Sunset Summer Cookout A RI moment of "Inclusive Harmony & Diversity." By Tomás Alberto Ávila June 1, 2011
Back in 1996 when I made the decision to involve myself in the empowerment of the growing Latino community, I was invited to many social events all across the state by different individuals and organizations attending most of them along with my beloved wife Eva Carolina. During such outings my beloved wife being the observant that she is, called to my attention the fact that wherever we went, we never saw the same crow of Latinos across the different events we attended, and she inquired why was that. Not being familiar with the community at that point or the social atmosphere of the state to make any judgment or conclusion to her observations, my response was not to pay attention to such matters because that wasn’t our purpose in attending the events. But after many inquiries from my wife, it eventually made me aware that what she had noticed was indeed real and very obvious to me that it wasn’t something to ignore and not address somehow, and I made the decision to analyze the situation further and research the reason for such social segregation in the community. As I got more involved and more accepted in the different social circles, it became very obvious to that what my beloved wife had notice was truly a social issue based on the social fragmentation of our community across the 21 countries that make up the Latino community in this country and state that socialized among like minded country mates family and friends while leaving out others as is customary with humans of all spheres. It was that awareness back in 2000 that inspired me to organized the a social event at our humble home that I entitled “Sunset Summer Cookout”, with the mission to be inclusive and open to every and all individuals I came in contact across my socio economic political network statewide and start the process of socially integrating the community around an event where everybody was welcomed and considered part of the whole regardless of nationality or social standing and also made the decision to make the event potluck style to allowed everyone the opportunity to contribute to event and feel equally invested among all attendants. That decision achieved the constant attendance growth of the event by bringing together my social sphere from students, business associates, nonprofits civic, political and establishing the cookout as the event to attend and be part of once a year and network among all ranges of societal leadership. Since its beginning the Sunset Summer Cookout attracted emerging Latino political figures from across the city and state, which by default attracted the attention and attendance from the general community, that identified the event as a place to network with up and coming Latino leaders such as City Councilman Luis Aponte, State Representative Candidate
Victor Capellan, Juan Pichardo, Melba Depeña, Carlos Matos, Angel Taveras, Gonzalo Cuervo, Miguel Luna, Ricardo Patiño, Alido Baldera Sabina Matos to name a few. Since the start of the event, it has attracted a long list of aspiring candidates and elected officials throughout Rhode Island political scene, some of whom have become elected to lead our state such as: U.S. Senate Candidates Lincoln Chafee, Robert Weygand and Richard Lich, State General Treasurer Paul Tavares, State Senate Candidate Juan Pichardo District 10, District 2, State Representative Candidate Gonzalo Cuervo, State Representative Candidate Luis Tejada, City Councilman Candidate Miguel Luna, City Councilman Candidate Ricardo Patiño, Democratic Party Executive Director Melba DePeña, Representative Grace Diaz, Ward 15 Council Candidate Liandra Martinez, Congregational Candidate Angel Taveras, State Senator Candidate Pedro Espinal, State Senator Candidate, State Representative Candidate Leo Medina, State Senator Candidate Andrew Galli, Gubernatorial Candidate Myrth York and Sheldon Whitehouse, Attorney General Candidate Patrick Lynch, Secretary of State Edward Inman, Secretary of State Candidates Matt Brown, Secretary of State Candidate, Mayoral Candidate David Cicilline, Mayoral Candidate Solis, State Senator Frank Ciccone, Congregational Candidate Ed Morabito, Guillaume deRamel, Secretary of State Candidate, United State Senate Candidate Carl Sheeler, United State Senate Candidate Sheldon Whitehouse, United State Senate Candidate Matt Brown, State Representative Candidate Wilbur Jennings, City Council Candidate Nicolas Narducci, Cranston Mayor and United State Senate Candidate Steven Laffey, City Council Candidate Jose Brito, City Council Candidate Eulogio Acevedo, City Council Candidate Pich Choun, Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator, David N. Cicilline, Candidate for 1st District U.S. Congress, Anthony Gemma Candidate for 1st District U.S. Congress, David A. Segal Candidate for 1st District U.S. Congress, Frank Caprio Candidate for Governor, Patrick Lynch, RI Attorney General, John Robitaille, Candidate for Governor, Elizabeth Roberts Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Ralph Mollis Candidate for Secretary of State, Leonidas P. Raptakis Candidate for Secretary of State, Peter F. Kilmartin Candidate for Attorney General, Joseph Fernandez (RIP) Candidate for Attorney General, Stephen Candidate for Attorney General, Gina Raimondo Candidate for General Treasurer, State Representative John McCauley, Jr., Senator Maryellen Goodwin, District 1, Anastasia Williams House of Representatives, District 9, Juan M. Pichardo, Senator, District 2, Harold Metts, Senator, District 6, Scott Slater House of Representatives, District 10, Ana Quezada Candidate for House of Representatives, District 10, Angel Taveras Candidate for Mayor, City of Providence, John J. Lombardi Candidate for Mayor, City of Providence, , Steven M. Constantino Candidate for Mayor, City of Providence, Nicholas Narducci City Councilor, 4th Ward, Luis Aponte City Councilor, 10th Ward, James Diossa City Councilor, Central Falls, Edwin Pacheco Chairman, Rhode Island Democratic Party to name a few. I became aware that the idea of the cookout was the right one in 2001, when I decided that I wasn’t going to organized the event any longer, and I