SANTA ANA, Calif. — On a Friday afternoon, there was already a long line of community members waiting to pick up baskets of free food.

They're also a captive audience for Socorro Juarez. She puts on a little music — and then goes to work with her arch nemesis, coronavirus, by her side. They'll go into schools, neighborhoods and other events — anywhere they can get the message across to the Latino community: Get vaccinated.

“People were taking pictures and coming in and dancing, and this is how they get engaged. It’s a lot easier than just being behind a table and passing out a flyer,” said Loreta Ruiz, COVID director of strategic operations for Latino Health Access.

“We saw people coming to the clinic and saying, ‘Oh you know what? The syringe just sent me. I’m getting my vaccine or the virus sent me,’” Ruiz said.

Ruiz noted that she's proud of the creative ways her promotores have done community outreach.

“These are things that our team has created to draw the attention of the Latino community,” Ruiz said, as she showed off some of the costumes and props.

All of them are handmade, including the original coronavirus as well as the variants.

“It’s a fun way of getting people’s attention and start a conversation, but then it becomes a serious conversation in regards to their concerns and their worries,” Ruiz said.

And Juarez knows how serious it can be. Her sister in Mexico refused to get vaccinated.

“She was sick. She had a chronic illness. She got COVID and ended up in the hospital,” Juarez said in Spanish. "And now I don’t have her anymore. She’s gone.”

It’s now what motivates Juarez to put maximum effort into this campaign.

“This is actually what she feels is moving her to educate people and to invite them to get vaccinated, so what her sister went through other people do not,” Ruiz said.

Juarez also tries to clarify myths and misinformation people still have about the vaccine, although Latino Health Access says these days, it’s mostly residents asking why they need a 2nd booster.

“A lot of people have two or three jobs and for them, it’s very difficult just to leave work and take a couple of days off because they have side effects from the vaccine,” Ruiz said.

As for Juarez, her energy is as contagious as the virus she’s looking to squash, and she’ll continue to dance her way into hearts, minds, and perhaps most importantly…arms.