Osborne’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

On October 21, the Osborne Association held its third National Hispanic Heritage month celebration. Usually held in our Bronx location, Osborne staff gathered to celebrate virtually due to the pandemic. This year’s theme was “Esperanza”, the Spanish word for hope.

Steuben Vega, Deputy Director of Workforce, opened the event and led a presentation celebrating Hispanic icons and connected their contributions to Osborne’s core values.

Dwight Stephenson, Prepare’s Family Services Specialist, shared a story that highlighted our first core value: we honor everyone’s capacity to change. Mr. Stephenson explained how actor Richard Cabral’s was able to find success after serving part of a 35-year sentence. Jenny Santiago, Prepare’s Brooklyn Coordinator, tackled the second core value: we celebrate our shared humanity. Ms. Santiago discussed how icon Rita Moreno - an actress, dancer, and singer - paved the way for future Hispanic entertainers like Lin Manuel-Miranda and Hilary Swank. After Jenny, Sharon Livingston, Prepare’s Family Service Specialist, Sharon Livingston’s presentation focused on another core value: we are united in the pursuit of justice and equity. Ms. Livingston shared the stories of Afro-Latino political organizer Raymon Contreas and the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor.

The celebration took a break to hear from Zudaydah Rivera, Program Assistant, who talked about the life and legacy of poet Julia Constanza De Burgos Garcia. Ms. Rivera recited a poem of De Burgos’ and shared a link to more of her work.

Returning to the core values, Jessica Sanchez, Reentry Specialist, reflected on another core value: we keep our word. She spoke about baseball player and New York Yankee Mariano Rivera’s contributions to, and philanthropy within, Hispanic communities. Finally, Ximena Gallego, Communications Specialist, shared how the life and advocacy of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is embodied within our last core value: we are unstoppable.

President and CEO Elizabeth Gaynes closed the celebration with an explanation for her closing remarks: “La Lucha Continua”, which means “the struggle continues”. Ms. Gaynes said “that is at the heart of what I deeply appreciate in both cultures, and it continues and the work that we do continues,” she said. Ms. Gaynes shared pictures from her last trip to Cuba, and reflected on the inspiration she found from the struggles for national liberation in Central and Latin America during her political life, particularly El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Cuba. She noted how those countries are still working hard and how their struggles still continue today. The presentation closed with Mr. Vega sharing resources for further learning about Hispanic and Latinx communities, icons, and trailblazers, and with a celebratory music video: https://youtu.be/YXnjy5YlDwk

Check out photos from our Hispanic Heritage Day event over the last three years below.