DENVER (2)

Latinos honored for service to Denver's community


Dozens of spectators packed the newly renovated Woodbury Branch Library on Saturday to honor three people for service to Denver's Latino community. Florence "Flo" Hernandez-Ramos, KUVO host of Cancion Mexicana, accepted the ninth annual Lena L. Archuleta Community Service Award. Denise Maes, now the director of operations for Vice President Joe Biden, was inducted into the Cesar Chavez Leadership Hall of Fame along with community activist and educator Bernard "Bernie" Valdez, who died in 1997.

"The cultural landscape of the city is so diverse," Hernandez-Ramos said, and Cancion Mexicana allows a diverse audience to connect with music that might otherwise seem inaccessible. A longtime force at KUVO, Hernandez-Ramos described the show as an "important confluence of cultures." The desire to stitch together Denver's diverse population weaved throughout award recipients' and audience members' comments. "The more we can build bridges and bring communities together, the better off we are," said Crisanta Duran, candidate for state representative.

Acknowledgment of Denver's strong Latino leadership drew her to the ceremony, she said. READ FULL STORY
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Latinos big players in Senate-seat primaries

A year ago during a heated congressional race, former state Sen. Polly Baca said she couldn't support Joan Fitz-Gerald in the Democratic primary because of her role in a special session on illegal immigration. Fitz-Gerald was the state Senate president during that 2006 session, where lawmakers enacted what were touted as the toughest immigration laws in the nation. Baca said the measures hurt Latinos. But a year later, Baca showed up in Pueblo to support Andrew Romanoff's kickoff for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate. He is challenging U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. Romanoff was the House speaker during that same special session, and Baca was asked about what seemed to be a contradiction. "It was Fitz-Gerald who pushed for it, and Andrew just went along for party unity," Baca said. READ FULL STORY
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