Though Hispanic Heritage month is drawing to a close, Saturday, October 11 saw Newburgh celebrate its first Hispanic Heritage month flag ceremony. A small crowd gathered at the Peace on Earth Panorama next to SUNY Orange at 11 a.m. to watch the ceremony.

 

Mark Sanchez Potter opened with a reading of Prophets of a Future Not Our Own, a prayer written to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Óscar Romero, former Archbishop of El Salvador.

 

Nearly the entire city council spoke during the ceremony, along with State representative Jonathan Jacobson, City Council candidate Ronald Zorilla, County Executive Candidate Michael Sussman, and Congressman Pat Ryan.

 

A common theme among the speeches was a call for unity in the face of adversity. Council member Omari Shakur said “Winter is coming, the only way we’re gonna survive is together” and Congressman Pat Ryan said “In those moments of attack and attempt to divide us it is even more important that we come together like this, that we don’t hide or cower, or have fear.” Zorilla said simply “Somos mas fuertes juntos” or “We are stronger together.”

 

Mayor Torrance Harvey opened his speech with a boisterous “Buenos Dias, Mi Jentes!” and peppered his remarks with phrases and sentences in Spanish, as did Giselle Martinez. County Legislator Genesis Ramos translated her speech as she went, and Zorilla’s speech was entirely in Spanish.

 

Many of the speeches also highlighted the history and achievements of the Hispanic community, both in the US as a whole and in Newburgh. Council member Ramona Monteverde shared a story of her uncle who had fought in World War 2 and helped to liberate Auschwitz as part of a segregated Mexican unit in the army. Mayor Harvey talked about the ways that he taught Hispanic history in his classes, saying “In my history classes 27 years, I teach the Latino history in my classes.” Ramos and Representative Jonathan Jacobson mentioned the contributions the Hispanic community made to the city of Newburgh, with Jacobson saying “The Latino population really is the reason that so many of the neighborhoods have revitalized. They’re the ones that have been fixing up homes, they’re the ones that are raising children in places where they weren’t raising before.”

 

Dale Velazquez, the community member who had spearheaded the efforts to fly a Hispanic Heritage flag also briefly spoke, explaining how she was involved and saying “I’m just thrilled… thank you, I appreciate all of you.”

 

Though the mood was celebratory, recent actions by ICE and the federal government were frequent topics of discussion. Mayor Harvey called the actions of the federal government “a crime” and multiple speakers spoke to the fear of the Hispanic community due to ICE.

 

Giselle Martinez capped off the first round of speeches with the impassioned declaration “ICE will never have  a place here. For as long as I am on this platform, for as long as I am in this seat, I will fight to protect this community.”

 

After the first round of speeches were done, the flag raising finally began. Three flags were hoisted up the flagpole, the flag of the United States on top of the set, and the Hispanic Heritage month flag at the bottom. Though there was little wind that day, there was just enough to allow the Hispanic heritage flag to unfurl above the celebration.

 

After the flags were raised there was a set of performances by local latino performers. The first was by rapper and singer Skndalosos M.A.S. After his performance a local dance group performed the “Danza de los Tecuanes” or the dance of the jaguars. The dance features performers in large exaggerated masks, and tells the story of a jaguar hunt. They were followed by El Grupo de Danza Folklorica y Azteca Sagrado Corazon De Jesus Y Maria, a group of four women who performed traditional Mexican dances in colorful, billowing dresses.

 

After the performers were finished, members of the community took the stage to speak. Francisco Martinez, owner of La Amistad bakery spoke in Spanish, with his daughter translating his words to the crowd, as well as Vanessa Cid of For The Many. Another speaker was NECSD teacher Jamie Bravo Martinez who spoke about growing up Hispanic and not seeing herself represented, then saying “Now I get to be that representation for my students.”

 

The ceremony was bookended with another performance by El Grupo de Danza Folklorica, this time in different costumes and holding aloft the Mexican and United States flags. They danced in a circle pulling in members of the audience and speakers to dance with them in front of the waving flag.