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What I Learned From an 11-Year-Old Boy Who Sang the National Anthem (Twice)

June 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Who knew? Who knew that a Public Shaming Tumblr post published late Tuesday night (June 11, 2013) would turn an 11-year-old boy from San Antonio into a national hero in less than 48 hours? Yet that is exactly what happened to Sebastien de la Cruz, whose story went from one of ignorance to one of pure joy and love. Like the Buzzfeed headline from a story written by Adrian Carasquillo (full disclosure: my brother from another mother), de la Cruz’s moment showed “a nation how to love again.”

sebastien

Less then 48 hours. That is all that it took.

Tuesday afternoon, Sebastien de la Cruz was just one of millions of talented kids out there. He had gotten national attention last year on “America’s Got Talent,” but outside of San Antonio, not many people knew about him. By Thursday night, the Twitter profile of President Obama gave him a shout out. San Antonio mayor Julián Castro was reintroducing him to the world. He was trending on Twitter. National media had descended to scoop up the interviews. He had gone global.

Welcome to the new media.

As expected, I thought a lot about the story late last night. Why this one? Why did the story of a little boy in a charro outfit become the viral story of the week? Here are my random thoughts:

  • The story had honesty and authenticity. It came from “the ground up.” Late Tuesday night, while I was monitoring the Latino Rebels Facebook site, we received three messages from fans and a post linking to the Public Shaming post. Within minutes of reading the Tumblr post, I instantly knew that this story would resonate with our incredible social media community, which is the most connected and most engaged group in the Latino media space today. This story evolved from the real feelings of people. That was it. This story spoke to relevant issues of identity and culture. It was an easy decision from our end to amplify the story, and the results proved it. In the past 48 hours, LatinoRebels.com amassed its highest level of web traffic ever. The response was so overwhelming that it crashed our web server three times. When we posted our first story early Wednesday morning, the story took off. Soon, the story was being linked by Colorlines, Reddit, Jezebel, HuffPost, Latina, Buzzfeed, CNN, Puerto Rico’s Vocero, and countless other links and online forums. LR takes pride in amplifying stories that originate from our community. Mission accomplished.
  • San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich used the story to tell the truth about this country. Even though I am a huge Knicks fan and I still can’t get over what the Spurs did to my team in the 1999 NBA Finals, my respect for Popovich reached a new level when he said the following at a press conference yesterday before Game 4: “I would like to say that I would be shocked or surprised by the comments. But given the fact that there’s still a significant element of bigotry and racism in our nation, I’m not surprised. It still plagues us, obviously. And what I was surprised by was how proud these idiots are of their ignorance, by printing their names next to their comments. [Sebastien's] a class act. Way more mature than most his age. And as much as those comments by the idiots sadden you about your country, he makes you feel that the future could be very bright.” In a world where anti-Latino racism is raw, Popovich’s words had to be said.
  • Will we as a community continue to amplify other stories that matter? I can only hope that the reaction people generated online to support Sebastian can now turn to other stories that merit even more attention, like the case of boricua David Sal Silva (yes, Silva is half Puerto Rican), whose death at the hands of Kern County officers continues to go under the radar. If we as a community of engaged online Latinos can rally around the talent of an amazing boy, can we also do the same to share our outrage towards a death that was clearly condoned by law enforcement? Changing the paradigm about what it is to be Latino in this country right now must go beyond the feel-good celebration of a boy’s singing talents. We must approach stories like Silva’s with the same vigor and commitment as we did with Sebastian’s story.
  • The real (and sometimes uncomfortable) dialogue surrounding identity cannot stop here. Let’s face it: Sebastian’s social media story speaks to us all. It raises issues that must continue to be explored by the mainstream media, and not just be limited to the social one. de la Cruz proved that the United States is a better place when we celebrate our differences and find the commonalities within those difference. Being Latino in the U.S. doesn’t mean that you love this country any less, quite the contrary. Yet it also doesn’t mean that this country is perfect. It is not. Far from it. We are at a crossroads once again in determining what we want this nation to become. Do we want to be a country that understands that being proud of one’s roots (and for all those suggesting that Sebastien was overlooking his Mexican heritage when he said that he was American, cut the kid some slack—he’s only 11 and I seriously doubt that as he grows up to become a young man, he will shy away from his heritage) does not mean that you are “less American,” or do we want to be a country where an actual congressman freaks out about his office being “invaded” by “illegal aliens?” Sebastien’s story confirms to me that the days of Rep. Steve King (along with the Coulters and Malkins) are extremely limited, and like Popovich said, “the future could be very bright.” Yet that will take even more commitment. Are we ready as a community to continue where Sebastien de la Cruz left off? I think so, because social media has given millions of people the chance to share issues and stories that can literally move up the media landscape and become national issues that form part of our consciousness. That is where the real power lies, and to paraphrase a high-stakes poker player, “Latino Rebels is all in.”

The future is indeed ours. Now let’s keep posting, tweeting, sharing, and commenting on it.

***

Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela (@julito77 on Twitter) founded LatinoRebels.com (part of Latino Rebels, LLC) in May, 2011 and proceeded to open it up to about 20 like-minded Rebeldes. His personal blog, juliorvarela.com, has been active since 2008 and is widely read in Puerto Rico and beyond. He pens columns on LR regularly. In the last 12 months, Julito represented the Rebeldes on CBS’ Face the Nation, NPR,  Univision, Forbes, and The New York Times.

Filed Under: Latinidad, Media, Other Tagged With: , , ,

Latino Rebels Interviews Madelyn Lugo, Chairperson of National Puerto Rican Day Parade

June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This morning, I spent 30 minutes with Madelyn Lugo, chairperson of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) organization. We covered several issues surrounding the latest developments with the official Coors parade can that has led to controversy in New York City’s Puerto Rican community. We also discussed the request by the state attorney general to have NPRDP present more details about its relationship with private companies like Coors, as well as her thoughts about the political and economic interests Lugo claims are trying to discredit the parade. We are publishing the full interview here.

