[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E871-E872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       6TH ANNUAL DC LATINO PRIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing the 6th annual DC Latino 
Pride, the national capital region's celebration of our Latino lesbian, 
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
  The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has had an identifiable Latino 
LGBT community since the early 1960s. However, the community remained 
largely invisible until the first LGBT March on Washington in 1987. DC 
Latino Pride's parent organization, the Latino Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, 
and Transgender History Project, began in 2000. The organization

[[Page E872]]

grew out of a private archive kept since 1993 by its founder, Jose 
Gutierrez, who, in turn, organized the first DC Latino Pride in 2007.
  It has been both a pleasure and an inspiration to watch DC Latino 
Pride grow from a panel discussion held the day before the annual 
Capital Pride parade to this year's series of events between May 20 and 
June 7: La Corona, La Platica, La Misa, and La Fiesta. The four events 
incorporate the elements of DC Latino Pride's 2012 theme: ``History, 
Celebration, Identity, and Diversity.''
  The volunteers who staff the Latino LGBT History Project and who are 
organizing DC Latino Pride also embody the 2012 theme. This year's 
organizers include: David M. Perez, the president of the Latino LGBT 
History Project and the Director of Development for the League of 
United Latin American Citizens; Jose Gutierrez, a member of Mayor 
Vincent Gray's LGBT Advisory Council and a member of La Clinica del 
Pueblo community health center; Mannuel Cosme, treasurer of the Latino 
LGBT History Project and CFO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; 
Jorge Andres Sotos, secretary of the Latino LGBT History Project and a 
civil rights attorney in private practice; Esther Hidalgo, a manager at 
Leslie Cashen Photography and a Library and Archives Assistant at the 
Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land. The 2012 Latino Pride co-chairs 
are Sergio Lopez and Oskar Moran, who work for, respectively, the 
People for the American Way and the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate-Aviation 
Safety Program Office. The 2012 Development Chair, Raul Olivo, is the 
immediate past co-chair and parade manager, and is a health educator 
and advocate for Transgender Health Empowerment.
  I ask the House to join me in recognizing the 6th annual DC Latino 
Pride, welcoming all those who will attend, and congratulating the 
volunteers for work well done.

                          ____________________