September 11 wasn’t just the anniversary of the terrorist attacks nine years ago.  It was also the occasion that the Detroit area came together for The Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies’  39th Anniversary Gala and Celebration.  At El Kiosko Hall, across from Taquería Mi Pueblo in Southwest Detroit, CBS held their gala, which commemorated their 39th anniversary and continuing their mission of providing equitable access to students interested in US and Latin cultural studies while enhancing diversity on WSU’s campus.

This year, The Gala’s master of ceremonies was Jorge Avellán, anchor for local channel, My TV20.  Attendees were graced with a performance by Las Flamenquitas, a troupe of young flamenco dancers led by Valeria “La Chispa” Montes that are part of the Southwest Detroit arts organization, COMPÁS.  In addition, Peruvian-American singing phenom, Fatima Poggi, made a repeat appearance and was escorted by dancing group, Black & White.  Last and certainly not least was DJ “Eazy-E” who provided a a subtle, understated soundtrack for the night.

The night’s focus was on passing out awards to people in the community to recognize the excellence in:

• Public service (Ana Cardona)
• Business (Melissa Fernandez and Jordi Carbonell)
• Community service (David Conklin)
• Education/enseñanza (posthumously awarded to Martín “Marty” Quiróz)

One of the most touching moments of the award ceremony was when the Enseñaza Award was given to Marty Quiróz’ brother.  Quiróz was one of the original CBS alumni, who dedicated his entire teaching career to bringing the arts into the lives of Detroit schoolchildren.  His unexpected death this past summer came as a huge blow to the Detroit arts community.  During the awards ceremony, CBS Associate Director Ethriam Brammer announced the Enseñaza Award would be renamed in Quiroz’ honor.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the other highpoint was the keynote address delivered by Cindy Estrada, Vice President of the UAW.  Estrada, recently elected on June 16th at the 35th Constitutional Convention in Detroit, was a student in the CBS Program before going on the earn a degree in Education from the University of Michigan in 1993.  Subsequently, she began work with the United Farm Workers of America and then the UAW.

Estrada’s speech was very inspirational.  Without sounding judgmental, she called attention to division within the Latino community over issues such as illegal immigration.  Estrada also spoke about the importance of social justice being the underlying motivation in her work with the UAW.

One of the points that repeated throughout the night was the call to remember CBS and the work that it does to promote education and further diversity.  Envelopes were present so that attendees could make donations to fund its continued work.  For those people that weren’t able to make it to The Gala or would like to learn more about CBS’ work, they can go to its site: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/CBS/.

Author: José A. Rodríguez