CoorsLight

JRV: Specifically, Ms. Lugo, regarding your CNN Latino interview with Fernando Del Rincón on Friday, you said that there were people that had political and economic interests that wanted to gain economically from a switch in leadership in parade’s board, do you have specific names? Can you expand more on that? What does that mean?
LUGO:  It’s always that when the parade comes, it’s mostly the same people that create problems or create controversy for the parade. You always see the same politicians or the same people in the community that create that type of controversy. I am not pointing fingers at anyone or any organization, but I think that today, these groups are called one name, tomorrow another name. It’s the same people that are involved in the group.
JRV: Who are those people?
LUGO: I am not pointing out names, I am just pointing out that it is a group, it is different people. And I don’t want to be unfair mentioning one and not mentioning the other.
JRV: So you’re making a general observation about economic and political interests, saying that it’s a group of people, but you are not willing to share who they are.
LUGO: At this point, I am not willing to give specific names. It will come. It will come to the point where I will mention them, but not at this point, because they know who they are, they know why they are doing this, so I think that’s it’s not efficient to mention them.
JRV: Ok, that’s fine. I am not trying to press you, but it just seems a little bit curious as to why such a comment gets made and no names are being mentioned and no groups are being mentioned.
LUGO: At a later time it will be mentioned but at this point, it is not important for me to mention those names.
JRV: But you are saying that you will eventually?
LUGO: Eventually, eventually in the future…
JRV: You’ll let me know then?
LUGO: Ok.
JRV: When you are ready to share names, please let me know?
LUGO: I will.

***

JRV: You also said that this happens every year, but I was curious because the only two current examples that I have known of for the past two or three years were different groups and different people and Boricuas for a Positive Image actually was formed in 2012 after the ABC “Work It” drug dealer controversy…
LUGO: Right, you are completely right on that. But you see, the same people that were involved with that group are the same people who were involved with the other group.
JRV: It just seems that there is talk about all these groups, but…
LUGO: Well, it doesn’t matter what the group’s name is called, today, they’re called that name, tomorrow they’ll be called another name, and in the past they were called something else. But it has been a history of opposing the parade for over 40-45 years, it has been the same group.

***

JRV: You also spent some time talking about GALOS Corporation, and I know you talked to the New York Times, and I just want to confirm. Can you speak more to the history of how the beer can was approved, how it was not approved, who approved it, what was so offensive about the first iteration of it? Can you share more details about that and how that happened?
LUGO: The first art that we saw from Coors, the first art that was presented to us, we the board believed that it was insulting for all in the community because we had experienced already a problem with the previous advertising in 2011 in terms of how people were misled by the word in that advertising, so whatever wording was there [in the first art of the 2013 product], it was eliminated completely from the art that they showed to us.
JRV: And what was that wording?
LUGO: It was wording that said “Ruta hacia el desfile” (“On route to the parade”), or something like that. I think that was insulting because if “emBORÍCUATE” (“Puertoricanize yourself”) showed the wrong meaning and caused a protest, “Ruta hacia el desfile” would have been the same as “emBORÍCUATE.” So we decided that Coors should not use that type of language in there. They could use something else, but nothing unrelated to the parade. It was important for the board to make sure that the community would not feel insulted by any of our advertising. The parade is the pride of cultural heritage and celebration. It’s not a type of organization that we would want controversy out there.

***

JRV: Did it say “official beer” or was it marketed as an official beer at that time?
LUGO: Yes, the marketing language did say “official beer.”
JRV: Did the entire board look at that product?
LUGO: Coors participates in the parade, but they are the official beer in terms of our Gala Dinner. Our Gala Dinner is the only place where we have alcoholic beverages.
JRV: Got it, but my question is, did the entire board of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade look at that initial product and look at the revised product before it was approved? Did everyone on the board have a say in it?
LUGO: Everybody on the board had the opportunity to express their concerns. There’s always a discussion to share concerns, yes, everybody on the board.
JRV: So, everyone on the board looked at it before it was approved?
LUGO: The day when they presented the art, maybe one board member or two board members were not present, but at that moment the majority of the board saw the art.
JRV: Ok, so I just want to be absolutely clear that it’s fair to say that not everyone on the board was present to approve the beer, but they were given the opportunity, but some board members did not see the product until after the fact. Is that fair?
LUGO: It’s fair. It’s fair, because it’s the truth. It was not the whole board that was present, I believe it was one board member that was not present, or two. But the rest of the board was there.

***

JRV: I was able to look into the financials describing the GALOS and the relationship it has with…
LUGO: GALOS relationship is our marketing agent. He [Carlos Velasquez] has a professional services contract that was approved by the board of directors and also submitted to the attorney general’s office for approval. We cannot do business with any professional company in the state of New York until the attorney general approves the contract. We went through the entire process as required by the attorney general, and that is why we are doing business with GALOS. He is our marketing agent.
JRV: According to your financials which we published yesterday, the current setup is 33% commission, correct?
LUGO: Right now, GALOS Corporation, according to the contract, he should be getting 33%, but he is not getting 33%. He is billing us 27%, as per previous years.
JRV: So the information with the attorney general where it states 33%…
LUGO: He can get up to 33%, that is correct. He is not getting 33% but he can get up to 33%.
JRV: So voluntarily he’s lowered his commission from 33% to 27%?
LUGO: Yes.

***

JRV: Looking at the financials, where do I find the actual revenue generated from sponsors? It was really hard to find on the IRS form, because when I do the math, I am not getting the revenue if I use 27% of what GALOS is making.
LUGO: Remember that GALOS Corporation only gets 27% of whatever money that comes into the parade.
JRV: I understand that, but where is the total gross revenue of the sponsorship?
LUGO: It appears in the activities section but it doesn’t only show GALOS Corporation. It shows all money that was raised by the parade.
JRV: Right, I’m just basically asking, if GALOS gets 27%, which is around the $89,000 that was reported in the financials in 2011, is there a line item that says, the revenue coming in from sponsorship is say, $350,000? It doesn’t seem like the math is adding up? I was trying to make sure that I was looking at the right line item?
LUGO: You are not going to get the math off the financials from the 990 form because there you have the global money that comes from all activities that the parade has. GALOS is not bringing in all the income into the parade, it is also income that we raise on our own. The GALOS Corporation sends his report to the AG’s office, that’s a public document. You can go to the AG office and look at the report there. You can see how much GALOS Corporation brings into the parade.
JRV: Ok, I can find that publicly via the AG and GALOS. That’s fine.
LUGO: You can find that under GALOS Corporation because by law he has to file a financial report showing whatever activities he has with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

***

JRV: I just have a couple of more questions. Can you talk about where the sponsorship money goes then?
LUGO: The sponsorship money goes into all of the parade activities. It’s not just the parade on 5th Avenue. People believe that that the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, they only focus on 5th Avenue. That is not the only thing the National Puerto Rican Day Parade does. We do a festival that is free to the community, we have two stages with musical bands that we are paying for the full activities, and not charging anything to the community. We also do a fiesta for our seniors that is a parade activity paid in full by the parade. We have to raise money for that. We have the scholarship program. We have the Juegos Boricuas and the Torneo de Dominó the Saturday before the parade. This is free of charge for all our community. We have different activities that we raise money for to give something back to the community because if we don’t have the funds, we can’t host those activities. Besides that, we have to pay insurance after 9/11, we have to pay a huge insurance to the City of New York to maintain the parade on 5th Avenue. We have to put toilets on 5th Avenue. It is not free of charge. We have to pay the city for the places where people are sitting. It’s a lot of expense involved in terms of the parade and parade-related activities.

