Jene Thomas – General Assignment Reporter
The Southern Connecticut State University Multicultural Center and Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) hosted the sixth annual Empowering Lives seminar. The seminar celebrated and educated students on Latin American culture.
“Diversity is our message,” said Kaylee Quintanilla, OLAS president. “We’re trying to introduce culture to Southern.”
The event, which took place on Sept. 22 in the Adanti Student Center ballroom, had dance performances, Latin American food and a PowerPoint presentation on what it means to be Hispanic. The presentation was given by keynote speaker, Bobby Gonzales, a nationally known multicultural motivational speaker, storyteller and poet.
He began by asking what it meant to be Latino.
Gonzales’ presentation, “Latinos Yesterday Today and Tomorrow,” featured many faces of the Latin American community to represent that Hispanics come from all over the world, not just Spain.
“We are a lot more complex than that,” he said when he shared a story of a viewer that approached him saying they loved Spanish food. “We have a rich European heritage, but we also have a wonderful African ancestry, Indigenous, Asian and some of us have a rich Arab or Jewish ancestry.”
Karen Olivo, a Tony Award winning actress, was the first face in the presentation. Gonzales announced that her father was both Puerto Rican and Native American, while her mother was Dominican and Chinese.
“She is a perfect example of what is Latina,” Gonzales said.
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Gonzales came from the South Bronx where he grew up in the bicultural environment of Native American, specifically Taino, and Puerto Rican. He draws from his ethnic backgrounds in his readings and speeches. He has spoken at institutions such as Yale University and the University of Alaska.
Don Francisco, a famous Chilean television host, known for being the personality of Univision. Despite being born and raised in Chile, his parents were originally from Germany but left after the Nazi presence during World War II. Don Francisco is the stage name to Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld. Gonzales said he is still highly regarded in the Latino community.
When he asked how many people were from Mexico, an entire table raised their hands, leading to a new point.
“Many people say there are no black people in Mexico and I say ‘wake up and smell the rice and beans,” Gonzales said.
He said that there are people of African ancestry all over, some of whom may have come before Christopher Columbus. Because of slave trading and migration, Latin American countries are dense with people of darker complexions, but they are still considered Hispanic.
Also in his presentation was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele. He was a world famous soccer player from Brazil and to some, may be considered the best soccer player. He has a dark complexion but he isn’t considered African American. He is a Latino, as he was born and raised in South America.
Alfredo Quinones, also in the presentation, climbed the fences of Mexico over to the United States and remained here undocumented. He started off as a migrant worker and later became a doctor at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
“That is the future of America,” Gonzales said.
The celebration also featured dance performances by Felix Reyes, SCSU alumnus, and his partner Amanda. The two performed a mix of rumba, salsa and cha-cha to both Beyoncé and Latino music two represent intertwining both American and Hispanic cultures.
It ended with a buffet style of traditionally Hispanic made food, such as empanadas, rice and beans and flan for dessert.
Photo Credit: Texas Military Forces
