HOUSTON — Vanessa Guillen's name, face and story brought Houston together.
"I think everyone sees themselves in her," said Leslie Monjaraz.
On the day she was laid to rest, the community, many total strangers who never met Guillen, gathered in their cars. Each one had a different message.
"We're here to celebrate her life," Monjaraz said. "We didn't know her, but we felt like we know her now."
Dozens of cars caravaned to the cemetery, the site of Guillen's final resting place. There the silence was broken with the sound of honking as balloons were released into the air. Mourners eye were fixed upward as chants of her name echoed outside the cemetery.
"She will not be forgotten," said Ruth Castillo.
The caravan ended behind a taco shop on Houston's south side. It's the site of a growing makeshift memorial and a mural where many continue to come to grieve. It's a place that brings Guillen's family strength.
"This just means so much for her," said Maria Roman. "She (Guillen's mother) is so glad and blessed that all these people are supporting her."
With Guillen now laid to rest, the community made a promise that her funeral is not an end, but a beginning of a fight for lasting change.
"She deserves justice," Monjaras said. "Nothing else, but justice, and we will continue to mark, to protest and to be there."