nicaraguans for your incredible performance. muchas gracias. please, everyone, find your seats. please help us welcome mary travers allen, who will provide this evening's land acknowledgment. good evening. good evening and

blessings to all my relatives. my name is mary travis allen and i'm the advisor board president for the american indian cultural district, as well as a member of mission destino and other committees and councils here in san francisco. so i am ariana ortega, peace people of nicaragua. from my mother's side and the seneca nation on my father's side. i was born and raised here in san francisco and retired in 2020 from a senior manager position with the sfmta to after 32 years of service. but as i mentioned and what i'm

doing now is important work that i am many of you are doing on behalf of our community is that work is never done and should be reflected in all the work you do and all aspects of your lives. we are brought together by our ancestors is to fulfill the prophecy of the eagle and the condor. the prophecy tells of this time when the indigenous peoples of the north and the south earth would reunite to renew you and protect our original knowledge, strength and connection to our earth. mother this is a time of reconciliation

. mission. reunion education and healing of all the land and all its peoples. in case you don't know the eagles and the california condors have begun to nest here in the bay area for the they know it's time. i'm honored to be with you here tonight to celebrate the 2023 latino heritage month celebration and award ceremony and present the land acknowledgment on your behalf. to the ramaytush ohlone people. we that are gathered here acknowledge that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the ramaytush ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of yelamu, which is now called san

francisco. the ramaytush shiloni are the stewards of yelamu, and in keeping with their tradition as they have never ceded lust or forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place , as well as for us and all peoples who reside or work in their traditional territory. we wish to honor and pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, owners, elders and relatives of the ramaytush community and by affirming their sovereign rights as the first peoples of this land. we are all guests and as such we are to recognize that as visitors, we benefit from living and working on their ancestral homeland. we

are reminded that we do not own this land and that our ancestors did not create land ownership or borders to separate our people on the land. the land is our mother and we are all relatives as we are to be grateful, all respect and coexist with all the creator has provided for us. creator we ask for your blessings for all gathered here and all those that we carry in our hearts. we acknowledge that we are unified, tied by our ancestral blood and spirits. that gives us pride and strength and purpose in this gathering here today and every day in all we do. oh, thank you. gracias.

mary travis allen for the land dedication. the los pueblos, indigenas del norte de america. bienvenidos a todos. and welcome to tonight's 2023 latino heritage month celebration in city hall in san francisco. orale, por favor. before we begin, we just want to take a few moments. it always gets so serious and so quiet when we start. i hope everyone's ready for a celebration tonight for extraordinary honorees as we want to make sure that we represent our leaders in labor tonight who are here that i have, that we that we have recognized and some who will recognize a little later on in the program tonight. but, of course, kim tavaglione from the

labor council, olga miranda from local 87 are elected leaders. shamann walton, asha safai, aaron peskin and of course, our latina elected city supervisor from district seven, myrna melgar, who our afro-latina district attorney brooke jenkins . the honorable maria evangelista, thank you for joining us tonight. leading our elected brass is, of course, our sheriff, paul miyamoto. thank you to our fire chief and to our police chief for being here with us tonight and serving our communities. our director of public health, grant colfax, george rivas, who leads our office of civic engagement and immigrant affairs. elmi bermejo

, who joins us from the small business administration. and our consul generals from so many countries that are joining us here tonight from the americas and elsewhere. supervisor peskin, i think you know that i recognized you. we come here together to celebrate our shared roles in taking care of our home in san francisco. mayor joaquin torres. i'm your elected assessor recorder here in the city and county. and my name is larissa lugo, executive director of the central american resource center in san francisco. we are honored to be your co emcees for the celebration of latino power history fauci influence advocacy , arts, culture, cuisine and community. we want to thank the host committee for their work in

planning for tonight that showcases our strength in unity and diversity. tonight we celebrate latinos contribution to our city and affirm our rights to dignity, equity and inclusion. somos san francisco. so we are san francisco. as national political players seem intent on denying the contributions, dignity and rights of our our community deserves, it becomes ever more important to recognize and reinforce our diverse local latino community and the work we do right here at home. when san francisco stands on the right side of her story, we set the course for other cities to follow. our city values of inclusion, opportunity, racial equity and justice are alive and well, but reflected in the work of tonight's award recipient. tonight's host, committee members and of course, all of

you here to join us in celebrating the latino community and our beloved city, a city for all we know that our work is far from done and that the equitable recovery we wish to see for our city requires all of us. and that means you to our city administrator, carmen chu. together, we work to support our small businesses, our vendors, our merchants as we continue to navigate this post-covid reality together, expanding our collective work on on the collective work during the pandemic. the community hubs offer bring a right to recover, connecting people to good paying jobs, invest in our leaders and organizations, creating opportunity for our diverse latino constituencies to thrive , creating new resource centers to respond to the needs, rights and aspirations of our immigrant brothers and sisters, the very

