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comité noviembre 23rdmes de la Anniversaryherencia puertorriqueña COMITÉ NOVIEMBRE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND IS SINCEREST GRATITUDE TO THE SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS OF PUERTO RICAN HERITAGE MONTH 2009 CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AMER HOTEL/INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP NEILSEN MEDIA RESEARCH 1199 SEIU IPRO HEALTH CARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE NBC4/TELEMUNDO SANOFI-AVENTIS LEHMAN COLLEGE CON EDISON BETTER LIVING NOW EL DIARIO/ LA PRENSA NYU MEDICAL CENTER BRONX LEBANON HOSPITAL CENTER LINCOLN MEDICAL & MENTAL HEALTH CENTER UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS NYS UNITED TEACHERS, NYSUT COLGATE PALMOLIVE BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB ST. BARNABAS MEDICAL CENTER INSTITUTE FOR THE PUERTO RICAN/HISPANIC GOYA FOODS, INC. ELDERLY ASPIRA OF NEW YORK MEMBER AGENCIES INSTITUTE FOR THE PUERTO RICAN/HISPANIC ELDERLY ASPIRA OF NEW YORK EL CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS PUERTORRIQUEÑOS EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO EUGENIO MARÍA DE HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE LATINOJUSTICE – PRLDEF NATIONAL CONGRESS FOR PUERTO RICAN RIGHTS - JUSTICE COMMITTEE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR LATINO POLICY PROMESA PUERTO RICO FEDERAL AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATION PUERTO RICAN HERITAGE MONTH FISCAL AGENCY INSTITUTE FOR THE PUERTO RICAN/HISPANIC ELDERLY 105 EAST 22ND STREET NEW YORK, NY 10010 (212) 677-4181; (212) 777-5106 (FAX) WW.COMITENOVIEMBRE.ORG SPECIAL THANKS TO: JAIME BELLO, LUIS CORDERO, HENRY CRUZ, SULIEKA CABRERA DRINANE, WAL- LACE EDGECOMBE, ANGELO FALCON, MARTHA LAUREANO, MARIA T. MATOS, TERESA A. SANTIAGO, ANGEL SANTINI, AND LILI SANTIAGO SILVA © 2009 COMITÉ NOVIEMBRE ARTWORK BY: ARNALDO ALICEA LAYOUT: LUIS CORDERO, CEMIUNDERGROUND PHOTOGRAPHY: DEBORAH URBAEZ & ROBERT FIGUEROA EDITOR: TERESA SANTIAGO comité noviembre mes de la herencia puertorriqueña 23rd MESSAGEAnniversary ON BEHALF OF COMITÉ NOVIEMBRE For the past 23 years, Comité Noviembre, CN has been celebrating Puerto Rican Heritage Month in this country. A non- profit organization dedicated to commemorating and acknowledging the contributions Puerto Ricans have made to this city, state and nation. CN is composed of ten of the oldest and most prestigious Puerto Rican organizations: the Institute for the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly, ASPIRA of New York, el Museo del Barrio, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College, el Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, the National Institute for Latino Policy, the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights – Justice Committee, PROMESA and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. This volunteer coordinating body plans and promotes CN’s annual programs and events. The charge of CN is to create awareness of our rich culture, language, and heritage and to acknowledge and take ownership of it everyday but specifically during the month of November. The annual theme is developed with the understanding that beyond celebrating our heritage, it must help to motivate, mobilize and empower our community around critical concerns. This year’s theme: Puertorriqueño… de nuestras raíces nace un pueblo, speaks to the strong foundation of the Puerto Rican community around the world, of our perseverance, ingenuity, pride and achievements. The theme explores and ex- amines our unique ancestral roots and the very fabric that makes us Puerto Rican. It calls for us to take ownership of our culture and heritage to promote and protect it. Everyday as a community, we contribute to the development and success of this city, state and nation. The artistic rendition of our theme by artist Arnaldo Alicea of Comerio, Puerto Rico, captures the essence of our message and clearly expresses the stronghold our roots have that bridges our two communities and celebrates and acknowledges that aqui y alla, somos todos puertorriqueños – un pueblo. CN is thrilled that historian and author Jesús Omar Rivera, affectionately known as El Boricuazo will be our 2009 Spokes- person, gala honoree and will conduct his acclaimed show for the first time in New York, Puertorriqueñidad…Defendiendo nuestra imagen on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at Hostos Community College. Please join us. I assure you that you will experience a “Boricuazo” moment that you will remember for the rest of your life. His enthusiasm, energy and love for all things Puerto Rican is contagious. He will leave you with a renewed sense of self, pride, determination and a challenge to go forth and teach others. This journal also carries interesting, cultural, political and educational information that we hope will be of interest to you. We pride ourselves in being able to discuss all aspects and issues