the uplifting video above!
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