El Pasoan hosting nearly a dozen BTS fans who couldn’t find hotels, Airbnb
Heriberto Perez Lara
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Astrid Lind is a local El Paso resident who kindly made an El Paso miracle for nearly a dozen BTS fans coming from different parts of Mexico.
Lind found a Facebook page where several BTS fans were looking for a place to stay this weekend in El Paso for the two BTS concerts happening at the Sun Bowl, and she received a lot of inquiries, according to her.
People were even willing to pay more just to stay in her living room.
“I kept seeing on the Facebook pages people saying, ‘oh my gosh, help me, my hotel canceled, my Airbnb just canceled,’ other people posting because I don’t know where to stay, please help me,” Lind said. “I’m thinking, well, I’m going to be alone this weekend, I have a big house, I have five extra bedrooms, and I said, well, maybe I can help some of these girls.”
Astrid started finding ladies of all ages and did FaceTime with all of them to show them her house so they would feel safe and comfortable staying there. She posted that her house was available for females only, and it started getting a lot of posts and inquiries.
“I did have a lot of people that I had to say no to, and I feel terrible because I know there’s nothing out there, and I even had four girls who reached out to me, and I said, I have nothing to offer you, but I can put our mattresses in the upstairs living room, and they actually said okay,” Lind said. “I have some that won’t actually get a bed, but at least they’ll be safe.”
Lind says she was disappointed to see several Airbnbs priced in the thousands of dollars, some even listed at over $38,000, because it is the time to show that these big events can come to El Paso, along with fans from around the globe.
“They’re worried (the fans), they’re scared, there are so many people that don’t have a place to stay still, and desperation is definitely something that I feel for them,” Lind said.
With her family out of town this weekend, her daughters out in college, she wanted to help those who couldn’t find a spot to stay this BTS concert weekend.
“I want to show the girls a good time, I want to show them El Paso hospitality like it should have been since the beginning, so I do have plans to take them to the mall and take them to good places; I’m excited to show them what El Paso is all about,” Lind added. “I’m so excited they came to El Paso, and that’s why I want to show them a good time; this is our chance to show all these people who have never been here what our city is about.”
One of those BTS fans staying with her is Marilyn Pereira. She is from Peru but has lived in Mexico with her husband and kids for nearly a year now, and she has been a fan since 2017 and has been to different BTS concerts in other countries.
“The experience was completely different. Seeing them in Latin America is a bit difficult because, for instance, there are no assigned seats there, so, if you manage to secure a spot in the standing-room area down front, it’s very hard to actually see them; it gets incredibly crowded—absolutely packed and it’s even hard to breathe,” Pereira said. “The whole experience is just entirely different, that is why, from that moment on, I decided to follow them in the United States or Mexico, places where it’s much easier to watch them from a seated section, since, after all, many of us aren’t exactly young anymore.”
Marilyn wasn’t able to get BTS tickets for El Paso on her first try; a friend of hers who lives in Dallas gave them to her and was very excited for the opportunity.
Before she met Astrid on social media, she couldn’t find any place to stay for the weekend, which is why she’s very grateful to her for welcoming them at her house.
“I said to her, please, practically begging, because I couldn’t find anything,” said Pereira. “I felt very certain that she was a woman, and above all because of the kindness she showed us in opening her home, since I couldn’t find anything else, she was my salvation.”
Pereira, along with other ladies staying at Astrid’s house, will go to both BTS concert dates in El Paso and have high hopes and expectations about the event.
“I feel blessed; God brought me here for a reason. Through BTS being a part of my life, I met Astrid. I feel safe; I’ve made new friends, for instance, women who are married just like me, and whose husbands support them just as mine supports me. That kind of connection happens only rarely in life. That is exactly how I feel: blessed and grateful for everything, for Astrid, and for God allowing me to be here, feeling safe while watching my favorite band, and surrounded by friends who share this same experience. I am certain that this is something we will cherish for a lifetime,” Pereira added.
“To be honest, I don’t know what I would have done. I think, perhaps, I would have stayed in Juárez. That was one of the options a friend suggested to me: ‘You stay in Juárez and then cross over.’ But being a foreigner, it was my first time here, I had no idea how I was supposed to cross: whether to cross on foot, by taxi, by car, or by bus,” Pereira said. “For me, no, I had no other option but to stay there, and the last thing my husband said to me was, ‘Well, are you staying here, or are you leaving? I want you to be safe, but if not, you’ll have to give those tickets to someone else.’ But I said no, because it would break my heart.”
Now, Marilyn hopes to have a good time, without any mishaps and for BTS to see that they have ‘ARMYs’ all over the world.
“Astrid, I love you very much. Astrid, you have my heart and my lifelong gratitude; I will never forget, I will never forget how we met and how wonderfully you treated me when I came to see BTS. I will never forget it, never,” Pereira said. “And to the people of El Paso: give yourselves the chance to get to know us, the BTS fans. We ARMYs are well-behaved, and we want to share the message that BTS embodies: a message of self-acceptance, acceptance of who you are. We come from different cultures, different races, different generations, and different age groups; we are a community that embraces everyone, aren’t we? And that is what we hope for from you as well, not just to see you, but to accept you and to enjoy this moment together—to enjoy your company.”
“Thank you to my husband; I love him for staying home with our children and allowing me to fulfill my dream,” Pereira added.