By Alfredo Alvarado

DC 37’s 13th annual celebration of Latino Heritage Month kicked off Sept. 13 with the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony. “This month is very important,” said DC 37 and Local 372 President Veronica Montgomery-Costa at the inauguration. “Because we get to learn about so many different cultures.”

But while Hispanic pride and progress — celebrated with native food and traditional music by groups like Nuestros Raices and the Bombazo Dance Company — is the staple of the celebrations, the events held by SSEU Local 371 Sept. 17 and by Local 1070 Oct. 1 also featured a more immediate theme — an urgent call for regime change in the White House.

[PEP will cover later Latino Heritage Month events in its next issue.]
“The only way we can make a difference is to educate our children and to get out and vote,” said Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortíz, the keynote speaker for the Local 371 event.

Mr. Ortíz is also the president-elect of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. In that role he has been barnstorming across the country, speaking to groups about the importance of registering to vote.

Nuestros Raices enlivened the event with dances from the Mexican folkloric tradition and swirling, multi-colored costumes. The evening’s featured entertainers, Frankie Vasquez and Los Sonoros Del Barrio, capped the celebration with participants dancing to their rhythmic beat.

Executive Vice President Yolanda Pumarejo and Secretary-Treasurer Joe Nazario co-chaired the event, which included vendors outside the hall selling Latino crafts such as dolls, jewelry and pottery.

Get out the vote
Local 1070, which includes court, county and Probation Dept. employees, fittingly presented Justice Faviola Soto of New York State Supreme Court as its keynote speaker. The local’s celebration, planned by a large committee, included welcoming remarks by President Cliff Koppelman, Vice President Fausto Sabatino and DC 37 Associate Director Oliver Gray, musical numbers by Junior Gonzalez and entertainment by deejay Manny Soba.

Participants at the Local 371 event received a souvenir poster on the evening’s theme, “Con tu Voto: El Futuro Es Nuestro,” (With your vote, the future is ours). In comments on the monthlong series of events, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts stressed the importance of the November election. “All this will be short lived,” she said, “if we don’t elect the right president in November.”