News (Noticias) for Colorado

Colorado State University is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month starting Sept. 17 with many on-campus activities from salsa dancing lessons, luncheon discussion panels and Latino stories.

El Centro Student Services will have an open house from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, in Room 178 of the Lory Student Center for the public to visit the organization. Other festivities for this month-long celebration include the following.

- Sept. 23: “Hola Amigos! Latino Stories, Puppets and Music” will take place from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the Fort Collins Library. Ages four and older are encouraged to attend and listen to children’s stories reflective of Hispanic Heritage Month.

- Sept. 25: “7th Annual Evening of Music, Dance and Fashion” will take place at the Lory Student Center from 7-9 p.m. This event is sponsored by El Centro, Friends of the Library and CIRA LTD. of Fort Collins.

- Oct. 4, 5, 18 and 19: “Successfully Engaging Culturally Diverse Students” workshops will be held in the Lory Student Center from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. The workshops will focus on intercultural competency skills.

- Oct. 8: “Faces of America,” sponsored by El Centro and Campus activities, will be held in the Lory Student Center from 7-9 p.m.

- Oct. 8: “Women at Noon Brown Bag Luncheon” will be held in Room 214-216 Lory Student Center. A Latina panel will discuss “Success and Challenges at CSU.”

- Oct. 14: “Salsa Magic Night” will be held in the Lory Student Center north ballroom from 7-10 p.m. providing salsa lessons, open dance and performances.

- Oct. 15: “17th Annual Math and Science Technology Day” will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Main Ballroom of the Lory Student Center.

- Oct. 30: “El Dia de Los Muertos” will be held at the Front Range Community College Larimer Campus from noon-4 p.m. During “The Day of the Dead,” community members will bring altars to commemorate their lost loved ones. “The Day of the Dead” dates back 500 years when conquistadors landed in the Americas. Today it is still practiced, especially in Mexico.

- Oct. 31 and Nov. 1: “El Dia de Los Muertos” will be celebrated at the Fort Collins Library. Nov. 1 is All Saints Day, and families and community members are invited to visit the altar exhibits displayed from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

- Nov. 3 to Nov. 6: “El Dia de Los Muertos Celebration and Educational Programming at CSU,” sponsored by ASAP, Campus Activities, El Centro and Sigma Lambda Beta Inc.

Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 to commemorate the achievements of the Hispanic community. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan changed the celebration from a week-long event to a month. Sept. 15 was chosen because it is the day for independence of five Hispanic countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

For more information about the events and activities of Hispanic Heritage Month, visit www.elcentro.colostate.edu or call El Centro Student Services at (970) 491-5722.”

Today, the Obama Campaign announced the formation of its Colorado Latino Advisory Council, highlighting the continued growth of support Senator Obama is receiving in the Latino community statewide. The advisory council is made up of key labor, community and faith leaders and elected officials from across the state, who will advise the campaign on issues important to the Latino community, as well as play an active role engaging and mobilizing Latino voters in their local communities.

“I am honored to have the support of these leaders that have dedicated their lives to advancing opportunity – not just for Latinos; but for all Americans. They’ve all fought tirelessly for an economy that rewards work and the workers who create it, a quality education for our children, access to affordable health care, civil rights and voting rights,” said Senator Obama. “With their counsel and support, we will continue building our movement for change in every community in Colorado and across the country.”

“Latino voters will play a pivotal role in the November election, and our job is to ensure we are communicating Senator Obama’s message to this key community,” said National Council Chair, Federico Peña. “The members of the advisory council bring a breadth of knowledge, experience, leadership, and action to mobilizing Latinos here in Colorado. Over the next two months, we will be out talking about the contrast between Senator Obama’s commitment to changing the direction of our country and putting in place an economic plan that works for America’s middle class families and McCain’s plan to continue the failed Bush economic policies of the last eight years.”

Former State Senator Polly Baca said, “Senator Obama represents the kind of leadership that will fight for America’s working families and will help create opportunities to empower our communities across America at this critical moment in history.”

“As the Latino community continues to get to know Senator Obama, it is clear that he is the right candidate for our issues and is the best candidate to deliver the change that America desperately needs,” said State Senator Abel Tapia. “Senator Obama not only understands the struggles and diversity of our community but because of his personal history and background he will stand with us and be a fighter for our issues.”

