Lancaster, PA– What better place to celebrate a historic Mexican holiday than the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where Mexicans are increasing.
That’s what about forty attendees, representative of the city’s diversity, did on Thursday night at the Bright Side Community Center; it wasn’t just a day to meet and greet over tasty tacos.
Political activist and Philadelphia co-founder of the Young Lords Party and former 1st Vice President of the Gloucester County NAACP Wilfredo «Wil» Rojas visited the area as the event’s invited speaker. Rojas started his talk by asking the audience if they knew what Cinco de Mayo was. Immediately, Ivan Acosta, a retired teacher, shot up his hand and answered, «Cinco de Mayo marks the unexpected victory over better armed French army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The conflict between the two countries had begun in 1861, when Mexico suspended the nation’s foreign debt payments, and Napoleon III responded by sending French troops to invade. The victory by the Mexican overmatch armed forces was short-lived but nevertheless, served to later take their country back. After such an educated answer, Rojas gifted Acosta a bottle of Dornfelder wine, a German wine.
Rojas went on to engage the audience in a participatory presentation, where various exercises were used to demonstrate a point. He had two members of the audience stand on either side of a line on the floor and asked each to pull the other to their side. He then had them put their feet on either side of the line and pointed out that it was a 50/50 compromise and both sides won.
«Lancaster’s population is almost 30 percent Puerto Rican and 10 percent other Latinos, and we lack appropriate Latino representation», he said. He went on to speak about the melting pot of ethnic identities of Puerto Ricans, saying, «Who can better represent Latino interests than a Latino who better understands our cultural values?» He joked about the many excuses Puerto Ricans use for exercising their right to vote.
Janet Diaz, a longtime Lancaster city resident, who is the lone Puerto Rican on the city’s governing body and helped organize the event, was delighted to witness the diversity of the crowd, and promised to institutionalize it as an annual event when she becomes the state representative for Pennsylvania’s 49 Legislative District.
He respectfully addressed the African Americans and told them about their shared interests, William Way, II from U Street Media nodded his head in agreement, and Jonathan Fox, a Caucasian baby boomer progressive, raised the issue of incarcerated individuals presenting with mental health issues. Jean Bickmire told Rojas she wanted representatives in Harrisburg with the ability to strongly advocate for the benefit of Lancaster residents with the ability to compromise when necessary. Andre Gilbert, a veteran, who served as the DJ, said he was impressed and motivated by the diversity of the attendees.
Rojas gained recognition in the field of corrections, serving as the director of the Office of Community Justice and Outreach with the Philadelphia Prison System.
