The Alamo City’s mayor’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention is all the buzz today. As a resident of San Antonio, TX, I am very proud to see our Mayor Julián Castro receive and accept this opportunity. He will be the first Mayor from San Antonio to deliver a keynote speech at DNC, as well as the first Latino to deliver a keynote at any Democratic National Convention. This is a few important firsts.
With this being an historic event, San Antonio sent off the Mayor and his family with lots of love St. Paul’s Community Center this past Saturday morning.
I’m not a fan of early rising on a Saturday morning but I couldn’t resist getting my family there to hear the Mayor speak and be a part of this great send off. It was important to me to get my two young boys in front of these two amazing brothers who serve their community in their political careers. I wanted my boys to experience this event and see what can be possible for them. Not that I am encouraging them to enter politics but I do seek out positive role models for my boys.
My five-year-old was standing right in front of me when I took this photo of the Castro brothers entering the Center. Mayor Castro bent down, looked my son in the eye, said hello and shook his hand. It may not seem like a big deal to many but to me, I hope my son remembers this day not for sending off the Mayor but the reflection of himself in the Mayor. I often have conversations about not seeing enough Latinos on TV and how important it is for our young Latinos to see themselves as positive characters on the big screen. This was a way for me to introduce my son to a role model in whom he can see himself … in real life.
We listened to Representative Joaquin Castro give thanks to everyone and ‘introduce’ his brother to all of us. Then we listened to Mayor Castro thank everyone, tell us why he accepted and how proud he was to get to represent our beloved San Antonio in front of the rest of the country.
Our family will be watching this historic event tonight at 9PM/CST. My boys will see their Latino Mayor on the TV screen make history! As a mother, I just have to say THANK YOU to Rosie Castro, the mother of the Castro brothers, for raising these two to give back and serve not only their community in the political arena but someone for the next generation to follow.
