(WATERBURY, CONN. WTIC)-Dignitaries including Governor Ned Lamont, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes and three state Hispanic Commissioners converged in Waterbury to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.
The gathering in Waterbury marked the start of the month-long Hispanic heritage celebrations, in which State Representative Geraldo Reyes (D-Waterbury) noted that Connecticut's Hispanic population has grown about 30% in the last decade, according to the latest census data.
The contributions of Hispanics have grown exponentially since Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary joined the Police Force in 1980, he said.
During his Administration, great gains were made by Hispanics in education, government, the police force and the fire departments, O'Leary said.
The first Latina to head a Connecticut Agency, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno, told the story of her upbringing.
Born in Ecuador, Mosquera-Bruno moved here at the age of 23. She started working in a factory but found it difficult. She then returned to school to earn her Master's Degree and a Fellowship at Harvard University.
The only way she was able to do that was from her Grandmother who instilled in her a strong work ethic and the need to pursue an education, she said.
Department of Correction(DOC) Commissioner Angel Quiros also credited the help of his family who, through their hard work at a Bodega in Hartford, were able to help him get the education and resources he needed to become the first Hispanic, Puerto Rican-American DOC Commissioner.
"For those young Latinas and Latinos," Mosquera-Bruno said, "Everything is possible [while] keeping our values and not forgetting where we come from."
Lamont would like to see more Hispanic judges and more Latinos in education, he said.
National Heritage Hispanic Month runs September 15th through October 15th.
