Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast

I don't know if I forgot to mention, but I'm Latina. This morning I had the opportunity to attend the Hispanic Heritage Month Breakfast in Salem, Oregon with some of my fellow Latina schoolmates. I was completely underdressed for the occasion, but I didn't let that ruin my experience. The breakfast itself was delightful - scrambled eggs with sausage, roasted red potatoes, pico de gallo, salsa roja, corn and flour tortillas, and fruit were some of the items offered. The featured speakers included a business associate, lawyer, the executive director of Latino Network, and a doctor.

The first to speak was Frank Garcia who works in the office of the governor. He proudly reminded us of legislation that recently passed, including tuition and drivers' license equity in the state of Oregon. He encouraged us to continue being active politically.

The second featured speaker was Alberto Moreno, who is a part of the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs. He discussed the positive impact of migrant workers on Oregon's economy and the average life expectancy of a migrant worker as compared to non-migrant workers. Moreno spoke of the prenatal care act that was recently passed that made prenatal care available to all pregnant women regardless of documentation.

The third featured speaker was Jose Gonzalez, president of the Latino Business Alliance of the Willamette Valley. His speech on supporting local Latin@ businesses was inspiring and thought-provoking.

Following Jose Gonzalez was Carmen Rubio, executive director of Latino Network. The master of ceremonies including in her introduction several more organizations she was involved with. She spoke of her commitment to those organizations and introduced a colleague, Nancy Ramirez Arriaga. Both women worked on the short film "The Oregon Latin@ List" along with many others present at the breakfast. We then proceeded to watch the film; I was surprised at how succinctly everyone spoke about childhood and families and the connections I was making with my own experiences.

After the film, I mentally prepared myself for the presumably long, emotional speech given by the keynote speaker. The keynote speaker was Dr. Yara Delgado and her speech was quite the opposite of what I was expecting. She spoke briefly about her childhood, but mostly about her education and vaguely about the struggles she faced during it. Amidst her 17-minute long speech (she timed herself), she uttered a statement that struck me as being so truthful it almost hurt - "I was a mutt." She was referring to her experience in being seen as Americanized by her Puerto Rican peers and vice versa.
I oftentimes feel the same way, although I might add to her statement, saying instead, "I am a mutt, stuck between both breeds, wanting, but never willing to be either."

Dr. Delgado concluded her speech saying, "...find yourself becoming a leader." I like the idea of not intentionally becoming, but discovering a leadership role. It signifies that one does not simply become leaders because one wants to - one becomes a leader when the situation arises.

Anyway, I could go on about my experiences and my thoughts and opinions about the morning, but I will end here and leave more to be discussed than not.