Hispanic Federation Gala

April 7th 2005

Waldorf Astoria Hotel

The Hispanic Federation gala, the largest in the northeast, was held at the Waldorf Astoria. Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, President of the organization, said "we are privileged to honor a group of extraordinary individuals who truly represent the dreams and aspirations of the Latinos. “The festivities, which started with salsa music and empanadas, were chaired by Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, who was named the top CEO of the entertainment industry by "Institutional Investor" magazine. He said that "the intellectual formation of the young is basic to the progress of human culture and society, which is why tonight's gala theme. “Education Is the Key", is so appropriate. He also said that the Board of Directors could rival the Board of the President of the United States and that "Latinos are loyal."Before he became CEO, he was chief operating officer--overseeing the company's content businesses—of Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Warner Music Group, and Time Warner Book Group. To be diverse and bilingual became the emphasis of the evening.The honorees of the evening included Charles Prince, Chairman and CEO, Citigroup Inc. and Joseph and Carol Reich, Co-founders of the “Beginning with the Children” Foundation, Inc., Scholastic Entertainment, and La Casa Don PedroMaria Hinojosa of CNN; and Mario Bosquez, WCBS-TV anchor, served as the evening's emcees. One of the highlights of the evening was a performance by Jimmy Bosch with his 2005 Grammy Award Wining "Spanish Harlem Orchestra". Lupo Ontiveros of "Desperate Housewives" gave comedic cheer.Senator Chuck Schumer addressed the crowd while dinner was served under spreads of white spring flowers, including tulips and lillies. Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sent congratulations and well wishes.Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas said that "tonight was a great success and a triumph. We have raised over one million dollars and the proceeds will be used for direct grants to the Federation's 85 Latino health and human service member agencies. We are thrilled to open a Washington D.C. office."The federation leads a coalition known as New Yorkers for Smaller Classes and held a Hispanic Education Summit in New York. We have launched ‘Punto de Vista’ a bimonthly public policy brief, and initiated the Latino Reproductive Rights Project, which promotes access to comprehensive reproductive health care in the Latino community. We also had a National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, enrolled low-income families in low-cost medical insurance, led new voters and have taught English to thousands or aspiring citizens and helped immigrants gain their U.S. citizenshipThe Hispanic Federation was founded in 1990 to improve the quality of life. More than 1,000,000 Latinos are helped.Also in attendance were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carion, Jr, Alfredo Placeris, President of the NY Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, State senator Efrain Gonzalez, Councilwoman Magarita Lopez, Congresswoman Nadia Valesquez, Secretary of State Randy Daniels, Shirley Remininski, President 100 Hispanic Women, Congressman Gregory Mendez, Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat and Mets General Manager Omar Minya, and many more from the business & corporate world.At the end of the evening, I felt like I was part of this Latino "familia". We would like to thank Ms Grace Lopez Director of Washington Office, for her kind invitation to the event. We would also like to thank Mr. Pat DiSibio, of Projects Plus, Inc., for his kind invitation. Mr. DiSibio did a marvelous job in planning the event, with very beautiful floral centerpieces. Every event we cover should be laid out as professionally as this one was.

For more information about this wonderful organization feel free to log onto their website @ http://www.hispanicfederation.org.

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