***

JRV: So how much do you need to raise a year right now?
LUGO: In order to cover our activities, we have to raise over $500,000 in order to cover our activities and all the activities related to the parade. We have a breakfast, we have a big breakfast before the parade on Sunday. We don’t charge anyone money for that. Everyone in the community goes to the breakfast free of charge.
JRV: Talk about the scholarship money. How much scholarship money is given out every year?
LUGO: Every year it depends how much we get from our sponsors. It depends how much the sponsor can offer. That’s the amount that we are giving out.
JRV: So how much is that? Can you share?
LUGO: It’s between $10,000 to $20,000.
JRV: Total?
LUGO: In total, $10,000 to $20,000.
JRV: A year. Ok. I just have a couple more questions. So GALOS is not a Puerto Rican-owned agency, is that correct?
LUGO: GALOS? If you know the history of Carlos Velasquez, he is half Puerto Rican and half Colombian. He has half Puerto Rican cultural heritage, so saying that he is just Colombian is wrong.

***

JRV: Have you ever gone and considering that 33% commission is a pretty high number…
LUGO: That number is below that what the industry is offering.
JRV: For non-profits?
LUGO: For non-profits, yes.
JRV: Are you sure?
LUGO: Whatever he is charging right now is below market.
JRV: For a private company working with non-profits?
LUGO: Right, for a private company working with non-profits.
JRV: So do you guys go through a competitive process to find other agencies?
LUGO: We did in prior years with different agencies, and there were offering us over 50% commission. That is unacceptable for us. I don’t know if you know the history of Carlos Velasquez. Carlos Velasquez has been working with this parade for over 40 years, he was at one time, he was a board member of the whole organization.

***

JRV: And you don’t see that as being too close to home? Do you believe that GALOS has the best interests of the parade in mind?
LUGO: I believe that since he is the marketing agent, he has to have the best interests of the organization in mind in terms of providing the organization the opportunity of providing the parade to our community.
JRV: Even with the recent controversies, you still believe that they have the best interests of the community in mind? I’m not trying to have bring their intentions in question, I’m just trying to get a better sense of the last three years with Coors, you’ve had some high-profile incidents…
LUGO: You know something, mistakes happen. Every board has a learning process, and I don’t think that everyone or people who create controversy with this, they make their own mistakes, too. So I think this is a learning process that everybody has a responsibility for and has to take care of it, and has to take care of policies in the future.
JRV: Will you be setting up new policies after the parade?
LUGO: We’re working to draft new policies after this parade. We will start drafting new policies about operations and new policies in terms of marketing the parade. There will be new guidelines that we will put in place.
JRV: So when you release your responses to the state attorney general, after your release, will that be shared with the press?
LUGO: After we release the package for the attorney general packet, I think it is a public document. We would not have any objections in sharing documents because the attorney general’s office will already have it. It will be public by the time he already gets it, so by law he is going to have to make it public.
JRV: After your share it and submit it, can you let me know so I can read it?
LUGO: That’s no problem. As soon as we have the green light to send it, we will provide all documents at that that time. As soon as my attorney says “go ahead,” we will release the packet to whoever is interested. Everybody can have the packet.

***

JRV: Finally, what have you learned from this experience? The reaction has been pretty massive through social media. You do have Councilor Melissa Mark-Viverito appearing on CNN Latino’s Panoroma last night, saying that she is just doing her job to bring the parade back to the people.
LUGO: You know something, now you mention names, you have 52 weeks in a year: never, never, never, since I have been involved in this parade and I have been involved in this parade for over 20 years, and I have been leading the parade for six years, never, never, ever in all those years, that person has never been that close to the parade, never has called the parade, has never come to offer any help to the organization, never volunteered for the parade, never put anything on our table for the parade. So how can you say that it is your responsibility when you have never offered any kind of help to the organization?
JRV: Did you see her interview last night?
LUGO: No, I did not see it.
JRV: One of the things that she told Fernando was when that when things are going well, nothing gets brought up, but where there are questions, they get raised. It’s not just her, it’s about four or five other state senators and local city politicians. All those other people who have written the letter to you, have they been involved in the parade?
LUGO: None of them has come to the parade. Maybe one of them has applied this year to march or last to march last year, but the rest, they’ve never applied, they’ve never paid any fee to participate in the parade. They’ve never called and let us know that they are interested in marching in the parade.

***

JRV: And you’ve never invited them?
LUGO: We invite everyone. We have a person who calls every single elected official and invite them to participate. None of those people who signed a letter have been part of our parade officially.
JRV: This is my last question. In terms of the scale of the parade, in terms of of it all, it is a pretty big machine that you have to fund. Have you ever considered lowering the scale and scope of the parade so that it doesn’t become such a big task every year?
LUGO: When we decided to go national, we wanted to empower the Puerto Rican community nationally. The parade got bigger because when we went national, we invited all the groups from other states to come and be part of our parade. I think that this is nothing that is bad for the community. On the contrary, we empower the Puerto Rican community, and not only the Puerto Rican community. We have empowered the Hispanic and Latino community as well. Besides, people think that this parade is big. We have a deadline that we have to cut with applications because if we continue accepting applications, we would never get out of it. You can only imagine, the goal of the organization, not only for the states, but for Puerto Rico, calling us saying that they are interested in participating.

***

JRV: It seems like the consequences that came out of this for you guys is that you’re rethinking your policies and your guidelines. Is there anything else that you’ve learned about this experience besides that? Is there anything else you want to share?
LUGO: You know what we learned about this? That we as a group, as a community, we have to be together. I don’t think what is the reason that we’re fighting to create controversy instead of having those people who have concerns come and talk with us about how we can get into agreement to make sure that our community looks good and healthy and empowered, and it doesn’t look that we are fighting each other about something that means nothing else to no one because this organization does not belong to anyone. It belongs to the Puerto Rican community.
JRV: I appreciate your time, Ms.Lugo.
LUGO: Thank you.

***

We concluded the interview but as we were finishing, there was a discussion about how the parade’s private sponsors give scholarships to city kids.

JRV: If you are saying that you are giving $10,000-$20,000 in scholarships each year, and you are now saying that you are giving more scholarships, where is that money coming from?
LUGO: It comes from other sources that give the scholarship money directly to students.
JRV: Not through the parade? I just want to make sure I get this right.
LUGO: We have sponsors that give money to us and some sponsors that give the money directly to the students.
JRV: I’m confused.
LUGO: This is something that I don’t show in my income, it is not money that I don’t disburse.
JRV: I’m really confused.

