Student Groups Host Performances for Local Youth

Columbia students joined together with middle-schoolers from the Bronx to celebrate Dia de la Raza last Friday at an event put on by Latino student groups.

The Art of New York event, put on by Grupo Quisqueyano and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, among others, was held in celebration of the Day of the Races. It included live performances by Raw Elementz and spoken-word poets and speeches from notable public figures such as City Councilwoman and Columbia University Fellow Rosie Mendez, D-Lower East Side.

Grupo Quisqueyano invited the students from MS 328 to Columbia on a field trip to begin a mentor program. The group plans to pair its members with young students from impoverished neighborhoods to provide them with college role models.
“We want them to see their faces—their own skin color—at Columbia University. We want them to think, ‘if they’re [Latino students] here, we can be too,’” said Quisqueyano secretary Jael Hernandez, CC ’10.

MS 328 teacher Jonathan Elkin, who worked with Latino groups on campus to organize the trip, stressed the importance of the collaborative efforts in light of recent racist incidents on campus.

“Some of my students were afraid to come because of the noose incident—they were afraid of violence,” Elkin said. “I tried to have them understand that the racists who did this are the same people who want my students to stay in the Bronx, to continue a cycle of dropping out of high school. In coming here, we are proving them wrong.”

The program, cosponsored by Columbia’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, emphasized the history of Latino contributions to New York City culture. Quisqueyano members taught students mambo and salsa dancing, but tied the celebration of culture to a larger political mission, particularly highlighting the costs of gentrification. “I really wanted to remind people of what New York was like from the 1940s to 1990s—before gentrification started really hitting the city—and the rich contributions that the Latino and black population brought to the city,” said Quiri Beato, CC ’09 and president of Grupo Quisqueyano.

Mendez stressed the importance of activism and commitment to equality in her speech to her young audience. “I wish that as you grow up, you will not experience discrimination, but I can’t guarantee that,” she said. “All we can do is stand together and speak out against hate, and make it better for the next generation.”

Beato said she was happy that the event brought together different communities to learn about different forms of Latino art and culture. “We are the largest immigrant group, representing 13 to 14 percent of New York City, and we got to see our art today,” she said. “GQ’s mission is a firm commitment to education.”

A seventh grader from MS 328 agreed that the event was a success. “The dancing was my favorite. I like this school—I want to come here!”