people that fuel the economic engine of our city, our state and nation. i want to take a moment to thank mayor breed and the board of supervisors for your support and investment in carson's new home and community resource center here at the intersection of the tenderloin, soma and mid market community. and let's highlight some of our national significance as well. in 2020, latinos came out and voted. we voted for democracy, for equality, for justice, and for the country that we helped shape and vision and are committed to you. and we will do it again in 2020. four generations of latinx leaders have and continue to shape the environment that we live in from our pivotal role in the civil rights movement, including the landmark case of mendez versus westminster of the 1940s that began to crack those racist walls of segregation to the

organizing years of cesar chavez and dolores huerta, whose monumental efforts to bring our communities together in nonviolent since black brown, brown native and api in the name of dignity and respect, remains so significant that we etched their names in the awards that we hand out tonight to the journalists who told our stories is brought us information we could trust and educated our communities. when mainstream media refused to do so from the posters you can see. thank you, ralph remington that you can see next door the focus on our advocacy and our fight for rights in our community to the murals that brighten our streets in la mission and tell our stories of pan latino unity and solidarity. we all, in the pursuit of social justice. tonight's award, which depicts a community treasure in the carnaval mural on 24th and south venice in the heart of la mision

to our commitment to saving lives in our community during a global pandemic. an effort replicated nationally and recognized formally by the white house and current administer station. this is how we show up and deliver for our city, a city for everyone. the city we call home. so was san francisco. we are san francisco. and this is what we celebrate. and honor tonight. our shared power, our shared culture, our shared unity may breed has been that ally for our diverse latino communities all throughout her life, recognizing that our needs are san francisco's needs, investing in our present and in our future , upholding our city values, ensuring that san francisco continues to be the sanctuary that our communities rely on and a city we can all be proud of. so supporting us in safety,

health, education and economic opportunity with investment that that move our community forward in the most difficult of times is by stepping up, stepping up for us latino migrants. when the federal government would not or could not because she will knows the disparities that our communities of color face, not only in the context of a global pandemic, but in every aspect of our system. issues that affect us today. boleros, ladies and gentlemen, please help us in welcoming our mayor london breed . thank you, larissa, and thank you so much, joaquin. when they make a great dynamic duo, don't they? happy latino heritage month in san francisco. sona san fran cisco. we are san francisco

and i'm so happy to see so many people here. and let me tell you, i'm really excited about this year's honorees. these are three of the most amazing trailblazers in san francisco. and william, i am so in awe of you two because of the work that you do every single day to uplift and to support start small businesses in san francisco. i know as a native you love san francisco, but you love san francisco and you love your community even more. and let me tell you, the work that he did is the way of the future for what we need to address food security. he helped during the global pandemic, make sure that we were making a connection between the community and the people who needed the support and the cultural competent

grocery stores. the places that sold the item arms that the community needed to buy so that they were able to make their own decisions and take care of their families. and it was a brilliant model that we need to continue to replicate in this city. thank you so much, william, and congratulations. and i want to say to carson piedra, who is the first latina to lead and to lead the teachers union in san francisco, let me tell you what i appreciate most in everything that she does. yes, it's important that she takes care of her membership and she takes care of the teachers, but she cares so deeply about the students and their success. yes. and she is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that she is fighting for teachers and educators as a

whole and that our students receive the kind of education that they need. and deserve, especially after the challenges of a global pandemic. the bridges that she's been able to build with parents and with other people who've had challenges in their various communities, have just really made me develop a profound amount of respect for your work. so congratulations and thank you so much. and let me tell you this woman who's getting the lifetime achievement award, she is somewhat of a quiet force now . you see her on telemundo. and, you know, she's reporting she's, you know, giving you the facts. she's providing the information about the community. but you know, when you don't have some times great journalism, you really can't appreciate and respect all the extraordinary work that she does to make sure

that this community in particular is well represented, that the fight and the struggles of this community are shown and documented for over 20 years, she's been in the cameras. in your faces, asking the questions , promoting the stories that would never, ever make it to television. if it wasn't for her. she has been doing this for over 20 years, and she took it even further during the pandemic to make sure working with the latino task force, when we needed to make sure people understood the resources that were available for testing and for vaccinations and our rental assistance and all the work that we did together, she she highlighted those stories and made sure that she helped us get the word out in an extraordinary way. so we are so grateful. three amazing young people who serve the city and county of san francisco well, who should make

