Live from the National Latino Congreso

The 3rd Annual Latino Congreso began today in Downtown Los Angeles at the Bonaventure Hotel with a larger than expected media briefing with all of the conveners:

• Hispanic Federation (HF) hispanicfederation.org
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) lulac.org
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) maldef.org
• Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) mapa-ca.org
• National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) nalacc.org
• National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) ndlon.org
• National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC) nheec.org
• Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) svrep.org
• William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) wcvi.org

I am here as part of my work with the Mexican American Political Association but I have hit the trifecta of sorts as my attendance here comes on the heels of the NALEO conference in DC last month and the La Raza gathering in San Diego last week (FYI - I missed LULAC's event). It is nice to see familar faces like Nora Vargas and Ricardo Moreno as well as my old classmate, Dinorah Perez of Telemundo, and new Twitter friend, Megan Morrissey. As before, it is interesting to hear people talk about immigration, the Latino vote and other issues facing the nation and being bandied about in the current election cycle.

Former San Franciso Supervisor and current Ralph Nader running mate, Matt Gonzalez, was the luncheon speaker. He was introduced by MALDEF president, John Trasviña, had a couple of verbal vignettes of his own:

[Los Angeles] is the capitol of Latino America.

We're not about words, we're about action.

I just heard Representative Grace Napolitano talk about climate and received her loudest applause line after mentioning Lou Dobbs and his Mexicana esposa. Over a dozen people are lined up to ask questions of the Congresswoman and Amelia Kissick of Earth Day Network (moderated by Southwest Voter Registration Education Project president, Antonio Gonzalez. She may be 71 but she still still full of energy, passion and commitment. Without a doubt, however, the most impassioned speech/remarks going to March 25th Coalition Founder, Javier Rodriguez.

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The National Latino Congreso is a multi-state effort convened by nine national organizations, including Hispanic Federation (HF), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), National Hispanic Environmental Council (NHEC), Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), and William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). The Co-convening organizations include Earth Day Network (EDN), Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), and National Alliance of Craftsman Associations (NACA). Southwest Airlines is the official carrier of the National Latino Congreso.

(Full Disclosure: I am a consultant with MAPA and part of the Congreso's media outreach team)