What You Should Know

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York

Rossana and El Diario La Prensa, Here is Your Great Opportunity

 
   You should know that Ms. Rossana Rosado has held the esteemed position of Publisher and CEO of El Diaro la Prensa for more than ten years. You should also know that this year, El Diario la Prensa is celebrating 100 years of existence. There have been many activities and special events planned to recognize and celebrate the largest and oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the country. These events in honor of El Diario la Prensa include a dinner by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

As you know, El Diario la Prensa credits itself as a publication that protects and fights for the rights of the immigrants, and criticizes anyone who is not in favor of the immigrant. El Diario la Prensa’s famous motto is El Campeón de los Hispanos which means "the Champion of the Hispanics." They have been demanding that the Dream Act become law, to the point that their March 18, 2013 editorial, Unity on the NY Dream Act, asks for all of the Hispanic Senators in New York State NOT to vote for the Budget if it does not include the Dream Act.

I would like to take this opportunity to call on Rossana Rosado, the Publisher and CEO of El Diario la Prensa, to see this as her great opportunity to put up, or shut up.

I have to believe that if El Diario la Prensa has the courage and commitment to ask the Hispanic Senators not to vote on the Budget if it does not include the Dream Act, then we should expect for Rossana Rosado and El Diario la Prensa to bring it to the Governor this Friday when Governor Andrew Cuomo will be honoring Rossana Rosado and El Diario la Prensa in Albany.

It would have been better if, instead of accepting the Governor’s invitation for a dinner celebration to recognize El Diario la Prensa, they could have said, “Governor, we will not accept it because of the way you have been treating our community and our immigrants, and we don't want the Dream Act to be shelved once again." THAT would have sent the greatest message of all, and everybody and every newspaper would have said that El Diario la Prensa truly IS a champion to refuse an invitation from Governor Andrew Cuomo, all because the Governor refused to include the Dream Act in New York State's Budget.

However, due to the fact that El Diario la Prensa has accepted Governor Andrew Cuomo’s invitation – and they will be coming to Albany on Friday – they can still make a difference. During that dinner, Rossana Rosado can use the opportunity to say publicly – with the same insistence El Diario la Prensa used to ask for New York’s Hispanic Senators to vote "NO" on the Budget – that El Diaro la Prensa demands for New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo to stop ignoring the immigrants and to put the Dream Act into the Budget.

You should know that I have been criticizing my colleagues, especially the Black and Hispanic Senators, for being too eager to accept every one of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s invitations to go to his mansion and eat his food and drink his wine, while they get nothing for our community. I would hate to think that El Diario la Prensa and Rossana Rosado are among those who like to publicly write and demand action in favor of our community and of the immigrant, but in private join the Governor in his mansion to eat his food and drink his wine, while nothing is done for our community and the Governor keeps laughing at us.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a great opportunity for Rossana Rosado and El Diario la Prensa, not only to eat dinner and drink wine in the Governor’s mansion, but to put strong words in defense of what they preach and what they write about the Dream Act.

This is Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.