us all proud on a daily basis. we are here to honor you and recognize your commitment and your legacy. but i also want to take an opportunity to go a tad bit off script, because i do think it's important to acknowledge someone who was a part of the planning of this event, but who has been a part of planning this event for the past couple of years, who continue to work with the committee, who work with my office to deal with the challenges around job opportunities and employment, who was always available to work with the latino community and the latino task force, who made sure that there was a relationship that existed with labor. and i understood what was happening on the ground to make sufficient changes to address these issues. some of you may have heard that josh asked at the end of the month will be taking on a new role and i am so proud of him. i'm so grateful

for his friendship and his service to the city and county of san francisco. and i just want to say, josh, thank you for everything that you have done for this city and for the people of san francisco. we love you. we appreciate you so much. and. it is always so important that we acknowledge people for what they do because these individuals who we're talking about. yes they are doing a job to a certain extent, but they're also doing what they love for the people. they're doing what they can to uplift the history and the latino heritage in san francisco, to make sure that

there is a real connection between what is going on in city government and how we're allocating resources and how we're being held accountable and how we're making that work for the actual average, everyday people that are living the lives in the communities. we appreciate you all so much and we appreciate so many of our leaders and folks who continue to carry the torch to carry on the legacy to remind us of our history and whose shoulders we stand on and what we need to continue to do to make sure that we are preparing and taking care of the next generation. so that those stories are not lost, so that this heritage is integrated into what san francisco is. we are a truly amazing, remarkable city, but we are not that without the people, our history, our diversity and our culture. so i want to thank you all so

much for being here to celebrate latino heritage month in san francisco. so. so let the festivities begin. mayor breed, i know we wanted to welcome the host committee to come up and join you for a picture. before we move on with the remainder of the ceremony tonight. so if we could invite the host committee to come up to these steps right now and join the mayor for a picture. okay, come on. come on up. come on up.

okay. i pfizer on the thing right. okay. ready. ready one, two, three.

one more round of applause for all the members of the host committee who have put in so much time together with a very incredible model. later. and josh arce, to ensure that we could celebrate the strength of our diversity in unity here tonight. cesar chavez not only championed the principles of nonviolence in organizing for the dignity of farm workers across this country, but also illuminated the importance of educators in addressing the poverty that lived not only in our pocketbooks, but in our hearts and in our minds. he believed that the loving touch of this most precious community resource s a teacher could educate a young heart better than a book could alone, and

that they had the power to the advance the lives of our children, our families, us, our communities, and our collective future. that's why it's my honor to introduce our first awardee for this evening, an advocate who has shown true strength in shining a light on what our teachers and para educators need for the benefits of our schools and our students and our communities. cassandra curiel. you heard it from the mayor, the first latina president of the united educators of san francisco. for our community, the opportunity gap is no stranger. we saw its disproportionate impact most starkly during the pandemic, and we see it widen when our schools do not have access to the resources that we need for our community. we understand the value of organized labor and having someone at the helm who

is not afraid to fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, stable jobs. we know teachers don't choose this profession because they were promised a big paycheck or a short workday. we know they do this for something more for love for the children that they serve. and with respect for how important this role is in molding, shaping and educating all of us, we understand the importance of substantial and significant representation in the classroom in our union halls and in our elected offices and how inspiring is it knowing that in our community and our educational needs are represent with a powerful latina in charge . a latina who is a bridge builder, unapologetic in her fight to support those in our city who need our care the most

unapologetically latina, unapologetically union to all of our labor leaders in the house, we thank you. and we recognize you together with cassandra for all of your accomplishments. and to you, cassandra, our 2023, cesar chavez labor awardee. we congratulate you. bienvenido those. thank you very much. thank you for the honor of this award. i am a teacher. i am a president. but i am an eldest daughter and a second generation mexican american raised during a time raised during a time in our state's history when there was a war on spanish and it hit our schools and impacted my own upbringing. and like that period , our community has had to struggle for every recognition

we have won in our city, in our state and in this country, we are in a critical moment now for public education and also for the working people, the immigrant and latino people of our city. as just one example, it was heart wrenching today to hear that our sfusd families are sfusd students who were at a press conference are facing homelessness. and i know that this is a serious issue and a long standing issue from personal experience working at visitacion valley middle school for 11 years without the available spots or vouchers or support system. we have to draw attention to this particular issue because it affects our work as educators in our classroom and in our schools. our students learn best when they're housed, when they're fed, when they're cared for. and it's just one of the many reasons why we're fighting for

community schools. if we prioritize the well-being of our whole communities, then we will all thrive. i am deeply committed to advocating for these needs and for the rights of our community and all marginalized communities in building unity, we need to build solidarity. we organize, resist science. we defend our rights. and my role as a labor leader and as an educator is in that tradition, in the same tradition as cesar chavez and dolores huerta and the thousands of other community leaders named here and those in this room who do this work day in and day out. and it is part and parcel of a larger tradition of the labor movement and of educator unions that usf led the way in getting school level access to testing and high quality masks for students. during the 20 2122 covid waves. when we were back

in person again when we donated our stimulus checks in an effort initiated by our now executive vice president, frank lara, when he recognized that our undocumented families and school community were getting hit hardest during this pandemic, we are proud of our heritage, our heritage of resistance, our heritage of collective strength, our heritage of community, a community built building to be part of the solution. and in accepting this award tonight, i reinstate my commitment to be part be part of that community, be part of our efforts for social justice. somos san francisco. thank you.

