Queensborough was at the Intersection of Rhythm and History During This Year's Hispanic Heritage Month Kick-Off
From the moment you walked into the Student Union last Thursday, you knew a great deal of thought went into “Calle y Ritmo” — this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event.
The vivacious music blasting through the loudspeakers helped establish the event’s theme (ritmo/rhythm) and mood, and the colorful tables throughout the room cemented them.
And speaking to Inclusive Hiring and Cultural Programming Manager Yessenia Garcia and CUNY Office Assistant Grace Duran, there was a lot of thought — several months, in fact.
“We started meeting in May, knowing it would be difficult to get everyone together during the summer,” Garcia revealed. “The early phases were weeks of planning and discussions about the theme and what we wanted to achieve. With so many new members, one challenge was that different people attended different meetings, so we had to work hard to connect everyone’s ideas.”
Indeed, Garcia and Duran were just two of the members who put Calle y Ritmo together.
On top of the volunteers and support from Vice President Amaris Matos and the President’s Office, core members of the team included: HR Manager for Classified Staff Operations Silvia Rey, Associate Professor/Counselor Dr. Jannette Urciuoli, Shiela Flores from the Registrar Office and Jennifer Melo of the College Discovery Program.
Blending their ideas to form a cohesive event was one of the team’s great challenges. The other? Inexperience.
Notably, this was the second HHM kick-off event that Queensborough has held, and the organizers were keen on applying the lessons learned from last year’s event to this year’s iteration.
“This being our second year, I learned how important it was to meet more often,” Duran shared. Frequent meetings gave us time to pull everything together and make sure everyone’s ideas were included. We wanted each member to feel part of the event and to see that their contributions mattered. Making space for everyone’s input helped create a sense of ownership and made the event more meaningful.”
Yet despite those challenges, the result was an event whose polish rivaled that of seasoned pros.
Those tables mentioned before? Each was adorned with balloons, whistles and a vinyl record. Most striking among these features was Dr. Jannette Urciuoli’s brainchild — signs on each table that displayed the name and history of a street in Queens whose namesake was a notable figure of Hispanic/Latin descent.
These (and the decor, in general) were a particular point of praise among staff and faculty.
Of course, it wasn’t just the staff and faculty who had good things to say — the students were also pleased with what the organizers put together, many of whom placed an emphasis on culture and heritage.
"This event is a great way to celebrate my heritage,” said third semester student Rodrigo Martinez.
“It's so great that QCC is reaching out to those who want to celebrate their cultural heritage," said first semester student Ericka De Leon.
And that enthusiasm was evident throughout the rest of the event.
After speeches from President Christine Mangino, as well as some members of the Hispanic/Latinx Faculty & Staff Association came a kick-off event staple: trivia.
Like last year, the trivia challenged participants knowledge of Hispanic/Latin culture. This time around, however, most of the questions were music themed, such as the names of musicians or regional instruments; while a few were about locations in Queens, the subway, and Queensborough itself.
Following trivia, everyone took a break from using their minds (and whistles) to enjoy an assortment of Hispanic/Latino and Caribbean food. It wasn’t the whole gamut of Hispanic/Latino cuisine, but with dishes like arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), flan (caramel custard), and pupusas (stuffed corn tortillas), it was a thoughtful preview.
Most importantly, it was tasty!
Afterwards, there was a raffle before closing out the event with an idea from Silvia Rey — “La Hora Loca” (or the crazy hour). There were a few doubts about whether the guests would participate in the dancing, but to their surprise most people were dancing — a testament to how engaged everyone was up to that point.
And just like that, "Calle y Ritmo” came to a close.
Both Garcia and Duran noted how difficult it was to get everything running. They knew they needed more people thanks to their experience from the first event, but they were keenly aware that more people meant more ideas to juggle and incorporate.
However, as they saw everyone’s enthusiasm, they came to a singular conclusion: the work was worth it.
“I [was] really happy with the participation. Having so many members involved made it challenging at times, but it also brought in more creativity and energy,” Garcia noted. “By September, we met in smaller groups, which helped us move things forward. What excited me most, though, was the student turnout. Seeing so many students engaged, dancing, and enjoying themselves was the best part. From the beginning, our focus was on what would make this exciting for them — trivia, music, interactive elements — and I think we achieved that.”
###