was flooded with calls and emails from members of the community requesting that the cookout must go on, because they had become accustomed to it and couldn’t be cancel and taken away from them. After so much pressure, my friend Betty Bernal convinced my beloved wife that if I wasn’t going to organize it, she was going to partner with and organize it and I agree to allow them to organize it during the first week in August. Even with the delayed scheduling, the community responded and thanks to the community insistence and Betty’s determination, the Sunset Summer Cookout has become an annual tradition. During the 2002 election season, there were so many political candidates present with their campaign entourage and media material, that many individuals baptized the event with title “The Latino Political Convention”, which still cause the biggest attendance turnout during the electoral years. This tradition continuo during the 2010
event, which saw a record breaking attendance of thirty five candidates covering the complete range of elected positions across the state of Rhode Island. The cookout further became a networking opportunity to members of the Latino community that allowed them the opportunity to meet and socialize with future and elected officials and obtain employment opportunities and developed business relationships as well educational opportunities to many youngsters in the community, contributing to the increase rise of young Latino professional among elected officials staff and other industries across the state. Many past attendants have obtained employment through connections established at the event, and many love relationships have bloomed throughout the years with an indirect contribution to formation of new households and the continuous growth of the Latino demographics. The other landmark of the event that has become a measurable yardstick, are the many children born to friends and acquaintances during the last 11 years, and witnessing many of their children reached adulthood and become productive and contributing members of the improvement of the Latino community and the state of Rhode Island. My biggest satisfaction co founding the Sunset Summer Cookout with my Wife Eva, has been the opportunity to achieve our mission to provide a forum to integrate our community and allowed it to socialize without the social while celebrating friendship and human relation in the harmony of our residence regardless of socio economic status, and providing accessibility to Latinos from all walks of to life changing opportunities through the networking with many individuals whom they would had never met otherwise and a forum for social adversaries to network with each other in a social setting conducive to harmonious relationships for a few hours that in many cases have transcend the Sunset Summer Cookout, and allowed them to the understating of collective collaboration in moving our community forward. All of this for the admission price of their favorite food or drink, but most importantly their presence. The event has also been the attention grabber of the growing Latino media throughout the years, such as the social pages of the fledging Providence En EspaĂąol 2000-2004, Siglo 21 2002-2003, RILatino.com, RIMix.com, Tiempo Social 2004 that have played an important chapter in the institutionalization of the event. During the 2010 cookout a large number of the candidates in attendance approached me during the event to thank me for being so inclusive and allowing them to be part of the cookout despite their campaign opponents being part of the event and treating them with respect and making them feel comfortable and welcome in a harmonious setting, that gave me the opportunity to rebrand the event tagline to “A Rhode Island Moment of Inclusive Harmony & Diversityâ€? to capture their comfort and the legacy of the Sunset Summer Cookout of inclusivity and diversity. In conclusion, the biggest value added for the success of the Sunset Summer Cookout, are the thousand of Rhode Islanders of all walks of life, friends and family members from New York and Massachusetts, that have honored us with their presence for the last 11 years. You are the reason for the success of the event and place it into a classic tradition across the state, and Eva and I are forever grateful for your support and com-
mitment to our event. Lastly I must conclude paying my deepest respect to many supporters and friends that became part of the cookout network, who are no longer with us such as Robert “Bob” Graziano (2011), Joseph “Joe” Fernandez (2010), Raymond (Tailor) Ogando (2009), Tony Marcella (2008). May God have them in his glory and may they rest in peace as we shall never forget them. Originally published May 1, 2006.
2000 Summer Cookout Partial List of Attendees, June 25, 2000 Eva Ávila Tomás Ávila Lincoln Chafee, US Senator, 1999-2006 Paul Tavares, General Treasurer, 1999-2006 Luis Aponte, City Councilor, Providence, 1998-Present Robert Weygand, US Senate Candidate, 2000 Richard Lich, US Senate Candidate, 2000 Angel Taveras, District 2 Congregational Candidate, 2000 Juan Pichardo District 10, Senate Candidate, 2000 Luis Tejada, District 11 Representative Candidate, 2000 Victor Capellan, District 12 Representative Candidate, 1998 Ricardo Patiño, Ward 2 City Council Candidate, Central Falls, 1999 Gonzalo Cuervo, District 12 Representative Candidate, 2000 Miguel Luna, Ward 9 City Council Candidate, Providence, 2000 Melba DePeña, District 10, Senate Candidate Campaign Manager Gwendolyn Andrade Ingrid Ardaya Betty Bernal Carolina Bernal Agusto Bernal Daughter Bernal Augusto Bernal, Jr. Andrea Gomez Nadya Rivadeyrena Sandra Giraldo Janet Pichardo Christian Pichardo José Francisco Ávila Marianela Ávila
Jessica Margarita ﾃ」ila Joan Pendergrass Jasmine Lestrade Jose Gonzalez Ana Gonzalez Margarita Guedes Mirian Guedes Andrea Guedes Olga Hulse Gary Hulse Beverly Hulse Miguel Luna Shanah Kurland Sophie Luna Olga Noguera Olga Schizardy Tomﾃ｡s Ramirez Luis Peralta Audelina White Radwell White Rosa Del Castillo Milton Castellanos Maria de Newport Carlos Matos Julio Ramos, Sr. Julio Ramos, Jr. Daughter Ramos Daughter Ramos Gonzalo Cuervo Francis Parra Justo Garcia Justa Garcia Marylin Cepeda