frame. this year. right? yes, please. yes please. yes. it's yours. i have the honor of introducing somebody from my barrio. our next honoree is a recipient of the rosario anaya community award. this award honors an individual who has committed their career and lifetime to the betterment of

our latino community. the work of commissioner will ortiz. cartagena will m ortiz. cartagena. truly embodies the spirit of this award and the spirit of our beloved carissima rosario anaya, who's watching us arriba! he's a native san francisco, an a leader in the mission district, the excelsior and latinos, san francisco and is the founder of cartagena council, which focuses on uplifting latino businesses, specifically those who were hit hardest during the pandemic. he has a long history of working in hospitality industry and, more importantly, of service to the community. atty. william represents the best of san francisco's creativity and ability to get the job done. his contribution options are immeasurable. thank you, william, for your dedication. muchas gracias and tremendous impact as we embark on the hard

job of recovery and making sure that latinos are not left behind , it is an honor to ask you to join us on stage as a recipient of this year's rosario anaya community award. hi. como estamos mi gente woo. i am humbled to represent this. this is a culmination of generous actions of people that stood before me. rosario herself. i remember running around nlds as a little kid. venmo borrero and i used to hate being in that building, right? my mom needed a job. we'd be out there. you know? rosario always give us a snack. so so we're all 360. but pero nuestra gente in

the pandemic, we were the hardest hit. and we put all our pettiness aside and we got together and we helped community . no matter where we rich, poor , it doesn't matter. we were at the mission food hub serving that food in the thick. we ran towards the fire and now our population is actually the only population in san francisco that actually has grown. esto es nuestra gente. and i'm here just to thank people, my beautiful family, the sacrifice of the hours i give for community. my mom, may she rest in peace. the homeboys from the streets that keep me always grounded. love you guys. my team and family at gallica. i love y'all. love

y'all. all diana, josh, joaquin. i know you an assessor now, but love y'all. roberto. my godmother tracy. val i'll see you. the office of small business. madam mayor. frisco baby galileo alum. we doing it right. board of supervisors. and that's the city, the media. the national media can paint what they want. or we might not get along. sometimes but this is frisco. this is san francisco. and lastly, lastly, i want to give a special shout out to the city of san francisco herself.

she birthed me. she raised me. she nurtured me when my mom was fleeing el salvador, she embraced my mom, undocumented and all. when people didn't believe in me, she did. she gave me second, third, fourth, fifth chances. she introduced me to culture, to she was my economics professor. she instilled in me empathy and compassion in and gave me life lessons that at the time i probably didn't understand. and but she was always just and always fair for that. i appreciate her and i will never stop defending her and i will never stop contribute to her. and if you could ask my

kids that were born and raised here, kids say aloud, what's the best city ever. there you go. i appreciate. thank you, everybody . all right. the recipient of the dolores huerta lifetime achievement award embodies the principles

that dolores taught us that every minute is a chance to change the world, that every moment is an opportunity to organize, is the recipient of this award. respects the integrity of their profession and leverages the power of their voice and the focus of their storytelling for the benefit of communities. be our next honoree, pilar nino. has been and is that trusted voice in san francisco and the bay area for the immigrant and latino community. his through her spanish language reporting, she uses her platform to amplify issues that matter the most to us. as a trailblazer in her field, she spent ten years as a sole san francisco reporter for telemundo and has received

multiple emmys for her journalism. but she's not just a reporter. she's a leader, a leader who knows that a trusted voice matters, that a trusted voice can save lives. immigration in health care, politics, local and national, lgbtq plus rights, domestic violence. these are just some of the issues that she's tackled so many stories that can and should be celebrated. but i'd like to take a moment to focus on her coverage of the global covid pandemic working, collaborate safely with our city and our latino leaders in community and at large. pilar knew intimately that the latino community, many of which were essential workers on the front lines, needed information, needed it fast, needed it correct. needed it right. it needed it from someone they could trust in the dark,