***

Lugo then explained that there are two ways scholarship money is given out to students. One is through the parade. which accounts to $10,000-$20,000, and another way is that companies give money directly to scholarship fund in the name of the parade.

I asked how much money is given through the second process to these students, and Lugo said that this information will be included in the packet being sent to the attorney general.

LUGO: Our marketing agent has the information that shows how much money each sponsor gives to students. We’re going to give whatever we have on record to the attorney general. We have all of that. I have no concerns in terms of the attorney general’s office. We do what we have to do as a non-profit. Whatever comes into the organization is given back to the community. I think the attorney general has the right to look into any non-profit to ensure that we are running the organization according to the law.

***

Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela (@julito77 on Twitter) founded LatinoRebels.com (part of Latino Rebels, LLC) in May, 2011 and proceeded to open it up to about 20 like-minded Rebeldes. His personal blog, juliorvarela.com, has been active since 2008 and is widely read in Puerto Rico and beyond. He pens columns on LR regularly. In the last 12 months, Julito represented the Rebeldes on CBS’ Face the Nation, NPR,  Univision, Forbes, and The New York Times.

 

Filed Under: Latinidad, News, Other, Politics Tagged With: , ,

El Planeta Op-Ed Gets Today’s #NoMames for Calling Gómez a “Latino in Name Only” (LINO)

June 3, 2013 by 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak a the Commonwealth Compact’s diversity breakfast at UMASS Boston. One of the questions I addressed was about a Boston Globe op-ed piece I wrote saying that Massachusetts Republican candidate for Senate Gabriel Gómez was being ignored by the national GOP even though he was an appealing Latino candidate. At the breakfast, I made the point that Gómez’s win as the first Latino to every triumph in a statewide primary was historic for Massachusetts politics. Given the ugly racial history Boston has had, people who believe in diversity needed to put aside their political difference aside for just a moment and celebrate the fact that Gómez’s primary win was a step forward in rebranding Massachusetts when it comes to presenting a state that values diversity and opportunity for all.

0403_gabriel-gomez01

Personally, I don’t think I will support Gómez just because he is Latino, but I do believe that what he accomplished this year mattered, and that is was a positive sign for my adopted home state.

I guess Jerry Villacrés of Boston’s El Planeta newspaper still wants to live in the past. Today, Villacrés wrote an op-ed in Spanish calling Gómez a Latino in Name Only, a LINO. It was a silly column, one that does nothing to portray Latinos in a positive light, and Villacrés should be ashamed for questioning Gómez’s background and his identity.

Villacrés has every right to claim that Gómez is an outsider to the Latino community and question his politics, but he went too far in the “Latino enough” characterization that belittles the Republican candidate. Would Villacrés have the courage to say the same thing to Gómez’s face or to Gómez’s parents, Colombian immigrants who saw their son become a Navy Seal and a successful businessman? Or what of the fact that Gómez does not have to fit a Latino checklist that others get to determine? No one, and I mean no one, has the right to say that one person is “more Latino” than another. And you wonder why U.S. Latinos will never become a true force in this country: it’s because writers like Villacrés are still stuck in a past era.

What Villacrés writes only divides the community instead of unites us. Yes, Latinos can have different political beliefs, but let’s not forget that there are many things bind us culturally, and Gabriel Gómez is just another diverse voice. He is someone who has broken stereotypes, too. We can still be respectful of someone’s background and still be critical of one’s politics. For example, I don’t think Ted Cruz’s politics are on the mark one bit, but I would never question his family background and his self-identity. The same would go for Marco Rubio or Julián Castro.

I can’t fault Gómez for trying to go after the Latino vote in Massachusetts and if his Colombian roots make him appealing to some, then people should just deal with it instead of cutting him down. Does Villacrés ask the same question of Ed Markey, Gómez’s opponent? Why even create an atmosphere where one Latino goes after another’s Latinidad? Only Gómez can determine his identity, having a writer stoop to such a low level is sad and closed-minded.

Criticize a candidate for his politics, but leave unfounded generalizations about his identity for the amateurs. Villacrés has fallen into a trap that only he can try to defend, because his piece just failed. We can do better as a community. We can still respect people, even if we don’t agree with their politics.

If Villacrés is not careful, I might just vote for Gómez. Does that make me less Latino as well?

***

Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela (@julito77 on Twitter) founded LatinoRebels.com (part of Latino Rebels, LLC) in May, 2011 and proceeded to open it up to about 20 like-minded Rebeldes. His personal blog, juliorvarela.com, has been active since 2008 and is widely read in Puerto Rico and beyond. He pens columns on LR regularly. This past year, Julito represented the Rebeldes on CBS’ Face the Nation, NPR,  Univision, Forbes, and The New York Times.

Filed Under: Latinidad, Media Tagged With: , , ,

CNN Latino: Puerto Rican Day Parade Chairperson Madelyn Lugo Defends Parade’s Actions

June 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Last night on CNN Latino’s Panorama news shows with host Fernando Del Rincón, Madelyn Lugo, chairperson of the non-profit National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) organization, defended NPPRD’s actions in response to an official Coors Light parade beer can that depicted images of the Puerto Rican flag and the parade’s official logo. On May 23, the grassroots group Boricuas for a Positive Image issued a press release calling the beer can “an insult.” After Latino Rebels published a May 25 article including BPFI’s release and a scathing email from the National Institute of Latino Policy (NILP), soon many local and national outlets covered the story. This past Thursday, several developments happened: Coors stopped production of the beer can; NPRDP issued a statement saying that they would revisit its policy for third-party use of sponsored parade products, BFPI and local New York City politicians of Puerto Rican descent called for Lugo’s resignation and the formation of a new NPRDP board; and the New York state attorney general said that he would be investigating the relationship between MillerCoors and NPRDP.

CoorsLight

Lugo went on air last night to address several of these issues. This is what she told Del Rincón in Spanish. (The translation to English is ours.)

She started the interview by saying that NPRDP is an all-volunteer association. She then specifically addressed the controversy, without mentioning BPFI’s name. “Sadly, right before the parade begins each year in New York, this very same group waits a week before the parade to create controversy, in a type of situation where they can take advantage and use the parade’s platform to stand in front of cameras and criticize the parade.” BPFI was formed in 2012, and the group was not around in 2011, when the “EmBORÍCUAte” ads were pulled down by Miller Coors weeks before the parade, although members who later formed BPFI were involved sharing content on social media about that ad. Latino Rebels actually formed an online petition that led to the “EmBORÍCUAte” ads to gain more attention. That petition was requested by members of our online community who told us about the ads. As for other controversies that Lugo is referring to, the only two we know of are the ones involving MillerCoors in the last three years.

