Author name: Buffalo Latino Village

A Three Kings’ GIFT List for our Puerto Rican/Latino Leaders/ORGANIZATIONS:

Column, People /

In the tradition of Ramon Gallardo (journalist/author, RIP), each year we reflect on the community’s institutions and the individuals who are in control of governing the political affairs of our community. Here is what we would like the Three Kings to bring them: Christian Para: An apartment on the Lower West Side. Geo Hernandez: Her organization to address why they can’t find a Latino/Latina progressive candidate to run for local and state office on the  Lower and upper West Side. No more wolf playing.  Roberto Quintana: An opportunity to run for office; he is considered one of the most gifted public figures in the Puerto Rican/Latino community, if not the city of Buffalo. Casimiro Rodriguez: An apartment on the Lower West Side. Amor y Heritage: More Support from the Puerto Rican community leadership. El Batey Puerto Rican Center: News coverage for all the wonderful work they do in Buffalo’s Puerto Rican community. PRACA: Allow the “Artistas del Barrio” an opportunity to manage PRACA’s walls to display the artwork of  local and non-local Puerto Rican/Latino artists as a permanent, on-going Latino Art Exhibition project. El Buen Amigo: A shared piece of the HHC 14 plus millions to complete el Buen Amigo construction. Hispanics United of Buffalo: A program to protect the lambs from the wolves across the street. Father Belle Center: A transparency program for the Lower West Side community. Evelyn Pizarro: A public school named after this amazing educator. Puerto Rican & Hispanic Parade Committee: A recognition that the spirit and history of the Puerto Rican parade started on Virginia Street, and not Niagara Street. Lower West Side Puerto Rican/Latino Restaurants: Join forces as  a West Side Latino Restaurants Association, unite in purchasing your goods together, and save money, show appreciation to your customers by offering annual scholarships to their kids and support your community organizations. Raices: A spirit of ownership & Independence. A home of their own in the theatre district (Main Street). Hispanic Women’s League. More contributions from the public and private sectors, making it possible for them to issue greater scholarship grants to our college bound Latina students. Hispanic Heritage Council: Have more respect for the community when re-naming public buildings; do proper research and be objective in this important process. It should be pro-history & pro-community, not based on personal relations, or political affiliations. La Ultima Hora: La Primera Hora (the first hour). Councilman Rivera & Assemblyman Rivera: Free Spanish classes at el Buen Amigo. Progressive Puerto Ricans/Latinos: Stop attending out-of-town workshops and rallies, and begin to dedicate time to the politics and conditions of your community. Public Press Conferences: Inform and invite the community to your press conferences, not just your partners in crime. What you do is not in the best interest of the community. Are you afraid that the real community will speak up and undress you in the public forum right in front of your politicians?  You cannot be too wise, said the 3 wise men. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports ROBERTO QUINTANA! SETTING THE RECORD October 4, 2023/1 Comment “He who is without sin can cast the first stone.” The other day, I was thinking about Roberto Quintana and the history of… Read More  A COMMUNITY GIFT OR A TROJAN HORSE?  October 3, 2023/No Comments This past month, on Friday, September 15th, the beginning of what has become known as “Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15… Read More LATINO COLLEGE STUDENTS FACE INEQUALITY AND CULTURAL ISOLATION AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK at BUFFALO March 25, 2023/7 Comments LACK OF COLLEGE SERVICES FOR LATINO STUDENTS: This is in response to a story by UB Spectrum reporter, Kayla Estrada,… Read More Load More End of Content.

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THE SCHOOLS CONTRAST NIGHT AND DAY

Education /

As of this year of 2023, for 2 years of grade levels, I have attended quite an unhealthy student environment for a 12 and 13-year-old child. For context, nearly every day of my 6th and 7th grade middle school year, I have recalled hearing and witnessing multiple students use the racial derogatory slur known as the “n-word” on a daily basis.  For 7 days a week and 365 walking hours a year, I remember the peers I used to stroll the halls along with address not just each other, but other minorities as well with a widely known offensive term that they simply thought was normal to say. As a 13-year-old today, my still fully functioning brain cannot wrap around how other children can repeat such disgraceful slang towards a race and make what they thought were funny and so commonly acclimated jokes. At that point in my life, I gave up on trying to make a difference in that schooling environment. It was nearly impossible when the head directors would not suffice any punishment for the racism. Every report I gave of recalling the acts of racist sayings was thrown by the wayside and not taken to a serious extent. I felt alone and for quite a while, I didn’t want to continue to attend school. I knew my parents were also filing complaints to my school, but they were disregarded as well. So in total in that situation as a 13-year-old what do you do? Really, nothing. I tolerated it, I tortured myself to go to school until the year was finished because I didn’t have a choice. But as the year went by, the n-word calling did not let up, and as my happiness and welfare being educated slipped, my parents made the immense decision to move. The long nights of dreading to attend school the next day got shorter, and the counted months I had for the ending of the school year finally finished before I knew it, my parents were selling the house and we were packing our belongings saving for the big move to my now current home in Williamsville. I now can finally say I have very few to zero troubles waking myself up in the morning and actually being delighted to attend my new school. I have friends, teachers, and an actual life outside of sadness and a bubble of depression. I have what I now can say, a healthy schooling environment for myself. The unconditional love and gratefulness for my parent’s major decision is never-ending. I still can’t fully wrap my finger around the fact that my good spirits were such an important factor in their own separate lives that they simply packed up their previous lives and just moved…all like that. If I have to say thank you a million times more than I already have, then I will. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports THE SCHOOLS CONTRAST NIGHT AND DAY December 20, 2023/No Comments As of this year of 2023, for 2 years of grade levels, I have attended quite an unhealthy student environment… Read More