early and uncertain days of 2020, when things were real bad. pilar was right there with us. she saw us. she saw you. so many of you here today in this room. who stepped up and helped save lives as grandparents, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, our loved ones. as she brought our stories to the forefront of everyone's minds to show that our collective experience and our trauma demanded vital support from government at every level and our greater community. she brought light to the heroic efforts of the ecosystem of latino organizations, leaders and the essential role that migrants played and so much more. the stories of how, again, the very people in this room made it so that san francisco had one of the highest vaccination rates and the lowest death rates across the country. she. threw everything that you

do, pilar. you put community first in your coverage in your stories, in your life at home. pilar we're so proud to invite you up to accept the 2023 dolores huerta lifetime achievement award. thank you for representing the best of our strengths, integrity and perseverance in all that you do . good evening. buenas noches. a todos es también. one day when i was about 13 years old and living in my native bogota, colombia, for who? my father asked me. what do you want to do

when you grow up? i remembered that i quickly replied. i want to change the world. he smiled at me and said, yes, pilar, at your age, we all want to change the world. what i never imagined is that years later i would end up here in san francisco. chico, a city that has in its dna that same objective of to change the world for the better. some of the stories i have covered during these 23 years in the san francisco bay area are a good example of that. let's start with a struggle to allow the matricula consular to be used as a valid form of identification for immigrants. that happened in 2001. you remember today is a reality across the nation. the driver license for undocumented people, the gay marriage. how

many times workers want on a strike asking for 50 more cents per hour or $1 after the occupy movement, we saw increases of $3 per hour. the latino task force , a national model and nationally recognized model of how to serve our community. all these movements that i have covered, if they were not born here in san francisco, they certainly received plenty of attention, energy and fuel in our area. so a major breed, dear friends and family, the honor has been mine and keeps being mine to be able to witness and report on these issues. in fact, it is san francisco that saved me from becoming cynical about reality. san francisco gave me

hope and more importantly, keeps giving me hope that we can work on the root of our collective problems and find real solutions . premium. miss padres estan aqui presentes. i want to dedicate this to my parents here present with me. gracias. gracias por las fuertes para volar to my parents. thank you for giving me strong wings to fly to my brothers, my familia me, my brother, my sister. thank you for your unconditional support, your love and your patience. believe me, it's no fun to have a sister who is a reporter always asking for contacts, for interviews. thank you for your patience to my second home, telemundo. thank you for your trust and for allowing me to be me. para la comunidad latina de san

francisco de la guia de la bahia. gracias. gracias por confiar durante todos estos anos sus historias in me. you give me a reason every day to keep fighting to my friends. where are my friends? this is also for you because we all share the dream of trying to improve the lives of others. to my partner in life, this is for you too. you are my rock to the other life of my life. to the other love of my life. my sweet son mateo, who is currently serving in the us army. i'm so grateful to be your mom. thank you all for this amazing honor with a renewed spirit. i will keep trying to change the world. one story at a time. you know why? porque si se puede. thank you.

thank. if i could invite all the honorees to come up, please, and join the mayor for a photo, and then we'll invite all of the host committee members. our elected officials, and our department heads and consul generals to join as well.

if i could invite all of our elected officials to join the honorees.

and if we could invite up the host committee. if everyone could stay, if someone could stay, and we can invite the host committee up. and of course, all consul generals. we have méxico in the house, japan in the house, peru in the house, italy in the house. el salvador. in the house. mas, por favor. bienvenidos was. and if our department heads would not be shy and please join

us. don't be shy. don't be shy. come and join. yeah.

we'll take a moment to settle. we'll take a moment to settle. i am looking at my co emcee to join me up here. por favor. so now it's our honor to invite to members of this year's host committee with whom, without doubt this event would not be possible. thank you for our sponsors, roberto hernandez and anne cervantes will recognize the sponsors of this year's latino heritage month awards. yeah surprised? so you want to start off, who's here for wells fargo. so um, so i'll start with wells fargo. yeah tonight we're

thanking wells fargo for the sponsorship for this event. what do we have? wells fargo here. lorenzo. lorenzo lorenzo, come. lorenzo. lorenzo, come on up. and this is a special mural. it's about to be landmarked. oh, thank you. thank you. appreciate it. okay your next up. nice okay , cool. i'll do it. i'll do. i'll do. josh, go ahead and do. okay this is special because as my mom and i are really be great fans and i want to just thank the golden state warriors for sponsoring this event. from them, from the warriors here. as for vanessa, mr. velasquez, vanessa, vanessa. no. oh okay.

mayor oh, there she is. there she is. oh, there she is. vanessa. thank you. okay now, you know, that's a special. and this is special. and this is special because this award is important because it's going to be one of our first history. latino assets from the mural movement. that will be landmark . and we want to thank all the support and the board of supervisors, but especially mayor breed. so we have a little . thank you. can you come up and get the. thank you? yes.