Lugo suggested that those who are criticizing her and the parade have political and economic interests, and are use the strategy of “quítate tú, que me pongo yo” (“yo go away so I can take over”) that there are interests and groups who want to use the parade to try and take over with their own agenda. Lugo did not mention any specific names or groups.

When Del Rincón specifically asked Lugo about the relationship NPRPD has with MillerCoors and the state attorney general’s investigation, Lugo said that NPRDP does indeed need to follow the state’s rules and that the attorney general has every right to ask. She insisted that the the organization follows all state laws and regulations, and that NPRPD did not receive the letter the letter from the attorney general until “2:58 PM today” after press outlets had received the letter. Lugo assured Del Rincón that NPRPD will provide the state attorney general “everything that is being required by him with all the necessary documentation, and we will prove to him that what we do follows the laws, and that what these groups wanted was controversy, and the inquiries that the state attorney general wants will be made clear for our Puerto Rican community.”

“The Puerto Rican community can be assured that there is no mismanagement of funds, there is no funneling of funds. And the funds that are designated for the Puerto Rican Day Parade are strictly used for the Puerto Rican Day Parade,” Lugo continued.

She then said the parade’s marketing agency is the “person that negotiates with these corporations the money that comes to the parade.” This marketing agency is GALOS Corp. Lugo said that NPRPD has a contract with the company and that this contract has been “approved by the New York inspector general, and that agency earns a percentage of the funds that they bring for the parade.”

Lugo said that Carlos Velásquez of GALOS is not a member of the board of dierctors. The NPRDP Board of Directors web page lists Velásquez as a business and marketing agent. His name is listed right after the Board of Directors section.

Lugo also said that the people who criticize the parade never went to her office before “going to the streets” by creating controversies and “dividing the community.” She claimed that many people in the community have called NPRDP and have said that they stand with her as well, and that they too believe that there are political interests behind the criticism of ther parade..

“When there is nothing to hide, you have to come out in front and respond,” Lugo said.

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MillerCoors Drops Puerto Rican Parade Beer Cans & Campaign Now Focuses on Parade Leadership

May 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Even after MillerCoors decided to stop production of an official National Puerto Rican Day Parade beer can that has gained national attention through social media, community activists and local New York City politicians of Puerto Rican descent continue to call for the resignation of the the parade organization’s chairperson and its current board of directors.

The decision by MillerCoors to no longer produce the beer cans happened just a few hours before Boricuas for a Positive Image, community leaders, and their supporters were to hold a demonstration in front of a local Coors distributorship in The Bronx. Here is what MillerCoors wrote to BFPI:
MillerCoors
As for the leadership of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Madelyn Lugo, NPRDP’s chairperson, also issued a statement today, saying the following: “The Board of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade has started to discuss and develop new guidelines for logo use and display by third parties, and/or re-creation which might result in resemblance to any official Puerto Rican symbol, such as the Puerto Rican flag.” NPRDP is a non-profit organization.

CoorsLight

Both these statements did not stop the BFPI campaign nor local city politicians critical of the beer can, including councilor Melissa Mark-Viverito, who issued her own statement: “Today’s announcement that Coors will cease all production of products bearing the Puerto Rican flag is yet another incredible victory for our community, which was brought about solely by sustained pressure at the grassroots. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade’s irresponsibility in not only authorizing this campaign, but then dismissing the community’s response has been deeply disturbing and calls for a re-evaluation of the Board of Directors’ leadership.”

Mark-Viverito also appeared this afternoon at a rally for the BFPI campaign. In this video clip, she calls for Lugo’s resignation and the formation of a new board of directors.

This evening Latino Rebels interviewed Tato Torres, a member of BFPI. Here is what he told us via email:

How has the community response been to your campaign?
TORRES: I believe that, considering the poor or lack of general response in the past, the overall response has been much better than one could expect, anticipate, or hope for. Especially from community organizations and elected officials. One has to keep in mind the unfortunate overall lack of historical knowledge and collective self-awareness of the Puerto Rican community, especially, although ironically, in NYC and throughout the Diaspora. And we must remember the immense popularity of the Parade as a source of “pride,” even if it is indeed a misguided one.

Critics have said that you are overreacting?
TORRES: Again, “One has to keep in mind the unfortunate overall lack of historical knowledge and collective self-awareness of the Puerto Rican community, especially, although ironically, in NYC and throughout the Diaspora. And we must remember the immense popularity of the Parade as a source of “pride,” even if it is indeed a misguided one.”

How would you respond?
TORRES: One has to educate… of course, much easier said than done…, but the challenge is to awaken true awareness and collective self-knowledge by providing relevant historical facts and making real or hypothetical comparisons with other groups.

What is your final end goal here?
TORRES: In my opinion, we must demand not only that our many questions reagarding the Parade be answered, but that Madelyn Lugo accepts her responsibility as Chair of the NPRDP and that the contract with GALOS Corp. be seriously re-evaluated by the current or perhaps a new Board of Directors. It is truly shameful to see how irresponsible the NPRDP has become or has always been, and it is time to hold it accountable to those who they supposedly represent and in whose name they function, ALL Boricuas and NOT individual greed and private interests. Although Madelyn Lugo apparently micromanages and rules with an iron fist all NPRDP business, it is the Board of Directors of the NPRDP which technically and legally has the real administrative power and responsibility over the Parade and its operations. I personally believe that they MUST be pressured to (1) remove Madelyn Lugo as the Chair of the NPRPD, Inc. and (2) review & reconsider the role of GALOS Corp. and their unethical contract. We, as a Community MUST pressure the Board of the NPRDP to force Madelyn Lugo to step down as President and accept nominations from the Community to place genuine and qualified representation in those seats.

Is the campaign’s focus more on MillerCoors or on the organizers of the NPRDP?
Now that, after folding to community pressure, Coors has vowed to stop production on its Puerto Rican-themed can, as it pulled the “emBORÍCUAte” ads two years ago, we can again celebrate a significant victory, but definitely not rest on our laurels. We have been here before and we must make sure we do not find ourselves here again!

Ultimately the real responsibility and blame does not fall upon Coors Light. The true culprits here are first, GALOS Corp., which is the official marketing agency responsible for all corporate participation in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Inc. Its president, Carlos Velásquez, who is not even Puerto Rican, has worked for over forty years with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and the former New York Puerto Rican Day Parade during the infamous Ramón Vélez era, in numerous roles from board member to advisor and now as the parade’s sole connection to the private sector. GALOS manages and produces the Parade, and was actually responsible for giving MillerCoors the green light to go-ahead with the “emBORÍCUAte” publicity campaign two years ago. Equally, or even more guilty, is Ms. Lugo, who by not protecting our the Parade and our community’s dignity from corporate greed has, in my opinion, put a price tag on Boricua “SELF ESTEEM” (ironically, the official slogan of the Parade. see their registered logo). She has practically served as a rubber-stamp for GALOS and its culture-pimping of the NPRDP. I also question the role or lack thereof in the matter, of Rafael E. Domínguez, member of the Board of Directors of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Inc. and who serves as its Director of External Affairs, a position, which in my opinion, also makes him at the very least partially responsible.

