Education. Success. Empowerment. These were just a few of the terms used to inspire Hispanic Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) attendees at the first annual National Council of Hispano Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCHDHH) – Fray Pedro Ponce de Leon SER National Conference, hosted by Latino Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association of the Metropolitan DC Area, Inc., (LDHHAMDC) at Gallaudet University Kellogg Hotel in Washington, D.C. Two hundred fifteen Latino D/HH teens, young adults and older adults from all over the United States gathered to discover, celebrate and understand their cultures – both Deaf and Hispanic – and to discuss issues that frame the Hispano D/HH experience in America.
The Spanish word “SER” can mean many things in English, according to Franklin C. Torres, head chairperson of the conference and president of LDHHAMDC. “SER” became the perfect symbol for what NCHDHH envisioned. “Ser can mean ‘to be,’ ‘to exist,’ ‘to serve,’ ‘to happen’ and ‘to be worth.’ Ser can be a person and can represent who someone is and how Hispanic people can fulfill different roles in the community,” Torres explains. “The objective of the conference was to unify and get in touch with the whole Latin American community.”
Throughout the conference, advocacy, immigration, education, employment/training, family, trilingual interpreting and many more subjects permeated the event. The dialogue began at the SER preconference on October 3-4, which brought together senior class representatives from various schools and states, and students from various higher learning institutions, such as Gallaudet University, where Torres is a Ph.D. candidate and professor of Applied Literacy. Supported by Hands on Video Relay Service and Gallaudet Leadership Institute, the students focused on leadership training. Dr. Angel Ramos, Susan Gonzales, Esq., and Melissa Draganac-Hawk, executive director of Deaf Women United, presented on “how to set up organizations, how to found associations, finding self-identity and self-awareness and certain topics like that,” Torres reports. “It was very interactive and the students were very participative. The students said they wanted to go back to their own schools and set up clubs.”
Then on October 4-6, Dr. Gilbert Delgado, Ph.D., president of NCHDHH, served as opening keynote speaker for the SER National Conference. Attendees also enjoyed exhibitor booths. Torres comments, “There were about 12 different video relay service provider booths. All of them had Spanish speaking services. Pretty much everyone who registered for the conference looked at the booths. But they mainly focused on the video relay service providers because of the impact they have on the Deaf community.”
Torres along with his co-chairs, Elvia Guillermo and Leticia Arellano, envisioned a balance between learning and enjoyment for SER. “The first part was going to all-day workshops. This conference was a little bit different. It focused more on Hispanic culture, which entails that people talk a little bit longer,” Torres says. “There was a reception at the conference to give people a little break. And a special group of deaf Latino people called Deaf Sabor, who danced Salsa, also gave a little lesson at the end. On another day, everyone got to try different dishes from countries such as Peru, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Mexico. Late Friday, we had a Señorita Latina Pageant. And Saturday, there were four different groups from Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador getting together to play an all-day soccer tournament. Those teams were actually from New York and Chicago, and other places, but they represented their countries of origin in an outdoor soccer tournament. The final event was a gala attended by 292 people.” Colorful, cultural costumes were worn during the gala and Susan Gonzales, Esq., was the keynote speaker.
SER National Conference participants’ comments varied from “I had so much fun dancing” to “I developed more pride as a deaf Hispanic woman. One thing that shocked me most is the amount of Hispanic deaf people…” These comments and more were reported in the LDHH Insider, the newsletter of LDHHAMDC, available online at http://ldhhamdc.org, where information about joining the organization and a calendar of events is also posted. Visit http://nchdhh.org for more on NCHDHH.
Read more about the First SER National Conference roundtable discussion in an online exclusive,
“Making an Impact on Hispano Deaf Culture” at www.drf.org/ hearing_health.
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