welcome. what's really important is on your seats because it talks about the fiesta de la maricas when it was celebrated and a lot of you know is that i document a lot of our history. it's mostly not from books but from oral histories. the native american tradition in first voice and also know from the spanish newspapers that were here when the borders changed. and a lot of our history is documented in these papers as well as current events and poetry. i the next ones is special to so thank you an let's give a big round of applause for ann cervantes. under her

leadership tip is why this carnival mural is becoming a historical landmark in san francisco. and it's appropriate that here in the 45th anniversary of carnival san francisco, it's happening. so thank you. and i really person we want to tell you muchas gracias and you know i love you dearly we have something very, very special today for somebody that that we love dearly, somebody that. for me and it's real hard for me to bear with me is somebody that i admire. i respect. i've learned to love seeing him as a family man in growing his children and a man that. 24 over seven is going and

going and going, you know, and there's just a certain amount of people that will do that that will just give and give and give and give and so at this moment, i'd like to ask my brother, joshua, ask from another mother to come up here. ahead and to stay up here. i didn't know how long you are. is lisa here picking up the kids? she's picking up the kids. and then here and then here. okay. but i also wanted to recognize your wife. yes. you know, because it takes a lot from a partner to understand hand to be able to do to the other half of

what's needed in a home. and i also want to recognize and appreciate your children because i know the sacrifice is sometimes they make no in the sacrifices i've made my children, you know, at times. so we got a couple of little things for you, but thank god they have their public school teachers. oh, thank god. they have their public school teachers. so first we want to give you because as for carnival, you you've been an angel to us because there's always something that comes up and you know, and there's certain people that i can go to and count on that are not going to say no. they're not going to say why. they're not going to say what what they're going to say. how do we get it done? and so for carnival, on behalf of

our family of 45 years, thank you for all the times that you've been there, problem solving and getting things done for us when we need it. you on the low riders? no, no, no, no. don't go away. don't go away. don't go away. go, go. i like the behind the scenes mayor. no, no, no. get you stay here. you're going to stay here. and i'm going to tell you something. and. and i not only call him on carnival, but for the san francisco lowrider council. you know, we have an annual king of the street event, and we're having a hopping contest. and there was some dispute one year about who jumped higher. and so the following year, i called brother josh arce and i told every member of the lowrider council i got the biggest mexican man, the tallest mexican man that will make sure that he's right. heads. how high your car hop. and so he has become the official tallest mexico man

for the san francisco lowrider council annual hopping competition. and there's no undisputed arguments no more because of this brother. wait, wait. i'm not done. you know, i'll tell you when you can go. okay, folks want a party. that's the thing. we are want to eat and drink. and the last guest on behalf of the latino task force . 24 to 7, madam mayor, i want you to know that he was there for us. 24 over seven, 9:00 at night, 11:00 at night. we one in the morning, six in the morning, seven days a week. when ever we needed something. he was there for us. so we do not normally give these out because they're

they're very special. and there's only an event that we do this annually. but collectively we decided that we'd go out the box and give this special award that we give out in the mission district, which is called el corazon award. thank you, salma . so on behalf of the latino task force, we present this honoring your corazon alma espiritu, and dedicate mission to advocate and empower the latino community through workforce force cultura and health. the latino task force of san francisco, october 20, 23. and i'd like to ask all the members of the latino task force to come up and grab and let's do a selfie, come on.

thank you. gracias. roberto. gracias. and if we could have the host committee come up for a

final picture with mayor breed and her proclamation in honor of latino heritage celebration and brother josh, these are for your wife. maybe she's here right now . that's a thesis name. yes. yes. one an last picture with the host committee. if you could all come up, please. okay looking this way, we're. felicidades a todos y

muchisimas. gracias may we have another round of applause for all of our honorees as i want to make sure that we recognize some additional members who are in the house tonight. i see. all is well. all is well. i see our deputy chief, daniel perea, in the house tonight. i want to recognize the work around racial equity that claudia flores is doing the work of the community economic development division with the anna ponce de leon. i see another department head here , sarah dennis phillips from the office of economic and workforce development. and to anyone that i missed lo siento lo siento to you and to you, roberto. gracias. otra vez. thank you for all of the work to ensure that the carnival mural one of the most important murals in our cities history for our community, has been represented and etched into the awards that our honorees receive tonight.

this marks the end of our speaking program. we have some wine, we have some refreshments . and congratulations again to our honorees. now is the time to break bread and celebrate food, refreshments and good music over here with dj juan love in the northlight court. we want to thank all of our sponsors who are joining us tonight. we want to thank all of our electeds, the host committee and all nlds mission, language, vocation school, cafe de hoya amellivora for helping us set up and clean up chavez winery, who you'll find inside for food and refreshments and all the other amazing vendors who have made tonight's special muchisimas. gracias a todos, a disfruto. buenas noches comienza a la fiesta. de.

as latinos we are unified in some ways and incredibly diverse in others and this exhibit really is an exploration of nuance in how we present those ideas. ♪♪ our debts are not for sale.