Finally, the New York Daily News is reporting tonight that New York’s attorney general is launching an investigation about the relationship MillerCoors has with the NPRDP:

The state attorney general’s office is investigating a beer behemoth and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in the wake of a scandal over cans displaying the Puerto Rican flag.

Coors Light tried to can the controversy Thursday, vowing to stop production on its Puerto Rican-themed can after outcries from a local community group.

But the state’s top lawman, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, wants to know more about how the beer brand using the popular parade to market its suds.

Schneiderman’s office sent letters to MillerCoors and the Parade leadership on Wednesday and Thursday demanding to know how exactly the beer company has supported good works by the parade.

“MillerCoors’ sponsorship of the 2013 Parade has raised concerns about how the charity is being used to market and sell alcoholic products, especially in light of the 2013 Parade’s theme, ‘Celebrating Your Health.’” the AG’s office wrote to MillerCoors Thursday.

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Boricuas for a Positive Image Continues Campaign Against Official Coors Puerto Rican Parade Beer

May 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

In response to a forceful statement that the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) gave to NBC Latino saying that community leaders should “top misguidedly telling the public that the Puerto Rican flag has been posted on beer cans,” Boricuas for a Positive Image, a grassroots New York City organization that has called for both the NPRDP and MillerCoors to stop the marketing and distribution of an official parade beer can, is organizing a demonstration in front of NPRDP’s offices tomorrow at 2:30 pm local time.

The demonstration’s Facebook link also shared another image of the beer can’s label, which shows a more complete depiction of the Puerto Rican flag, behind the NPRDP’s official logo.

CoorsLight

Several New York City politicians of Puerto Rican descent sent a letter to the NPRDP’s chairperson asking why the parade’s board had approved this product and suggesting that more stricter guidelines be put in place when it comes to sponsorship and product placement for the parade, which will be held on June 9 in Manhattan and whose main theme this will focus on health. Two years ago, MillerCoors had to take down “Emborícuate” ads before the 2011 parade, after the community questioned them via social media and grass-roots organizing.

One of the parade’s most vocal critics has been New York City councilor Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents East Harlem. She tweeted the following to Latino Rebels last night:

Mark-Viverito was referring to the fact that the NPRDP was claiming that a Puerto Rican flag was not on the beer can, and according to the statement from the NPRDP, it would be “something that the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc. would NEVER authorize.” Also, the councilor questioned NPRDP’s judgment, considering that the politicians who submitted the letter were also asked to participate in the parade.

The story continues to get more media attention, with articles in New York’s Newsday, Fox News Latino, and NY1

“The flag is the most important symbol of a nation and of a culture and to then be minimized on the back of a beer can as a way of selling our culture is just in poor taste. So I don’t understand why we went through this two years ago, why we’re going through this again,” said Mark-Viverito. “I really am concerned about the mass commercialization of this parade and the mass commercialization of our culture.”

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MillerCoors and Puerto Rican Day Parade Respond to Social Media Critics of Official Parade Beer Can

May 28, 2013 by 2 Comments

After a campaign by Boricuas for a Positive Image calling for MilerCoors and the Puerto Rican Day Parade to stop the distribution and production of an official parade Coors Light beer can displaying the colors and images of the Puerto Rican flag went viral via social media, both MillerCoors and the Puerto Rican Day Parade issued statements to NBC Latino defending the product.

Coors_Beer_Can_with_PR_Flag

In a statement to NBC Latino, MillerCoors says it has a strong track-record of responsible advertising and marketing.

“Coors Light has supported the National Puerto Rican Day Parade for the last seven years in celebration and honor of Puerto Rican heritage,” the statement read in part. “We’ve included a variation of the official National Puerto Rican Day Parade logo on our packaging, which incorporates an apple to symbolize New York, a star and red and blue colors as a demonstration of our official alliance and support of the organization.  As part of our partnership over the years we’ve contributed to the Parade’s Diversity Scholarship Fund which has helped dozens of students manage the financial burdens of attaining a higher education.”

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) was more forceful in admonishing critics of the image.

“The mark in the promotion of Coors Light is NOT the Puerto Rican flag, NOR the logo of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc,” wrote spokesperson Javier Gomez in a statement. “It is an artwork created exclusively by Coors Light for this campaign, that integrates elements for the Parade’s symbol such as an apple, a star, and red, white, blue, and black colors. We call on community leaders to clear this misunderstanding, and stop misguidedly telling the public that the Puerto Rican flag has been posted on beer cans, something that the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc. would NEVER authorize.”

The NBC article also quoted New York City councilor Melissa Mark-Viverito, who has been an outspoken of both MillerCoors and parade organizers.

“It’s total bull, let’s be honest,” said New York councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is Puerto Rican and represents a traditionally Puerto Rican community known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio. ”It’s not just me — look at the web, look at Facebook — when people see that, they see the flag. For them to try to say its not a depiction of the flag, that’s ridiculous. It was irresponsible and ill-advised and they should just apologize and move forward.”

Asked why she takes such offense to the depiction, when many might categorize the image as harmless, Mark-Viverito says it’s the mass commercialization of a culture, and she is particularly angered because the theme of this year’s parade is “Salud: Celebrating Your Health.”

“The flag is the ultimate representation of a nation and its contributions,” she says. “To equate that with a can of beer is disrespectful, especially when you look at the theme of the parade and the health disparities in the community. It doesn’t make sense, it’s counterproductive.”

Mark-Vierito also wrote a blog post on her personal blog called, “Melissa is Outraged About the Use of the Puerto Rican Flag on Beer Cans.” In this piece, she shared a letter to parade chairperson Madelyn Lugo that she and other local politicians of Puerto Rican descente wrote and co-signed:

National Puerto Rican Day Parade Inc

The letter states the following:

We write as proud Puerto Rican elected officials to express our disappointment with the continued commercialization and misrepresentation of our culture on the part of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade board and its sponsors. The most recent example, involving the placement of our flag on Coors Light products, directly associates our culture with alcohol, and comes after 2011’s highly offensive “Emborícuate” adcampaign by the same sponsor. Permitting the placement of our flag, the most sacred and important symbol of our culture, on cans of beer is the height of disrespect.

