“I want to congratulate the award winners of today. Your contribution to our community does not go unnoticed. And I want to thank Luis and Lupita [Montoto] for creating this space for us to gather together, reflect, and celebrate,” said Shiva Bidar, the chief social impact officer of UW Health and the co-chair of the Latino Health Council of Dane County. “It’s really a space that truly embodies the meaning of community. It’s really amazing to be here celebrating the 15th anniversary, la quinceañera.
“This event has always been so meaningful to me. I know in this room, we all share different circles of community, our personal ones, our professional ones, and we all share one, our collective one,” Bidar added. “That is the beauty that is represented here today.”
Bidar delivered the keynote speech on Thursday afternoon at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in downtown Madison at the annual Hispanic Heritage Luncheon, an event organized by La Movida Radio’s founders, Luis and Lupita Montoto, to recognize Madison-area community leaders and organizations for their contributions and achievements in the state of Wisconsin.
Leaders and representatives of local Latino and non-Latino institutions spoke at the luncheon, including Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, City of Fitchburg Mayor Julia Arata Fratta, and City of Madison Common Council President Regina M. Vidaver. Dane County Executive Melissa Agard made special remarks.
Mario Mendoza, an attorney at Murphy Desmond, S.C., once again served as emcee of the Hispanic Heritage Luncheon. Special entertainment was provided during lunch by Mariachi San Jose de San Jose State University.
(Photo by David Dahmer)
In her keynote speech, Bidar referenced a certain date, September 21, 2018, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) descended on Madison and described the days that ensued and how the local Latino community responded.
“Panic took over the community. By the end of the four days, 20 members of our community were detained by ICE,” Bidar recalled. “But also what happened during that weekend was showing that community was not just a noun, it’s a verb. We all came together. We connected to our networks. We went from food delivery to mental health hotline to legal services. We were not to be intimidated. They clearly didn’t know what our communidad in Madison was all about when they came.”
Bidar added that we’re still living through heartbreaking times in the history of this country today.
“Every morning I wake up and I’m like, what adjective am I going to use today to describe what we are going through? And yet we look at moments like this and we are reminded that the antidote to hate and exclusion is community and the love and trust we build with each other,” Bidar said. “It is in times like these that this becomes even more critical. We need to be present for each other. We need to lift up our young people, not just to celebrate, but to ensure that they know that they are a source of pride and that their background, their culture and their roots are pride and strength that will carry them forward.
“Of course, we need to use our collective voice, not just again to celebrate, but to ensure human rights and justice prevail,” Bidar continues. “So 15 years ago, I came to this Hispanic Heritage Luncheon [for the first time] and left with such a sense of belonging. Today, I look around and I’m feeling it in an even stronger way. Our community has sure grown. It has deepened and it has endured.”
Bidar ended her speech reflecting on two pioneering Latina women in the Madison community who recently passed away – Lucia Nunez and Gladis Benavides. “They taught many of us what the true meaning of community is,” Bidar said. “They may no longer be physically present with us, but their legacy is what I’m seeing around as I look in this room. Gracias, Lucia Nunez and Gladis Benavides.”
In the awards ceremony portion of the event, Virginia Gittens Escudero, executive director of UNIDOS, was presented with the Making a Difference Award, while the Believe and Succeed Award was presented to Jovan Chávez, the Mercadito and volunteer lead at Centro.
(Photo by David Dahmer)
The Hispanic Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Mendoza said, recognizes those who have exemplified “true entrepreneurial spirit attaining notable success in developing, promoting and sustaining initiatives that benefit and strengthen the communities in which they serve.” That was presented to Oscar and Mayra Zaragoza, owners of Casa Zaragoza Mexican Restaurant. The whole family, including the Zaragoza children, came up to accept the award and speak.
The Amigo Award was presented to Jason J. Knutson, an attorney for Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C., and the Hispanic Achievement of the Year was presented to John Schlueter, director of Dane County Human Services.
“If somebody knows La Movida’s story, it’s Juanito,” said Luis Montoto, introducing Schlueter. “He’s like a brother, and all I can say is that he is who he is because of his upbringing and the people who raised him. They’re like my second parents.”
John Schlueter’s mother, Romilia Schlueter, was the executive director of Centro Guadalupe back around the turn of the century when the Montotos first arrived in Madison and was a great help to Luis and Lupita as they first orchestrated their dream of starting La Movida 24/7 Radio.
“Juanito is such an amazing person and we are so proud of him,” Montoto said.
Schlueter accepted his award, making a call to action for the attendees to get involved in any way they can.
“The [Dane County] budget picture is tight. The money that is at the federal level, it’s going to be reduced. The faucets are going to be shut down. It’s not a matter of if, it’s when that darkness is coming,” Schlueter said. “It’s our time to stand and to say that this county will continue to provide services to the people who need them. So become involved. Fight for the community that you care about. Volunteer, give time, help your neighbors, help each other, and then that way, if we hear the call to action, that is the one way to honor the theme of this Hispanic Heritage Month.”
The Community Institution of the Year was presented to Oscar Mireles, the former City of Madison’s Poet Laureate, who is the founder of Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD).
The Community Leader of the Year was presented to Aissa Olivarez, an immigration attorney for the Immigration Law Center and Eastbridge Law Group, LLP
“Thank you to my team …the community Immigration Law Center team. We are now many attorneys, paralegals and justice workers volunteers, and thank you to my team at Eastbridge [Law Group] for supporting me when I’m frazzled and running back and forth,” Olivarez says. “Lupita and Luis [Montoto], thank you for the example of the amazing hustle, this power couple that has done amazing things for our community. And I can’t wait to see what we all do moving forward.”