>> a piece about sanctuary and how his whole family served in the army and it's a long family tradition and these people that look at us as foreigners, we have been here and we are part of america, you know, and we had to reinforce that. i have been cure rating here for about 18 year. we started with a table top, candle, flowers, and a picture and people reacted to that like it was the monna lisa. >> the most important tradition as it relates to the show is idea of making offering. in traditional mexican alters, you see food, candy, drinks, cigarettes, the things that the

person that the offerings where being made to can take with them into the next word, the next life. >> keeps us connects to the people who have passed and because family is so important to us, that community dynamic makes it stick and makes it visible and it humanizes it and makes it present again. ♪♪ >> when i first started doing it back in '71, i wanted to do something with ritual, ceremony and history and you know i talked to my partner ross about the research and we opened and it hit a cord and people loved it. >> i think the line between engaging everyone with our culture and appropriating it. i think it goes back to asking

people to bring their visions of what it means to honor the dead, and so for us it's not asking us to make mexican altars if they are not mexican, it's really to share and expand our vision of what it means to honor the dead. >> people are very respectful. i can show you this year alone of people who call tol ask is it okay if we come, we are hawaii or asian or we are this. what should we wear? what do you recommend that we do? >> they say oh, you know, we want a four day of the dead and it's all hybrid in this country. what has happened are paper cuts, it's so hybrid. it has spread to mexico from the bay area. we have influence on a lot of

people, and i'm proud of it. >> a lot of times they don't represent we represent a lot of cultures with a lot of different perspectives and beliefs. >> i can see the city changes and it's scary. >> when we first started a lot of people freaked out thinking we were a cult and things like that, but we went out of our way to also make it educational through outreach and that is why we started doing the prosession in 1979. >> as someone who grew up attending the yearly processions and who has seen them change incrementally every year into kind of what they are now, i feel in many ways that the cat is out of the bag and there is

no putting the genie back into the bottle in how the wider public accesses the day of the dead. >> i have been through three different generations of children who were brought to the procession when they were very young that are now bringing their children or grandchildren. >> in the '80s, the processions were just kind of electric. families with their homemade visuals walking down the street in san francisco. service so much more intimate and personal and so much more rooted in kind of a family practice of a very strong cultural practice. it kind of is what it is now and it has gone off in many different directions but i will always love the early days in the '80s where it was so intimate and sofa millial. >> our goal is to rescue a part

of the culture that was a part that we could invite others to join in there there by where we invite the person to come help us rescue it also. that's what makes it unique. >> you have to know how to approach this changing situation, it's exhausting and i have seen how it has affected everybody. >> what's happening in mission and the relationship with the police, well it's relevant and it's relevant that people think about it that day of the dead is not just sugar skulls and paper flowers and candles, but it's become a nondenominational tradition that people celebrate.

>> our culture is about color and family and if that is not present in your life, there is just no meaning to it you know? >> we have artists as black and brown people that are in direct danger of the direct policies of the trump administration and i think how each of the artists has responded so that call is interesting. the common

>> we celebrate 45 years of promoting culture in the latino community. >> on this 45th anniversary, we are celebrating the mild stone which is being declared a landmark. this building and organization was founded in 1977 by community activist and artist who are seeking equity. there was no place where people

of color could exhibit their art work. and there was a need to create a cultural space where latino artist could promote and show their work. so this is what came out of that effort. we have a historical landmark theater, a historic gallery and we have the historic mission graphica, a print shop where much of our history has been documented through art. through the center, we have been able to develop and promote emerging artist that have become amazing established artist. so we have established traditional programming that the community can count on year after year such as the day of the dead, carnival and the solo mujeres show. during this 45th anniversary, we're also faced with

challenge, the city has requested that we have a temporary relocation due to seismic retrofit, that is going to be close to a million dollars. and that's a big challenge for us. >> the 45th is important not just because of the number of years but it reflects the continuity of the center. and it reflects the fact that we continue to exist and thrive and provide our programming to the community. the challenge going forward, is not only the relocation but it is the diversification of funding so that the center is no longer dependent on single sources of revenue. so going forward one of our efforts and the board particularly is going to concentrate on seek ising alternative funding for the center, so that we don't end up only having one exclusive

source, which would be the art commission. >> what we are doing between now and june is having a series of event to raise money, right now, we are asking for the public to support us in our long term sustainability. we need to raise money to continue our legacy for another 50 years or more and in order for us to be here for our community and to continue and vessel and promote latino art, we need everyone's support. we're going to have amazing shows by established artist. we are privileged in exhibiting the pa lo buy in collection and that's a huge gift for a community. >> [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] >> we have quality art pieces and quality programming. and we're going to have a few fundraisers under the end of the year and we're asking for the public's support to come out and donate generously and support us in any way you can. we need everyone's help because this is the community's culture center, this is our historical legacy. this is our pride.

