Caitlin Lezell
Journal Contributor

With September being Hispanic Heritage Month, Diversity Services and the Suffolk University Hispanic Association (SUHA) have teamed up allow Suffolk students to participate in the celebration.
The first event of the month was held Thursday, featuring Latin food, music and guest speaker José Massó. Native to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Massó is an accomplished radio broadcaster and teacher, currently hosting “Con Salsa” on WBUR. Suffolk students of all nationalities were present at this event, and Massó maintained  an interactive audience for his Un Pueblo Nuevo in the 21st Century presentation.
The intentional “Spanglish” of his title was pointed out by the audience early on, and that played into much of what Massó was speaking about. “Un pueblo nuevo” translates to “a new people” in English. Massó explained that he hoped the people of the 21st century, will someday soon be able to create a world that is more connected than ever before.
“I understand that for the youth to be prepared [for life in the 21st century], I must play a role,” he said. “Success is my standard. Great is my goal… success is what you do for you. Greatness is for something else other than for you, when what you do is not for the BMW or the condo, but so that others’ lives are better.”
He hoped to have every student in attendance walk away believing they could become great, become “an agent of change, to create ‘un pueblo nuevo.’”
Through anecdotes explaining his Puerto Rican heritage and his college years in the United States, Massó explained to the audience what he soon realized after moving here from Puerto Rico: “As much as I knew about the United States, I still had a lot to learn. And as much as I knew about the United States, little did they know about me as a Puerto Rican.”
Massó also addressed recent immigrants to the United States and the international students that were in attendance. “The thing about the United States to cherish, regardless of where we come from- it’s here we can unpack the baggage. It’s here that we can create ‘un pueblo Nuevo,’” he said.
Massó summed up with, “So what? I am Puerto Rican. But when Haiti suffers, I suffer. When immigrants don’t have a voice, I’m front and center.” With the world now being as connected as it is as we move further into the 21st century, it is no longer easy to just turn the other cheek, to pretend other cultures or nations are not suffering, or that it is not our problem.
Diversity Services will be hosting additional events in the upcoming weeks to further celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, including a trip to the Kendall Theater to see the film Gunhill Road. For information on tickets to this showing, as well as information on other future events, visit the Facebook and Twitter pages of Diversity Services and the Suffolk University Hispanic Association (SUHA).