Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson joined the Consul General of Mexico in New York and community partners to host a celebration outside Bronx Borough Hall on Friday, Sept. 15, in recognition of Mexican independence. On the sunny September day, the mood was cheery, amid music, laughs, and the raising of the Mexican flag.

 

“With nearly 300,000 Mexican Americans living in New York City, with a significant number of Mexican Americans in The Bronx, this is our opportunity to celebrate with our neighbors and hear more about Mexican history, culture, and tradition,” Gibson’s office wrote ahead of the event, which included performances by Mariachi band, “Mariachi Ramos.”

“We celebrated Mexican Independence Day with the first ever Mexican flag-raising [ceremony] at Bronx Borough Hall!” Gibson later said. “We are grateful to the Mexican community for their contributions to our borough and we stand with them in celebration of Mexican Independence! Que viva México! [Long Live Mexico!]” she added.

 

Representatives from Essen Health tabled on the day, handing out information and a representative from the Peace & Love Foundation, based in the South Bronx, was also in attendance, soaking up the atmosphere.

A little further over from the civil court table, a wedding was taking place. We spoke to the happy couple, Vanessa Semayo and Omar Velázquez, and their guests. Asked if they wanted to say anything, speaking in Spanish, Velázquez said they were very happy and in love! For her part, also speaking in Spanish, his wife said, “I’m very happy and giving a thousand thanks.”

 

Asked if the couple were from Mexico and if they had planned their wedding to coincide with the day that was in it, Semayo said although they were friends of Mexico, she was Peruvian, and Velázquez was from San Juan in Puerto Rico.

We also spoke to Peter Quiñones, who was in attendance for the flag-raising ceremony and asked him about the significance of the day for him. Speaking in Spanish, he said, “I am a lover of Mexican culture, and I like these types of celebrations,” he said. “It’s my second country. I am Bolivian but I studied in Mexico in Monterey, and really, I carry it [Mexico] in my heart.”

 

Referring to the celebration, he added, “It’s something nice, and there’s also another event in Midtown Manhattan in a park. Mexican culture is very cosmopolitan. I appreciate what Mexico is, and it’s the country where I got my academic training. Quiñones said he studied industrial engineering in Mexico and in 2001, he moved to the United States.

In light of the September 11^th attacks of 2001, we asked Quiñones how that impacted his experience, if at all, particularly in terms of employment opportunities at the time, given the upheaval that followed the events. He explained that he had arrived before 9/11, and added, “It was good,” in reference to his arrival experience.

 

Given the prior negative comments made by former U.S. President Donald Trump about Mexico, and his presidential campaign to get elected once again, we asked Quiñones if he, as an immigrant, had experienced discrimination in America. “I think Donald Trump is right in many respects because if you look at the immigration situation right now, it’s very chaotic,” he said.

Quiñones continued, “They didn’t do it in a planned way. They took in all these people from the top and a lot of people are sleeping in the streets. I don’t understand so many congress members, so many educated politicians. They don’t have the capacity to be able to manage the situation, and if they’re going to bring in people from there, they’re bringing them in just to bring them in.”

 

He added, “Many people are immigrating now and it’s going to cause a lot of chaos in the future. Now, it’s nothing yet but in the future, it’s going to be chaotic. They don’t know who they’re bringing in, and the same people, out of necessity, may do bad things. In this regard, I think Donald Trump wanted to do things in a more thoughtful way.” Axios recently reported on the former president’s latest immigration and border control plan.

Given his comment, we asked Quiñones if, in his opinion, immigrants were not being truthful about their circumstances when entering the country. He said, “Within the masses, there are all types.”

 

He continued, “I found out that in Venezuela, for example, they opened the prisons to allow people to come here. The [U.S.] government doesn’t know this. What needs to happen is that the people need to be held accountable in accordance with U.S. law, but this is a process and takes time.”

Later in September and after the Mexican Independence Day event, the BBC and other media outlets reported how the Venezuelan government had taken back control of Tocorón prison from the powerful, international “Tren de Aragua” [Aragua Train] criminal gang which ran it from the inside for years, building a pool, a mini zoo, and bringing in the wives/partners of prisoners to live there with them.

 

The gang runs a human trafficking operation, among other illegal activities, according to various media reports. Some 11,000 security personnel were deployed for the operation, according to the BBC report. Other media reports note how the leadership of the gang reportedly absconded prior to the Venezuelan army swooping in to take back control of the notorious prison, with rumors of a covert deal with the government.

 

He added, “Now, what’s happening is they’re asking for federal help to deal with the crisis in New York.” He said New York was considered a Sanctuary City, and although he was sure there were some people who have real needs, he said there also needed to be a more “thoughtful” approach to the situation.

 

He continued, “As I said before, there are people [immigrants] in bad situations, sleeping on the streets, [in America]. This is my opinion. Donald Trump would not have allowed this. He would have taken another approach…it’s politics, no?”

Asked if he supported the policies of the current Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Quiñones said, “The [Mexican] president carried out his policies perfectly, like no other president has done before.”

 

He added, “In the first instance, the salaries. The deputies and others in government, they don’t have what they used to have in terms of salaries. There’s a lot of things that Obrador has done excellently.” Asked if there had been a lot of corruption before he took office in Mexican politics, he replied simply, “This government operates with a lot of dignity.”

A bit further over from the event in front of the entrance to Borough Hall was another table with some balloons flying in the wind. We talked to Gladys Maldonado, borough chief clerk for the Bronx Civil Court, who explained, “It’s basically the 61st birthday for the Civil Court so we kind of set up this table to give the public information regarding the different services that we have in the courthouse.”

 

She said they gave our fliers, hand sanitizers, and other information in different languages. “The civil court is comprised of housing, civil, and small claims,” she explained, adding that if people needed more information, they could visit nycourts.gov.

Speaking to Norwood News at the event, Gibson said, “For the first time in the history of our borough, we are raising the official flag of Mexico to recognize their independence, and celebrate the contributions of Mexican Americans here in The Bronx and beyond, and affirming our commitment, as an administration, to embrace our diversity.”

She added, “We have a beautiful mosaic of different cultures and nationalities from our food, our clothing, our music, and everything, and we love it.”

Due to having to cover a few other events on the same day, Norwood News arrived towards the end of the Mexican Independence Day celebration. To view a short video of the end of the festivities, click here.