Why the committee feels compelled to continue to work with sponsors that seem to go out of their way to misrepresent our people is truly beyond us. As others have pointed out, this type of relationship with Coors has been made even more nonsensical in a year where the committee has adopted “Salud” as a theme.

We understand that the coordination of the parade will involve raising a level of resources, including through the use of corporate sponsors, and we appreciate the interest of these sponsors in helping to make the annual parade a reality; however, there clearly need to be restrictions in place to prevent this type of insulting, wholesale commercialization of our culture. Sponsors should seek to reflect the Puerto Rican community in a positive way and highlight all of our incredible contributions to our city and nation. At the very least, the board should not put its stamp of approval, which includes our flag, on products that are deleterious to the public image of our people, not to mention to our health.

We urge you to put guidelines in place that finally govern marketing related to sponsorships of the parade in future years, and do all that you can to stop Coors from including the flag in any future production.

We know that you share our commitment to promoting Puerto Rican culture in aresponsible way, and look forward to your response to this letter.

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Jessica Landeros: Changing the Face of Combat Leadership

May 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Jessica Landeros and her husband, Casey, live outside Milwaukee with their two young children. She is currently writing her memoir, UNIDENTIFIED FIGHTING OBJECT: How One Woman Changed Combat, and How Combat Changed Her (see: www.UT2Landeros.com) 


family

When Jessica Landeros raised her right hand and joined the Navy at age nineteen following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she had no idea she would become a three-tour combat veteran, a wounded warrior, and a pioneer for equality. The first American woman to serve in combat during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, Landeros helped pave the way for the recent decision to officially allow women on the front lines in all wars beginning in 2016.

As part of a construction battalion tasked with building bases and other infrastructure in a military theater, five-foot-two, 100-pound Landeros was tapped for two stereotypically unfeminine jobs:  plumber and convoy machine gunner. Embedded for months at a time in places most people only read about – often as the only Western woman among hundreds of men – she witnessed countless acts of heroism and leadership. But one day during her final deployment, Landeros herself had to step up and lead in the line of fire.

Part of Landeros’ team’s job was providing nighttime security escorts for supply vehicles and personnel throughout the perilous Al Anbar Province. But one summer day in 2006, the team was assigned daytime security detail for a crew repairing a critical road damaged by bombs. Three hours into the mission, a loud explosion and a plume of black smoke erupted less than twenty- five meters from Landeros’ vehicle, where she was manning her turret gun.

“I jerked my head around in time to see a Hum-V tire reach its apex at fifteen feet skyward,” she recalls. “Then I saw bodies writhing in the sand like fish out of water; two teammates had been hit.  One of them was pulling a knee to his chin; the other was flailing as though his whole body was suffering at once.  Even today I can’t drown out their screams.  I felt my chest tighten as I flashed back to an earlier deployment when one of my teammates, my friend, lost his life to a mortar round.  But I quickly snapped back to reality and forced myself to look away from my fallen colleagues and remember my mission: provide security for the road workers and now for the wounded and the medics who were moving them to safety.  I grabbed my radio and shouted to the gunners to keep their sector of fire.”

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Having successfully conducted her life “Mission First” during her previous two combat tours, Landeros understood the weight of her demeanor at this critical moment. She had recently transferred to this battalion of 625 personnel – none of whom had experience in the region.  As potshots from AK-47s came in from the field, Landeros suddenly realized that the guys inside her truck had not moved since the commotion started.  She looked down to find three frozen, wide-eyed men just beginning to thaw. She knew they needed to be engaged to stay safe and sane.

tank1

Landeros shook one by the shoulder and asked him to man the gun. He nodded resolutely and moved into position. Then she suggested that the second teammate help move equipment from the downed truck to their vehicle for safekeeping. He took off eagerly.  She turned to the third.

“Ryan, were the guys still moving when they were hauled off?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah.”

“That’s good,” Landeros replied. “A moving person is a living person. They’ll be okay. Hurry, make room for their equipment.”

It didn’t take long for the men to complete Landeros’ petty assignments, and she soon noticed that the distractions were quickly wearing off; they were slipping into the dangerous territory of their own dark thoughts. She knew from experience that it was too soon for them to let their emotions take hold. If they were going to fulfill their mission, she needed them to stay in the moment and not become numbed by grief or fear.

“So I did what any smart woman would do: I appealed to their machismo,” Landeros said. “I reminded them how scared the poor road workers were, and how we were able to handle it because we were used to this stuff. I convinced them it was our responsibility to remain calm and in control, because the workers were terrified. And it worked. You could literally see their chests swell and their focus return. That was all it took to occupy them until we made it safely back to Camp Fallujah a few hours later.”

Anyone who has been in the military will tell you that one of the first things you learn in boot camp is that the mission is everything. Without it, people are left to flounder – and ultimately to fail. However, as Landeros’ experience demonstrates, missions are more than just a set of objectives. A mission cannot be accomplished without people, and people cannot work to full capacity if they are not tasked in a way that challenges them and channels their strengths.

As a woman on the front line, Jessica is the embodiment of an extraordinarily powerful leadership trait:  the ability, despite societal and historical barriers, to articulate the mission and instill in others the passion to get the job done. It is that ability to issue the challenge and set the stage for its successful completion that is the mark of a true leader – a leader like Jessica Landeros. 

This post originally appeared on Fox News Latino.

***

CharlesGarcia-AvatarCharles Garcia, CEO of Garcia Trujillo Holdings, has served in the administration of four presidents.  He is the best-selling author of two leadership books and was named in the book “Hispanics in the USA: Making History” as one of 14 Hispanic role models for the nation books. Follow him on Twitter: @charlespgarcia

Filed Under: Latinidad Tagged With: , , , , ,

Boricuas for a Positive Image to Coors: Respect Puerto Rican Flag and Take It Off Your Beer Cans

May 26, 2013 by 2 Comments

Last week Boricuas for a Positive Image, a grassroots New York City community group formed after ABC’s “Work It” fiasco, has formally asked for MillerCoors to stop distribution of special Coors Light beer cans donning the Puerto Rican flag. Marketed as the official bear of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, held this June in Manhattan, BFPI issued a press statement and wrote to the head of the beer distribution company selling the cans.

The statement says that a “large number of Puerto Rican organizations, elected officials, activists, and neighborhood groups that Coors, Inc. cease distributing a promotional beer can with the symbol of the Puerto Rican flag. We believe Coors has insulted the Puerto Rican community by using this promotion before the parade.” Coors, Inc. is now part of MillerCoors, whose headquarters are located in Chicago.

Coors_Beer_Can_with_PR_Flag

“This is an insult to our culture, history, and flag. We will not allow Coors to insult us,” BFPI’s Lucky Rivera said.