this is, this is our sole. --soul and we need your help. >> when i first started painting it was difficult to get my foot in the door and contractors and mostly men would have a bad attitude towards me or not want to answer my questions or not include me and after you prove yourself, which i have done, i don't face that obstacle as much anymore. ♪♪♪ my name is nita riccardi, i'm a

painter for the city of san francisco and i have my own business as a painting contractor since 1994 called winning colors. my mother was kind of resistant. none of my brothers were painter. i went to college to be a chiropractor and i couldn't imagine being in an office all day. i dropped out of college to become a painter. >> we have been friends for about 15-20 years. we both decided that maybe i could work for her and so she hired me as a painter. she was always very kind. i wasn't actually a painter when she hired me and that was pretty cool but gave me an opportunity to learn the trade with her company. i went on to different job opportunities but we stayed friends. the division that i work for with san francisco was looking for a painter and so i suggested to my supervisor maybe we can give nita a shot. >> the painting i do for the

city is primarily maintenance painting and i take care of anything from pipes on the roof to maintaining the walls and beautifying the bathrooms and graffiti removal. the work i do for myself is different because i'm not actually a painter. i'm a painting contractor which is a little different. during the construction boom in the late 80s i started doing new construction and then when i moved to san francisco, i went to san francisco state and became fascinated with the architecture and got my contractor's licence and started painting victorians and kind of gravitated towards them. my first project that i did was a 92 room here in the mission. it was the first sro. i'm proud of that and it was challenging because it was occupied and i got interior and exterior and i thought it would take about six weeks to do it

and it took me a whole year. >> nita makes the city more beautiful and one of the things that makes her such a great contractor, she has a magical touch around looking at a project and bringing it to its fullest fruition. sometimes her ideas to me might seem a little whacky. i might be like that is a little crazy. but if you just let her do her thing, she is going to do something incredible, something amazing and that will have a lot of pop in it. and she's really talented at that. >> ultimately it depends on what the customer wants. sometimes they just want to be understated or blend in and other times they let me decide and then all the doors are open and they want me to create. they hire me to do something beautiful and i do. and that's when work is really

fun. i get to be creative and express what i want. paint a really happy house or something elegant or dignified. >> it's really cool to watch what she does. not only that, coming up as a woman, you know what i mean, and we're going back to the 80s with it. where the world wasn't so liberal. it was tough, especially being lgbtq, right, she had a lot of friction amongst trades and a lot of people weren't nice to her, a lot of people didn't give her her due respect. and one of the things amazing about nita, she would never quit. >> after you prove yourself, which i have done, i don't face that obstacle as much anymore. i'd like to be a mentor to other women also. i have always wanted to do that. they may not want to go to

school but there's other options. there's trades. i encourage women to apply for my company, i'd be willing to train and happy to do that. there's a shortage of other women painters. for any women who want to get into a trade or painting career, just start with an apprenticeship or if you want to do your own business, you have to get involved and find a mentor and surround yourself with other people that are going to encourage you to move forward and inspire you and support you and you can't give up. >> we've had a lot of history, nita and i. we've been friends and we have been enemies and we've had conflicts and we always gravitate towards each other with a sense of loyalty that maybe family would have. we just care about each other. >> many of the street corners in all the districts in san francisco, there will be a

painting job i have completed and it will be a beautiful paint job. it will be smooth and gold leaf and just wow. and you can't put it down. when i first started, it was hard to get employees to listen to me and go along -- but now, i have a lot of respect. >> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses, and challenges residents to do their shopping within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services in our neighborhood, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i am the owner of this restaurant. we have been here in north beach over 100 years. [speaking foreign language]

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the plight of united states of america and to the republic for which it stands. one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. vice president carter, i'd like to take roll, please. mr. walker. president mr. benedicto present. mr. yanez. present. commissioner byrne. here. commissioner yee here. vice president carter was done. you have a quorum also with us tonight, we have chief scott from the san francisco police department and diana rosenstein from the department of police accountability. could you please call the first item line item one weekly officer recognition certificate presentation of an officer who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties. officer michael grande star number 302, investigator bureau general work .