Pioneers of Change: 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month

September 16 - October 15, 2024
Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Governor's Reception Room, 2nd Floor.
New York State Capitol

From September 15 to October 15, we celebrate the significant contributions and cultures of Hispanic and Latino peoples in the United States. These dates signify the anniversary of independence days in the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as the independence days that occurred throughout the month in Mexico and Chile. Hispanic and Latino presence in New York goes back centuries, as early as 1613, when Juan Rodriguez became the first non-Native settler of present-day Manhattan.

New York State is known as a diverse cultural hub and is home to people of all backgrounds who contribute to the state’s legacy as a champion for equity. Nearly four million Hispanic or Latino people are part of the state’s social fabric. While some have resided here for generations and others are newer residents, they all contribute to meaningful change throughout the state.

This exhibit recognizes the 2024 National Hispanic Heritage Month theme, Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together, which celebrates “the spirit of innovation, resilience, and unity that define the Hispanic experience.” The individuals highlighted in this exhibition have improved educational standards, fought for civil rights, and brought new forms of entertainment to this state, enriching New Yorkers’ quality of life.

As a lead astronaut at NASA, Fernando “Frank” Caldeiro was the first person of Argentinian descent to train for a space flight. He was born in Buenos Aires on June 12, 1958, and his family, speaking little English, moved to New York when Frank was just sixteen. Throughout his life, Caldeiro referred to New York City and Merritt Island, Florida as his hometowns.

In 1978, he earned an associate degree in applied science in aerospace technology from the State University of New York at Farmingdale; in 1984 he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona, and in 1995, a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Central Florida.

In 1991, he was hired by NASA as a cryogenics and propulsion systems expert and participated in 52 space shuttle launches before being chosen as an astronaut candidate in 1996. In 2002, he was appointed to serve on the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. 

El Diario NY (formally known as El Diario La Prensa) has promised to be “el campeón de los Hispanos,” or “the champion of Hispanics” in New York City since it was first published in 1913 by Rafael Viera. Little is known about Viera’s biography except that he first circulated this weekly publication under its original title, La Prensa.

La Prensa merged with El Diario de Nueva York in 1963 and was renamed El Diario La Prensa. Throughout its variations, Viera’s original historical publication remains the oldest continuously published Spanish-language newspaper in the United States.

Over the years, El Diario NY has grown to be much more than a newspaper and is “now a cutting-edge multimedia operation that includes print, digital and other platforms.” In 2019, it was awarded a Gold Award for Outstanding Publications Website from the National Association of Hispanic Publications. 

Bolívar Arellano was one of the publication’s freelance photographers whose mission was to challenge the negative depictions of Hispanic culture that were prevalent in mid-twentieth century, English-language media. He became so well known in the community that he was invited to the White House to document the historical meeting between Representative Herman Badillo, other Hispanic lawmakers, and President Jimmy Carter. His photograph was published on the cover of El Diario La Prensa on March 2, 1977. 

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Laudelina Martinez moved to the United States to attend college and went on to become the President and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities from 1992 to 1995.

In 2001, she opened Martinez Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Troy, NY, specializing in Latino art and Nuyorican (portmanteau of New York and Puerto Rican) artists. Martinez wanted to bring Latino and Hispanic artists together in the same space to emphasize the diversity of Latino culture.

Historically, artists of color have had challenges gaining gallery representation or exposure of their work in the mainstream art world. The Martinez Gallery is one example of galleries playing their part to remedy this, by working with artists to share their work with clients to build collections.

Martinez now serves as president of the NYS Capital Region Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. 

Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, also known under her literary pseudonym Gabriela Mistral, was the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature in 1945. Born and raised in Chile, Mistral worked as a teacher and principal. Throughout her life, she passionately advocated for disadvantaged communities such as women, indigenous populations, and the impoverished. They were often the subjects of her poems, articles, and stories.

Her first major work, Desolación is an autobiographical collection of poems that explore motherhood, desire, spirituality, and grief. Desolación demonstrated her national prominence as a poet after it made its way to Columbia University, where students and teachers were so moved by her writings that they pushed for its publication.

