For the latino community than latinos themselves, and we have to ensure that there s latino representation in congress. we deserve a seat at the table, and there are young latinos and latinas who have a right to see themselves in their elected officials and to feel inspired to one day run for public office as long as they don t run against me. - [laughs] - just wait for me to retire, and then - stay away from the bx. talking to young politicians like ritchie torres gives me hope that someday our leadership will be as diverse as america itself, and with the latinx vote on the come up, i can t wait to see more young folks running for office. i see you, gen z. voltaren. the joy of movement. my active psoriatic arthritis can make me feel like i m losing my rhythm.
That the white community doesn t allow us. - exactly. - yeah. - there was a lot of poetry that was used in the performances, you know? because most of us were writers. there were a lot of people here that were former hippies, and we would go to the demonstrations, to the concerts. - but it wasn t all good. there were language barriers, high unemployment, unaffordable and overcrowded housing, and one night in 1991 the cops shot a latinx man, and no one was held accountable, so it was no surprise when it all exploded. there was an incident, a riot that happened here. can you tell me a little bit about that? - yeah, in 1991, cinco de mayo, a guy gets drunk and belligerent in a joint over here, you know, and they call the police. - the trouble started when police shot a man they say failed to follow their order to drop a knife. some witnesses say the man was in handcuffs when he was shot. - but that time, there was a lot of latinos here, you know? - right, right.
I m a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. [upbeat latin-tinged music] - as i make my way around d.c., latinx history can be hard to find, but if you know where to look, there are hidden gems, places like monte placer, or mount pleasant on the city s northwest side. for decades, starting in the 60s, this neighborhood was home to tons of black and latinx folks. think of it as an unofficial embassy of culture. it was all here, businesses, shops, art, and poetry. - what does it feel like inside? what color is this latin dude? how does he do what he does? - salvadorian poet and activist quique avilés has been a fixture in this community for years. - i came here in 1980 fleeing the war in el salvador that was being supported by the united states. - right because el salvador was about to get
And we have to ensure that there s latino representation in congress. we deserve a seat at the table, and there are young latinos and latinas who have a right to see themselves in their elected officials and to feel inspired to one day run for public office as long as they don t run against me. - [laughs] - just wait for me to retire, and then - stay away from the bx. talking to young politicians like ritchie torres gives me hope that someday our leadership will be as diverse as america itself, and with the latinx vote on the come up, i can t wait to see more young folks running for office. i see you, gen z. voltaren. the joy of movement.
that s why maria teresa kumar and rosario dawson founded voto latino with one mission in mind, to get more latinx voters to the ballot box, and it s working. since launching in 2004, voto latino has registered over a million new voters and spearheaded campaigns to fight unfair redistricting and voter suppression. - so you re here to shake it up a little bit? - i want to try to shake it up a little bit. shake it up a little bit. you re you ve been shaking it up forever. how many years has that been? - oh, my gosh. i like to say we re 18 years young. - yeah, yeah, that s amazing. i mean, longevity in this game is everything. - well, and this is what folks don t realize is that every 30 seconds a latino turns 18 years old. and so when people. - voter. - voter. - and that s for folks you know, and people say, well, why do you do what you do? well, if we deeply believe that latinos are part of america, well, citizenship is, voting is. - do we not vote? - you know, john, one of the bigg