On Wednesday, October 14, the Office of the President celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a virtual Distinguished Latino Leaders and Awards Ceremony streamed over Zoom, recognizing the Coalition of Latin American Consuls in New York.  
 
Key official Latin American leaders, U.S. government elected officials, and special guest, CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, made the virtual event a sincere experience of camaraderie and respect.
 
"I am honored to present CLACNY with the Distinguished Latino Leaders Award. Mil gracias to the Honorable Consul Generals for their work and for being presente. Our gathering honored our College's namesake, Don Eugenio María de Hostos, also called Citizen of the Americas. He would no doubt be pleased with us in coming together to celebrate our heritage," said Interim President Daisy Cocco De Filippis.
 
In attendance was U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Adriano Espaillat, NYS Assemblywoman Karines Reyes, Acting Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Charles I. Drago, SGA President Muiz Agbaje, the Hon. Consul General of Mexico and CLACNY President Jorge Islas López, who accepted the award on behalf of CLACNY—15 of the 17 Consul Generals, attended the virtual ceremony. Also present, was 1199SEIU Vice President Victor Rivera, on behalf of 1199 student scholarships, of which five students received $1,000 each.
 
The five recognized Hostos students for 1199SEIU scholarships were Amber Givens, Gourie Goolcharran, José Salazar, Gladys Ferrin Herrera, and Charisma Thornhill.
 
Associate Dean Ana I. García Reyes, who coordinated the event, said, "It is an honor to annually celebrate the contributions of the 60.6 million Hispanics who live in the U.S. and the legacy of the 2.5 million Hispanics of NYS." 
 
Special thank you to all the Honorable CLACNY members for supporting and joining the virtual celebration: Hon. Consul General of Argentina, Adolfo Santiago Villalba Díaz; Hon. Consul General of Colombia, Susana Berenguer; Hon. Consul General of Ecuador, Carlos Martínez; Hon. Consul General of Guatemala, Rosemary Arauz; Hon. Consul General of Honduras, Jessica Canahuati; Hon. Consul General of Nicaragua, Juan Icaza; Hon. Consul General of Panama, Elías. M. Levy; Hon. Consul General of Paraguay, Juan Buffat; Hon. Consul General of Perú, Marita Landaveri; Hon. Consul General of Uruguay, Gabriela Ortigosa; Hon. Consul General of the Dominican Republic, Eligio Jacquez; Hon. Consul General of Costa Rica, Rolando Madrigal; Hon. Consul General of Bolivia, Hugo A. Salazar Machicado; Hon. Consul General of El Salvador, Adrian Ignacio Zepeda Escalona; Hon. Consul General of Brazil, Enio Cordeiro, and Hon. Consul General of Mexico and CLACNY President, Jorge Islas López for his presentation about the global impact of the COVID19 pandemic in Latin America. Thank you for sharing the coalition's collective public health concerning issues and for fighting on behalf of our respective communities. 
 
Thank you to all our honorary guests. Gracias to our students, faculty, staff, and members of the external college community for joining this year's Hispanic Heritage celebration with proclamations from all the houses of government, including NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo; U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat; NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli; NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer; NYC Council Member Fernando Cabrera; NYS Assembly Members Karines Reyes and Victor Pichardo. Mil gracias for honoring Hostos Community College with your support and participation. Thank you for celebrating the beauty of our Latin American culture and legacy. 
 
Congratulations again to our honoree, the Coalition of Latin American Consuls of New York, and 199SEIU for their continued student scholarship support.