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ALICIA GRANTO, MAKING OUR COMMUNITY PROUD

1 Comment / Interviews /

I struggled to learn to read in both languages. I always felt old-fashioned red, white, and blue smart but with spelling, I wasn’t a winner. After 46 months of Latinaherstory as a published “columnist”, the Doctorate, etc., I still remember STARING at the page: BLANK, SAD, MAD, and Tiny. Mrs. Gilbert knew I was smart and her 6:30 AM prep period was dedicated to helping us both prove it to the world, all before school breakfast at 7:30 AM. When I didn’t feel good enough, down to my bones, I thought about God. Abuela was Pentecostal, You y’all know I wasn’t ever the first one to the passage when Pastor called it, but I got the message. I tell my son who is in first grade now. God makes us all perfect, it’s the journey that shows your gumption, and that’s if you have any. I call myself a “folk writer” because I write to talk to people, directly, like my neighbors. That’s why “AI’ and “Chat GPT’ didn’t sit right with me, at first. Till someone pointed out, the very real fact, I would be toast, with and without a cafe, but for SPELLCHECK.  He said spellcheck was “artificial intelligence” and I started hearing differently because, I know, I know, a lot of words I cannot spell.  For the “kids” (with their little backpacks) It’s a new ball game, and it’s faster. They don’t know what it feels like to WONDER, they don’t know the world without instant answers, or the fear of them. I remember the sound of AOL Dial-up.  We all need We all need guidance, and a living example for me was Alicia Granto, in a skirt suit, at the Hispanic Women’s League brunch and other places. Always upright, a vision of civility, and the perfect mix of business attire and warmness, I needed, to feel like my cardigan would someday be a blazer. Undeterred, I missed the deadline for the Hispanic Women’s League’s scholarship that year but within days of research, I found AAUW and later the confidence to apply for a grant. Dedication to a persistent call to excellence powered by empathy is what she embodied for me as a student.  She reflects on the values she learned as a child. The values that I acquired as a child were much more modeled by my parents than taught to me per se. No one sat with me and said, “This is what you do, and this is what you do not!” That inculcated in me the importance of showing our youth how to empower themselves as happy, productive human beings by role-modeling that behavior rather than preaching to them. I have worn numerous hats in my life career-wise and professionally. I started in the educational field and after dabbling in other areas, here I am today still pursuing my passion and what I believe I am really good at which is helping others maximize their potential. I am convinced no other endeavor would make me feel as fulfilled as being an educator and a provider of overall wellness.  When asked to define a leader she states: “A leader to me is someone that others tend to follow spontaneously not necessarily because they brand themselves as leaders.” Alicia Granto is one single person whose investment in WNY is felt globally through the work of her family and through the thousands of hands belonging to students whose hearts she shaped. Alicia has served as a counselor and academic advisor at SUNY College at Buffalo. Ms. Granto, born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, has a master’s degree from Long Island University in Education/Counseling and Bilingual Education, and a Bachelor of Science from Empire State College in Educational Studies. Alicia Granto has a teaching, administration, and counseling background.  She has served as Co-chair of the Educational Committee of the Western New York Hispanic and Friends Civic Association; a member of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Women’s League and chair of the membership committee; and a member of the Board of Directors of Los Taino Senior Citizens – and this is just a short list of her achievements and accomplishments. Oh and think of me, and give a kid some space, a calculator, and spell check (and a snack if you’ve got one handy), and see what happens next. Genius – is my guess.  #gloriadios for the world is better because of teachers and nourishing souls like Alicia. Oh, and thank you, Mrs. Gilbert, I guess you were right! Alicia Granto Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports ALICIA GRANTO, MAKING OUR COMMUNITY PROUD December 18, 2023/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More  MEET EL COQUITO at ALLEN STREET “AUTHENTIC CARIBBEAN CUISINE” October 4, 2023/1 Comment At 242 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14201 you will find El Coquito, impeccable architecture, and the smiling face of founder… Read More INTERVIEW #31: MARIA CRUZ July 4, 2023/1 Comment On June 2, 2007, I posted my first Facebook photo. I made identity-affirming Latina-centered student content before it was seen… Read More Load More End of Content.

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