of our community – with respect, objectivity and pride. The articles include: (1) “Boricuas in New York City: An Historical Inventory of the Past Year,” (2) “Puerto Ricans and the 2010 Census: Si Quieres Frutos, Sacude el Árbol,” (3) “40th Anniversary of the Young Lords” (4) “The Resurgence of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights – Why Now?” (5) Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s Journey from Humble Beginnings to the highest Court of this Nation (6) In the Health care reform debate, Puerto Rican Voices Must unite to be heard, (7) “Statehood, a civil rights issue. A matter of Equality”, and (8) summaries and updates on our annual programs. Most importantly, we want to share with you the inspiring stories of our Lo Mejor de Nuestra Comunidad award recipients – truly exceptional, dedicated individuals who are the unsung heroes of our community and who are making a difference in not only the Puerto Rican community but society as a whole. The Lo Mejor de Nuestra Comunidad award honors Puerto Ricans whose pride in their heritage and strength of character have empowered themselves and inspired others to make sig- nificant impact on our community. What is important to understand is that these award recipients are chosen by CN from nominations submitted by the community. The selection process is never easy but this year was particular difficult because the nominations were all outstanding. CN chose ten individuals. For twenty-three years, CN has created and developed programs all geared to the support and enhancement of educational opportunities and leadership development for our youth with a cultural twist. These programs are firmly rooted in the be- lief, that in order to succeed in life, you must pursue a higher education, give back to your community through volunteer efforts and know your cultural ancestral history. In order to secure that our youth have better educational opportunities the CN Scholarship Awards Program (CNSAP) was established and has awarded $170,000 in scholarships since its incep- Comité Noviembre Board Members and 2008 Honorees tion fourteen years ago, an average of 12 scholar- ships a year and with a college graduation rate of 90%. An additional $7,000 has been awarded in the Richie Pérez Scholarship for Peace and Justice. The 2009 recipients of both scholarship programs are highlighted in the journal. You will be awed by the clear sense of self and strength of charac- ter of these selfless and inspiring people that are building our communities and making a difference early on in their lives. This year’s benefit event will take place on Friday, November 13, 2009, at the NY Hilton in Manhattan and will honor: Car- los A. Picón, Curator in Charge, Department of Greek and Roman Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Katilia Velez, creator of Nuyoricans Against MTV’s True Life “I’m a Nuyorican” a documentary that portrayed Puerto Ricans in a stereotypical negative light and Jesús Omar Rivera, El Boricuazo, historian & author who is also our 2009 Spokesperson. The proceeds of this annual event, supports all of our programs and allows CN to provide free programming and information to the community year round as well as scholarship dollars. Our programs include: two scholarship programs, the annual Leadership Development – Role Models Forum, conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA personnel, the Artisans Fair & Exhibit, the Health Fair, the educational trip to Puerto Rico, “Buscando Nuestra Raíces”, the Day of Community Service & Social Responsibility and food drive, a Three Kings celebration and toy drive, the an- nual CN/El Diario La Prensa full color Puerto Rican Heritage Month Supplement, the production of this commemorative calendar journal, the artist competition, selection and commission process, the annual educational commemorative poster, selection of a spokesperson, the kick-off celebration and annual benefit event, the Lo Mejor de Nuestra Comunidad and Puerto Rican Heritage Awards, our website information as well as cultural and health related workshops, forums and events sponsored by CN. Many events have been planned throughout New York State as well as New Jersey and Puerto Rico to celebrate our rich culture, traditions and history. CN urges everyone to participate in these events including our 4th Annual Artisans Fair that will take place on Saturday, November 21, 2009, from 10AM – 7PM at Hostos Community College in the Bronx and our First Annual Health Fair that will run concurrently. The Health component of the Fair was added because of the great number of residents concentrated in the Bronx and neighboring boroughs with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity. The 14th annual Day of Community Service and Social Responsibility scheduled for Sunday, November 22, 2009 at IPRHE/ UPACA Senior Center in Manhattan from 11AM – 4PM where CN along with ASPIRA of New York, Inc. will be conduct- ing a food drive to create Thanksgiving baskets for the poor of