According to the statement, “the coalition plans protests and demonstrations if Coors fails to agree with their demands. It has also expressed great disappointment with the marketing agent of the parade, whom they say has shown more interest in profit than in portraying a positive image.”

BFPI also send the following letter to Simon Bergson of Manhattan Beer Distributors, which is based in The Bronx.

Dear Mr. Bergson:

We are writing to demand that you immediately stop manufacturing and/or distributing your offensive promotional for the Puerto Rican day parade – a Coors Light can with a Puerto Rican flag on its face.

We are very proud of our flag, which represents our history and heritage. Puerto Ricans have striven to excel in American society in spite of our Sisyphean struggle against oppression and discrimination from time immemorial. Our national symbol on your can perpetuates hidden racist stereotypes and messages associated with Latinos while simultaneously denigrating Latinos in general and Puerto Ricans in particular, all of which you disguise by your tasteless imprimatur of our beloved flag on your beer can. It is revolting and embarrassing. It is reminiscent of the scandalous wall mural in the 90s in East Harlem depicting people drunk on the street, which was ultimately removed.

Therefore, we are demanding that this promotional be immediately ended, all distributed cans be re-called, and no further distribution take place.

Further, we do not recognize any agreements with any marketing agents of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade that places a price tag on our flag, our dignity, pride and history.

If you fail to immediately respond to our demands, you will leave us no alternative but to use any and all legal means, including civil protests and boycotts, to halt your misconceived promotional.

This is not the first time MillerCoors has faced criticism during the Puerto Rican Day Parade. In 2011, the company had to remove its “Emborícuate” ads after community reaction reached a critical point. Latino Rebels initiated an online petition that garnered local and national attention.

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An May 25 email by The National Institute for Latino Policy addresses the latest story and places the blame on the parade’s board of directors:

Here They Go Again!

Coors and the Puerto Rican Parade

The NiLP Network on Latino Issues (May 25, 2013)

“From “EMBORICUATE” to this. I think the target of the PR community’s wrath on this matter should be the Nat PR Day Parade’s board, not Coors or their marketing agent! DEMAND they pull the advertising! Recall the product! Take the board president to task for allowing the selling out our people & culture! Challenge this year ‘s parade theme, which is HEALTH, not getting drunk!” —Ephraim Cruz in May 23, 2013 Facebook posting

“A very Americanized Puerto Rican asked me why I was so upset about the parade board of directors making a deal with Coors to place the Puerto Rican flag on its beer can as a promotion. I said that flag symbolizes our nation, our ancestors ,our history, our dignity. No one has the right to grant permission to Coors to place our flag on their promotion. Our parade has become more interested in money than in cultural pride. It’s time to take back our parade . . . now!”—Ramon Jimenez on May 24, 2013 in his Facebook page

It seems like the leadership of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, to be held on June 9th in NYC, just can’t help themselves! As you can see, they have cut some sort of deal with the MillerCoors company to not only be the official beer of the parade but to display their logo, and the Puerto Rican flag, on cans of their Coors Light beer. As Ephraim Cruz, Ramon Jimenez and others have pointed out, this is unacceptable, but instead of criticizing Coors, the cry is going out on the need to hold the Board of Directors of the Parade accountable themselves!

What makes this even more egregious is this year’s parade theme is: Salud—Celebrating Your Health. Among Latinos, Puerto Ricans have the highest rate of alcohol dependence and the highest rate of the need for acohol use treatment, according to the National Institutes of Health. So, in this case, they must be using “salud” as drinkers do,“¡Salud!” and not as a public health message.

You may recall that in 2011, MillerCoors had to discontinue its ‘Emborícuate’ Coors Light Puerto Rican Day Parade advertising campaign after widespread community criticism. This campaign had been running for three years straight until those in social media raised issue as a call by Coors for Puerto Ricans to get drunk on their product. In fact, back in 1984, Coors had signed an unholy agreement with six leading national Latino organizations in which they agreed to getting larger grants from the company if they increased the amount of Coors beer consumed by the Latino community, an agreement that was scrapped after strong criticism by the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy (IPR) (as NiLP was called then) and other community leaders.

So it is surprising to many in the Puerto Rican community that the Parade leadership would allow the Puerto Rican flag to be displayed this year on a beer can. Are they willing to allow the perception that in exchange for money or donated product that they would allow unhealthy messages to their community? The Board and many other volunteers of the Parade work hard every year to pull off this unique and high profile event, why would they want to tarnish their efforts in this way?

Critics have called on the Puerto Rican community to contact the leadership of the Parade to let them know how you feel about this. Besides telling them to junk these beer cans, does the issue of the need for a broader leadership of the Parade need to be raised as well, given this history? According to their website, these are the members of the National Puerto Rican Parade Board of Directors and staff:

Carlos Velazquez, Official Business & Marketing Agent: [email protected]
Madelyn Lugo, Chairperson: [email protected]
Melissa R. Quesada, Vice Chairperson: [email protected]
Trinity A. Padilla, Executive Secretary: [email protected]
Shirley Cox, Treasurer: [email protected]
Luis Rivera, General Coordinator: No Email Available
Rafael E. Dominguez, Director of External Affairs: [email protected]
María Román Dumén, Honorary Member: [email protected]

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The Making of REBEL: The Story of Loreta Velázquez, Civil War Soldier and Spy

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We here at Latino Rebels are thrilled to learn about “REBEL,” a fascinating documentary premiering May 24 at 10pm EST on PBS (check local listings). The film tells the story of Loreta Velázquez, the untold story of “a Cuban raised in New Orleans, who disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Civil War. She fought at Bull Run, was wounded at Shiloh, and served as a spy for the Confederacy until becoming a double agent for the Union.”

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The film was written, directed, and produced by María Agui Carter.

We reached out to the filmmaker about why she decided to tell this story, and this is what she told us via email:

Like Loreta, I too was an immigrant to the United States and brought to this country at the age of seven. I never owned a television in Ecuador and I grew up in NYC an undocumented “dreamer” (only I was called much worse things growing up). It is a privilege to be able to have a voice in this industry. As a Latina woman director, I am one fewer than 2% of Latino directors, and one of the less than 1% of Latino writers working in the American TV and film industry today. Loreta Velázquez, the main character in this film, is a complex and tragic figure, not a plaster saint, but a woman whose fascinating search for identity led her to betray her own gender and ethnicity in a search for belonging, and who ultimately turned against war and its corruptive influence on society. This film about a woman, a myth, and the politics of national memory, has been a labor of love and 12 years in the making, in between commissioned projects for PBS and cable.

You can follow the film’s progress and future screenings on its Facebook site.

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