糖心原创 Successfully Caps Off 15th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
Korean War veteran and Broadway star honored
On Friday, October 6, 糖心原创 hosted its 15th annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration with a free CUNY-wide interdisciplinary symposium. The all-day event鈥檚 theme was 鈥淟atina/o/x Voices: Transforming the Academic Landscape鈥� and was co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies. Conference themes/strands included 鈥淓xpanding the Identify Narrative鈥� Perspectives on Gender Identity, Colorism, and Intersectionality within the Latino/a/x Community,鈥� 鈥淲riting Our Stories: Publishing opportunities and strategies for Latina/o/x Writers and Scholars,鈥� and 鈥淭he Impact of Latina/o/x Identity on Academic Outcomes,鈥� which actually doubled as a student roundtable.
Opening remarks were given by Keynote Speaker Marilu Galvez, who is also the president/general manager of WABC-TV New York. Other featured speakers were Dr. Patricia Ramsey (糖心原创 president), Dr. Alirio Valbuena (糖心原创, CUNY associate provost), and , who is the director of the . Featured performance poet helped close out the opening hour. Adding to the atmosphere were the works of Chilean visual artist , whose D铆a de Los Muertos-inspired pieces are hanging around in the lobby of the AB1 building until Hispanic Heritage Month ends on October 15.
The day鈥檚 featured panelists included award-winning novelist Dr. Theresa Varela, author and 2022 Mellon Foundation Letras Boricuas Award-winner , Galit & Zacker Literary Agency literary agent , and , board chair of the .
The day鈥檚 main panel was 鈥淟atino/a/x Representation in the Arts, Media鈥� and Entertainment Industry.鈥� Joining Cartagena as panelists were WABC-TV New York general assignment reporter and Tony Award-nominated actress/dancer . All spoke of the respective challenges they faced in their industries of not just fighting for opportunities as Latinas, but holding the line in how they define themselves while sharing and telling the stories from across the Hispanic diaspora.
The evening capped off with Rubin-Vega receiving the Latina Trailblazer of the Year Award. The evening鈥檚 other honorees was Sgt. Julio A Feliu, a 92-year-old Korean War veteran who served from 1950-1953 as part of the 65th Infantry Regiment, a segregated unit composed mostly of Puerto Ricans with mostly continental officers. The unit was the subject of the 2007 documentary . Feliu, who recently lost his wife of 65 years, came down from his home in The Bronx with his Bronze Star for Valor and the 2014 Congressional Gold Medal he was awarded by President Barack Obama.