Basil Sabbah, Chairman of the Board of Solera National Bank, said, “He will create jobs here in America, lower taxes on the middle class, reform our education system, and ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. I look forward to continuing to work to elect Senator Obama as the next President of the United States.”

Colorado Latino Advisory Council Members:

• Katherine Archuleta, Senior Policy Advisor to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; President of the Board of Directors, Latina Initiative
• Polly Baca, Former State Senator
• Richard Baca, Retired Higher Education Administrator, Mesa State College
• Patricia Barela Rivera, Former CO District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration
• Adrienne Benavidez, Attorney, District Director with the State of Colorado
• Celina Benavidez, Director, Division of Human Resources and Administration, Colorado Department of Transportation
• Juana Bordas, President, Mestiza Leadership International
• State Representative Ed Casso, House District 32
• Zee Ferrufino, Owner, KBNO Radio
• Debra Gallegos, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Colorado Department of Transportation
• Rick Garcia, Denver City Council Member, District 1
• Dr. Eric Gonzalez Juenke, Assistant Professor of Political Science, CU-Boulder
• Lucia Guzman – Pastor, United Methodist Church; Director, Denver Council of Human Rights/Community Relations; Former Executive Director, CO Council of Churches
• Arturo Jimenez, Denver Public School Board Member, District 5
• Paul Lopez, Denver City Council Member, District 3
• Rich Lopez, Owner, Greeley Printers
• Denise Maes, Chairwoman, Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Debbie Marquez, DNC Member, Eagle County
• Chris Martinez, Chairman, RTD Board of Directors
• Ramona Martinez, Chair, DNC Hispanic Caucus
• James Mejía, CEO, Denver Preschool Program
• Christopher Meza, Denver Business Owner
• Judy Montero, Denver City Council Member, District 9
• Keith Montoya, Owner, Doc 1 Solutions
• Dianne Ortiz, Vice Chair, Pueblo Chicano Democratic Caucus
• Gil Ortiz, Political Director, Laborers Union, Local 578, Colorado Springs
• Dan Pabon, Attorney, Holland and Hart; Denver Young Democrats
• Federico Peña, Chair, National Hispanic Advisory Council; National Obama Campaign Co-Chair; Former Mayor of Denver; Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Transportation
• Theresa Peña, School Board President, Denver Public Schools
• Mannie Rodriguez, Chair, Colorado Democratic Party’s Latino Initiative; Member, Democratic National Committee
• Basil Sabbah, Board of Directors Chairman, Solera National Bank; Founder, Boa Energy Drink
• Dr. Anna Sampaio, Board of Directors, Latina Initiative; Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Colorado at Denver
• Jennifer Sanchez-Trujillo, Chair, Pikes Peak Latino Initiative (Colorado Springs)
• State Senator Paula Sandoval, Denver, District 34
• State Senator Abel Tapia, Pueblo, District 3
• Rudy Torrez, Housing Counselor, Adams County; Obama Neighborhood Team Leader, House District 5
• Speaker Ruben Valdez, Former Speaker, Colorado House of Representatives
• Ed Vigil, Costilla County Commissioner, District 1

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I had the opportunity to see the beginning of Camp Obama Colorado, a Latino community leadership training held in Denver and I have to say that I was impressed.

160 people had registered and although I don’t know the final count of those actually attending the house was essentially packed. They were there from various parts of Colorado from all age groups to partake in what Obama’s Latino team calls “helping local Latino leaders empower themselves with the skills to mobilize voters in their Colorado communities.”

Now what impressed me was that this was actually physical action backed by Obama’s money to work on a grassroots approach. Throughout my three years of covering Hispanic & Latino news, I have heard and seen a lot of lip service and little action from a variety of sources. Similar sentiments have been shared with me many times by fellow Hispanos. So this approach literally made me smile.

In case you don’t know Obama has pledged $20 million to Latino outreach. This is more than any party has ever earmarked to target our growing powerful group and just the start of things to come in. Instead on simply purchasing ads and throwing them up on Spanish-Language media some of that money is going to this project that has already been held in 8 states. This runs counter to the stereotype of today’s marketing approach to our diverse community. This is a brilliant stroke if you ask me and fits into the team’s overall goal of registering as many Latinos as possible. After all, advertising on a national Spanish news TV program would reach only 39% of Hispanic voter and although this is from a 2004 Pew Hispanic study it still reflects today’s basic Hispanic language demographics.

Congrats to Temo Figueroa and his team for this innovative approach on a national level and to Barack Obama for supporting them.