In 1953, Mistral moved to New York where she spent the last years of her life. During this time, she served as a Chilean representative to the United Nations and taught at Columbia University and Barnard College. 

Dr. Marta Moreno Vega is an author, activist, scholar, producer, educator, and Yoruba priestess born and raised in East Harlem, a historically Puerto Rican neighborhood also known as El Barrio. At the heart of her work is her mission to raise awareness of the history of Afro-Latinx people and people of African descent.

Her body of work includes books such as Women Warriors of the Afro-Latina Diaspora, Actualidad de las Tradiciones Espirituales y Culturales Africanas en el Caribe y Latinoamerica, and The Altar of My Soul. She directed the documentary and wrote a memoir of the same name When the Spirits Dance Mambo: Growing Up Nuyorican in El Barrio.

As a dedicated community builder, Dr. Moreno Vega founded several organizations. From 1972 to 1976, she was the director of El Museo del Barrio in NYC. In 1976, she founded the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute and went on to create the Global Afro-Latino Caribbean Initiative in 2000. 

Johnny Pacheco, born Juan Azarías Pacheco Knipping in the Dominican Republic, is known as the “Godfather of Salsa.”

His family moved to New York City when Pacheco was eleven years old. He studied percussion at the Juilliard School and worked in Latin bands throughout the city. In 1960, Pacheco created his band, Pacheco y Su Charanga, which helped launch him into the spotlight.

He went on to co-create Fania Records and star in the Fania All-Stars group that created the term “salsa” to market their musical style. In 2005, the Latin Recording Academy awarded Pacheco the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for pioneering the new genre of music.

Pacheco won several more awards throughout his 60-year career, including the Presidential Medal of Honor from the president of the Dominican Republic and the Bobby Capo Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, his album with Celia Cruz, “Celia & Johnny” (1974) was introduced to the Library of Congress National Registry of Sound Recordings. 

Antonia Pantoja is a celebrated Hispanic and queer educator and activist and was the first Puerto Rican woman awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Pantoja migrated to New York City from Puerto Rico in 1944, where she became a grassroots organizer and activist who organized labor unions, advocated for desegregation, and promoted bilingual education.

In 1961, she founded ASPIRA (Spanish for “aspire”), an organization advocating for the education and advancement of Puerto Rican youth in New York City.

Pantoja also established the Puerto Rican Research and Resource Center in Washington, D.C., which, through her leadership, developed a vision for a bilingual education that resulted in the opening of Boricua College in New York City.

One of her most significant achievements at ASPIRA was winning a court case against New York City’s Board of Education, which resulted in the Aspira Consent Decree mandating transitional bilingual education in NYC schools. 

Born and raised in Western New York, Casimiro D.Rodriguez Sr. is an active member of the region’s Hispanic communities. He graduated from the University of Buffalo and worked at General Motors for 34 years. In 2009, he joined the Erie County Cultural Arts Advisory Board but quickly noticed the lack of Hispanic representation within the arts sector.

In 2011, he founded the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to “foster and inspire awareness, understanding, and appreciation of past, present, and future contributions of the Hispanic community in Western New York.”

In 2023, alongside Governor Kathy Hochul, the council broke ground on a new Hispanic Heritage Cultural Institute (HHCI)--the first to exist in upstate New York. It will include a museum, arts theater, event space, media center, cafe, learning center, and more.  The HHCI exemplifies Rodriguez’s lifelong mission and work to preserve the heritage of Hispanic and Latino communities and showcase their role in New York State.

Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías lived and worked in both New York and Puerto Rico. Working as a pediatrician at Lincoln Hospital, most of her patients were low-income Puerto Rican children from the South Bronx. This experience increased her awareness of how social and economic inequality affects one’s access to healthcare.

While at Lincoln, she lobbied to give workers a voice and to raise cultural and healthcare awareness specific to Puerto Rican issues and concerns.

Throughout her career, Dr. Rodríguez-Trías continued lobbying for healthcare accessibility and women’s reproductive rights. In 1970 she was a founding member of the American Public Health Association’s Women’s Caucus and went on to establish their Hispanic Caucus. In 1993, she became the first Latina director of the American Public Health Association.

In 2001, she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal.