>> FROM SEPTEMBER 15 TO OCTOBER 15, HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH HONORS THE RICH HISTORY AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF LATINO COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

WE ARE NOT JUST CELEBRATING, WE ARE DANCING.

THE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL HOSTED BY EMBRACE BOSTON IS A VIBRANT CELEBRATION OF LATINO CULTURE, MUSIC AND MOVEMENT TO IT IS ALSO A TRIBUTE TO ONE OF BOSTON’S MOST BELOVED VOICES.

RIGHT NOW ON GBH NEWS ROOTED WE ARE JOINED BY TWO INCREDIBLE GUESTS WHO ARE MAKING THIS CELEBRATION AND HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH UNFORGETTABLE, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS A FRIEND OF THE SHOW WHO WE ARE WELCOMING BACK, MY COUSIN -- NOT REALLY, BUT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EMBRACE BOSTON.

HOW ARE YOU?

>> WE COUSINS.

[LAUGHTER] >> IT’S THE NORTH CAROLINA TIES, AND WE SHARE A NAME.

FIRST, THIS EVENT IS IN ITS SECOND YEAR.

WHY DOES THIS REPRESENT BOSTON SO WELL >> THE 19 65 FREEDOM PLAZA HAS 70 NAMES ON THERE.

MR.

MASSO IS ONE OF THOSE 70 NAMES.

THOSE 70 FOLKS REPRESENT PEOPLE FROM THE 50’S, 60’S, AND UP TO 1975 WHO CONTINUE CIVIL RIGHTS WORK BEYOND AND BEFORE THE KING FAMILY MADE THEIR HISTORIC STOP AND FOUNDING IN BOSTON.

MR.

MASSO, WHO ARRIVED AS A YOUNG PERSON IN THE 70’S IN BOSTON, HE HAS BEEN AN ICON AND VOICE OF OUR CITY.

WHEN WE THOUGHT ABOUT BOSTON’S BLACK COMMUNITY, IN A RECENT REPORT WE COMPLETED, TALKED ABOUT BOSTON’S EXPANDING BLACK COMMUNITY.

PEOPLE HAD SAID BOSTON’S BLACK COMMUNITY IS TINY, BUT IN FACT IT IS NOT.

OUR BLACK COMMUNITY IS GROWING BECAUSE OF THE GROWING AFRO LATINO FOLKS WHO HAVE EXPANDED THROUGHOUT ROXBURY, DORCHESTER, MATTAPAN, MILTON, AND WE WANTED TO HONOR THAT TRADITION DURING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH AND CELEBRATE MR.

MASSO’S 50 YEARS OF HIS RADIO SHOW.

THIS SECOND YEAR WILL BE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS SHOW.

>> WITH EMBRACE, NOT ONLY WITH EMBRACE MASSO, BUT ALL THE WORK EMBRACE BOSTON DOES, YOU ARE A DRIVER OF CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THIS CITY.

HOW DO YOU HOPE THAT IS REFLECTED IN THIS EVENT?

>> THERE ARE SO MANY AMERICAN STORIES THAT ARE NOT TOLD.

WE ARE ON THE EVE OF OUR COUNTRY’S 250TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

AND BOSTON IS ONE OF AMERICA’S STORYTELLING CITIES.

YOU HEARD THE STORY OF PAUL REVERE’S HISTORIC RIDE.

WE KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST MARTYR OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

BUT OUR CITY HAS SO MANY FIRSTS.

IT ALL DID NOT START IN 1776.

WE WANTED TO BE PART OF TELLING THOSE AMERICAN STORIES, AND WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AND SOUND LIKE AND TASTE LIKE THE STORIES OF OUR CULTURES, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AMERICAN STORIES.

NOT ALL OF OUR AMERICAN FOUNDING STARTING IN 1776.

WHILE SOME OF HER FOUNDING STORIES ARE HERE, THEY DID NOT GET TO BE TOLD.

>> IN SOME CASES THEY ARE BEING ERASED.

>> WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WITH ALL OF EMBRACE’S WORK, EVEN WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE KING STORY, IF YOU ASKED THEM WHERE DID DR.

AND MRS.

KING MEET, THEY WOULD HAVE SAID ATLANTA OR ALABAMA.

IN FACT, THEY MET IN BOSTON.

PEOPLE DID NOT EVEN KNOW THAT.

THAT STORY WAS ERASED.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE BOSTON BIPOC STORIES ARE NOT ERASED AND THE STORY OF BLACK AND LATINO BOSTON, THOSE STORIES SHOULD NOT BE ERASED.

IN AMERICA’S OLDEST PUBLIC PARK WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT STORY IS LOUD AND CLEAR.

>> DO YOU THINK DR.

KING AND CORETTA SCOTT KING EVER DANCED SALSA TOGETHER?

>> MAYBE NOT SALSA, BUT THEY WERE A BLACK COUPLE WHO WERE IN LOVE.

THEY WERE A FAMILY, THEY RAISED CHILDREN TOGETHER.

THEY GOT DOWN.

WE HAVE PICTURES OF IT.

WE GOT TO SPEAK WITH SOME OF THEIR KIDS WHO ARE GROWNUPS.

WHILE THEY MAY NOT HAVE DANCED SALSA, YOU WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DANCE SALSA IS PEOPLE JOIN US.

>> YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS A AFRO LATINO CULTURE AND LATINO CULTURE AT LARGE.

SO OFTEN IT IS EASY TO FORGET WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE DIASPORA THAT AFRO LATINO PEOPLE ARE INCLUDED IN THAT.

HOW IS THAT REFLECTED IN THIS EVENT?

WHAT IS THE BRIDGE THAT YOU ARE MAKING BY HAVING THESE CULTURES SHARE SPACE IN THIS WAY?

>> SALSA HAS BECOME SUCH AN INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON.

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT COUNTRY YOU GO TO, THERE IS PROBABLY SOME SORT OF SALSA SOCIAL GOING ON AND PHENOMENAL DANCERS FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE.

MUSIC IS A LANGUAGE THAT SPEAKS TO ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HAITI AND HA ITIANS ARE ALSO LATINOS.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE COLOR, THE RAINBOW COLORS, THEY INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO ARE AS DARK SKINNED AS YOU CAN IMAGINE AND AS LIGHT-SKINNED AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.

THEY ALL BELONG IN THE SAME SPACE.

BUT THERE IS ALSO A CULTURE THAT IS INCLUSIVE.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IN THIS EVENT THAT HONORS THE LEGACY OF MR.

MASSO, THAT CELEBRATES HISPANIC CULTURE, HISPANIC AMERICAN CULTURE, THAT IT’S AN INVITING SPACE.

IT IS A FAMILY EVENT.

>> THIS IS COMING AT A REALLY FRAUGHT TIME IN OUR COUNTRY WHEN CULTURAL DIVERSITY IS NOT BEING CELEBRATED BY EVERYONE.

WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE RECENT SUPREME COURT RULING THAT IS ALLOWING THOSE RAIDS IN L.A.

TO RESUME, WHERE I.C.E.

IS TARGETING PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO LOOK LATINO, WHO HAVE A CERTAIN SKIN COLOR, CERTAIN FEATURES.

AND IT’S SCARY CONSIDERING WE ARE A CITY THAT HAS A HUGE LATINO POPULATION.

I FIRST WANT TO GET YOUR REFLECTIONS ON THAT.

HOW DO YOU STAND 10 TOES DOWN IN A TIME LIKE THIS?

>> I THINK THIS IS A TIME FOR ALL OF US TO BE VIGILANT.

I KNOW A LOT OF US HAVE NEEDED TO TAKE CARE OF OUR MENTAL HEALTH AND PRACTICE SELF-CARE, SO SOME OF US HAVE BEEN TUNING OUT, AND THAT IS NECESSARY.

YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AND SELF-CARE.

BUT WE ALSO NEED TO TUNE IN AND PAY ATTENTION.

WE’VE HEARD THE TERM BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BEING THROWN AROUND, NATURALIZED CITIZENSHIP.

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CAME ABOUT AS A RESULT OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT.

THE 14TH AMENDMENT GAVE FORMERLY ENSLAVED FOLKS CITIZENSHIP.

THAT IS MOST OF US, FOUNDATIONAL AMERICAN BLACK PEOPLE, WE COME FROM NORTH CAROLINA, THAT IS AN ISSUE THAT IS OF CONCERN TO BLACK AMERICANS.

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, 14TH AMENDMENT, THAT IS OUR AMENDMENT.

THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE THAT IS FAR AWAY, IF YOU IMAGINE THE STAR WARS WORDS COMING DOWN, IN A LAND FAR FAR AWAY OUT OF REACH THAT ONLY PERTAINS TO LATINOS OR PEOPLE THAT SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PERTAINS TO US TOO.ANY ATTACK TO ANYONE’S CIVIL LIBERTIES WITHOUT DUE PROCESS IS A PROBLEM IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

ANY TIME WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP IS A PROBLEM WHEN IT PERTAINS TO BLACK AMERICANS.

ALL OF US NEED TO PAY ATTENTION WHEN I.C.E.

OR ANY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN NOW PRACTICE LEGAL ARRESTS WITHOUT DUE PROCESS.

THIS IS POTENTIALLY OPENING THE DOOR TO A TYPE OF APARTHEID IN THIS COUNTRY, ONE THAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN A JIM CROW ERA WHERE YOU NEEDED PAPERS AND SOMEONE HAD THE RIGHT TO ASK YOU WHERE YOUR PAPERS WORK AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?

THIS GIVES THEM THE RIGHT TO JUST GRAB YOU, ANYONE WHO LOOKS LIKE THEY SHOULDN’T BE HERE WITHOUT DUE PROCESS.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE OF CONCERN TO ANYONE WHO CARES ABOUT DEMOCRACY, ESPECIALLY BLACK FOLKS WHO HAVE A LOT OF PRACTICE LEADING THE WAY IN CIVIL RIGHTS.

FOR US AT EMBRACE, WE ARE CONCERNED, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE TAKE SERIOUSLY.

>> IT HELPS HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT INTERSECTIONAL NATURE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING, NOT ONLY WITH THIS EVENT BUT EMBRACE AS A WHOLE.

YOU TALK A LOT ABOUT MULTICULTURALISM.

THIS IDEA THAT IF NONE OF US -- IF ONE OF US ISN’T SAFE, NONE OF US ARE SAFE.

WHAT YOU ARE EXPLAINING GETS TO THAT ROUTE, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE SEEN AFRO LATINO PEOPLE, THERE’S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENCE SOMETIMES BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE LOOK LIKE.

>> IT’S JUST A MATTER OF HOW THEY ARRIVE TO THE AMERICAS THAT THEIR NATIVE-LANGUAGE IS ENGLISH OR SPANISH.

THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE.

THERE WOULD BE NO WAY FOR SOMEONE TO DISTINGUISH IF YOU OR I WHO WERE BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA, FOR SOMEONE TO THINK THAT WE WERE LATINO.

LOOK AT OUR CURLY HAIR.

THEY COULD JUST GRAB US.

WHAT WOULD WE SAY?

NO, WE ARE FROM NORTH CAROLINA.

HOW FAR IS NOT GOING TO GET US?

THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALL BE CONCERNED ABOUT AND PAY ATTENTION AND TALK TO FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN LEADING THE WAY IN THE TYPE OF EFFICACY.

THERE ARE A LOT OF LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THE WORK, THINKING ABOUT OUR RIGHTS THAT ARE OUT THERE.

YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND CONNECT WITH FOLKS AT EMBRACE WHO COULD STEER PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED IN FURTHER WORK.

ANOTHER WAY YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IS BY LIVING YOUR LIFE, SHOWING UP TO EVENTS WHERE WE AS AMERICANS HAVE A RIGHT TO BE.

THE RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY IS ONE OF OUR RIGHTS AS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, AND WE SHOULD EXERCISE ALL OF OUR RIGHTS AS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.

WE SHOULD NOT STYMIE OUR RIGHTS.

PARIS: HOW DO YOU KEEP PEOPLE SAFE AS THEY ARE GATHERING IN PUBLIC?

>> WE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS OF A COALITION AROUND PROTECTION.

WE MET WITH MUNICIPAL LEADERS AND HAVE PAID CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON IN D.C.

AND CHICAGO AND L.A.

AND OTHER CITIES, AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CIVIC AND MUNICIPAL LEADERS HAVE DONE TO STAY SAFE.

THEY HAVE CREATED A ROADMAP AND A MODEL FOR US.

WE HAVE ATTEMPTED TO RECEIVE CIVIL RESISTANCE LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE FROM OTHER NATIONAL LEADERS AROUND HOW YOU CIVILLY EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS AND STAY LAWFUL.

NOW IS A TIME FOR US TO STAY LAWFUL, NOT GIVING ANYONE AN EXCUSE TO SAY THIS IS AN UNLAWFUL CITY OR PLACE, THAT IS THE EXCUSE TO SEND IN THE TROOPS.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE STAY WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE LAW, AND EXERCISE OUR RIGHTS AS CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF A PLACE.

FOR OUR EVENTS, WE HAVE HIRED SECURITY, BUT PEOPLE HAVE TO REMEMBER BOSTON IS THE SAFEST BIG CITY IN AMERICA.

WE ARE NOT A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE GO TO ACTIVATIONS IN PUBLIC EVENTS.

YOU KNOW HOW MANY BLOCK PARTIES AND BIG GATHERINGS WE’VE ALREADY HAD IN THE CITY WHERE PEOPLE HAVE NOT GOTTEN SHOT, STABBED, TRAMPLED?

TONS IN THIS SUMMER ALREADY ON THE FROM THE FAMILY REUNION TO THE CARIBBEAN PARADE TO THE BIG ONE THAT HAPPENS IN DOWNTOWN CROSSING, THERE’S SO MANY THAT HAPPEN.

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK, ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THIS CITY WHERE PEOPLE ARE SAFE IN BOSTON.

TO HAVE THIS TYPE OF ADMINISTRATIVE INTERFERENCE, IT’S IMPRESSIVE.

PARIS: IT SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT THE GATHERING IS A RESISTANCE.

THINKING OF OUR DEAR FRIEND AT THE BOSTON GLOBE WHO HEADS UP A BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE, BUT THINKING THAT JUST US EXISTING AND BEING IN THESE SPACES WHERE THEY WANT US TO BE INTIMIDATED AND AFRAID IS A RESISTANCE IN ITSELF.

YOU DO A LOT OF WORK AROUND MEASURING WHAT IMPACT ACTIVATIONS AND GATHERING HAS FOR US.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE IT WITH AN EVENT LIKE THIS?

>> THING THING -- THREE THINGS HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE GATHER.

NOT JUST EMBRACE’S EVENT.

I AM SIGHING BECAUSE IT SOUNDS SILLY THAT AN ORGANIZATION HAS THE IMPACT OF A PARTY, BUT WE DO.

PARIS: SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE HAVING THEM.

[LAUGHTER] >> NOT JUST IF THERE WAS A GOOD TIME OR THE FOOD WAS RIGHT.

PARIS: AND DID THEY HAVE SOME GOOD POTATO SALAD?

[LAUGHTER] >> WE DON’T MEASURE THAT.

PARIS: OUR FAVORITE THING TO EAT.

>> WE JUDGE THAT PART.

WHAT WE ARE MEASURING IS THE SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT OCCURS AT THOSE GATHERINGS, AND BONDING, BRIDGING, AND LINKING.

BONDING HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO WITH SOMEONE THAT YOU KNOW.

BRIDGING HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW SOMEONE AND YOU HAVE KIND OF HEARD OF THEM AND END UP LINKING WITH SOMEONE, AND LINKING HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE CONNECTING WITH SOMEONE OF DIFFERENT ECONOMIC CLASSES.

IT IS AN ECONOMIC CONNECTION THAT HAPPENS.

THAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME FROM THE OPEN STREETS PROGRAMS, THAT HAPPENS THROUGH THE CITY, TO THE NEW EDITION BLOCK PARTY THAT HAPPENS, TO THE ORGANIZED EVENTS THAT THE CITY CAN TELL YOU ALL THE PERMITS THAT ARE PULLED THIS SUMMER.

ALL TYPES OF THINGS.

THIS LEVEL OF PLACE MAKING AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, WE THINK ABOUT PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT THE OTHER THING THAT MAKES CITIES SPECIAL IS THE SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE VIBRANCY, THE CONDUCTIVITY, AND CARE FOR CITIES.

IN THOSE THREE THINGS HAPPEN WHEN THOSE ACTIVITIES AND GATHERINGS OCCUR.

THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE JUDGE, THE POTATO SALAD, THE VIBE, AND THE MUSIC.

WE JUDGE THOSE THINGS.

WE MEASURE THE OTHER THINGS.

>> THE EMBRACE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL IS A BEAUTIFUL EVENT, ONE OF MANY THAT EMBRACE BOSTON PUTS ON.

NEXT UP WE WILL HAVE THE HONOR MARIE -- THE HONOREE, JOSE MASSO HIMSELF.

STAY TUNED, THERE IS MORE GBH ROOTED AFTER THIS MESSAGE.

>> BUNKER HILL COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS INSPIRING DREAMS THROUGH UNITY ENGAGEMENT AND WORKFORCE PARTNERSHIPS.

LEARN MORE AT BHCC.EDU.

PARIS: NOW IT IS MY HONOR TO WELCOME A TRUE LEGEND, JOSE MAS SO IS THE LONG TIME HOST OF WBUR’S CON SALSA, TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR LATINO COMMUNITIES IN BOSTON.

THIS EVENT IS NAMED IN HIS HONOR AND WE GET TO HEAR FROM THE MAN HIMSELF.

WELCOME TO GBH NEWS ROOTED.

THIS EVENT BEARS YOUR NAME, EMBRACE MASSO.

DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?

DID YOU HAVE A PREMONITION ABOUT THIS?

JOSE: NOT AT ALL.

WHEN THEY PUT THIS FOR MY CONSIDERATION, I WAS BAFFLED.

REALLY, YOU WANT TO DO THIS?

THEY EXPLAINED WHY.

THE REASONING BEHIND IT MADE SENSE.

I’M HONORED AND THEY WOULD THINK OF ME IN THIS WAY, THAT THEY WOULD AMPLIFY MY ROLE AS BEING ONE OF THE FOLKS THAT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED IN THE FREEDOM PLAZA ALONG THE EMBRACE MONUMENT, AND THAT MY PROGRAM IS BEING HONORED IN THE WAY IT IS AFTER 50 YEARS ON THE AIR.

PARIS: TELL ME ABOUT WHAT HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH MEANS TO YOU PERSONALLY.

FOR ME IT IS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT BECAUSE WHEN I STARTED THE PROGRAM 50 YEARS AGO, I WAS A BILINGUAL TEACHER IN BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

MY WIFE RECENTLY SAID, THEY ARE CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF THIS COUNTRY, YOU HAVE BEEN 20% OF THAT HISTORY AS FAR AS DOING THIS PROGRAM.

IT STARTED DURING BUSSING IN THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

THE FACT THAT BUSSING WAS HAPPENING WHEN I FIRST STARTED TEACHING BILINGUAL EDUCATION TO KIDS, MOST OF THEM COMING FROM PUERTO RICO, JUST NAVIGATING FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS NEW LANGUAGE, GAVE ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY UPLIFT AND AMPLIFY OUR ROOTS AS A WAY OF GIVING THEM A STRONG SENSE OF IDENTITY, SO THAT THE JOURNEY OF ASSIMILATING WHAT IT IS TO BE PART OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY WOULD BE SMOOTHER FOR THEM.

LATINO HERITAGE MONTH IS ONE IN WHICH WE GET TO CELEBRATE OUR CULTURE, OUR HISTORY, BUT ALSO ALL WE HAVE DONE FOR THIS COUNTRY FROM ALL PARTS OF SOCIETY, BE IT SERVING IN THE MILITARY, ACADEMIA, DOCTORS, LAWYERS, ENTREPRENEURS, WHATEVER WE HAVE DONE THAT HELPED THIS COUNTRY MOVE FORWARD, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO TO IN COMMUNITY.

THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL FOR ME.

PARIS: YOU HAVE SAID YOU ARE A PROUD AFRO PUERTO RICAN.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE BOTH OF THOSE IDENTITIES?

JOSE: I COME FROM A PROUD AFRO DESCENDANT FAMILY FROM PUERTO RICO, SO WE ACKNOWLEDGE I WAS PUERTO RICAN.

SAME TIME WE ACKNOWLEDGE OUR ROOTS WERE AFRICAN, THAT IS OUR RACE.

THAT IS WHO I AM AS A RACIAL FIGURE.

MERGING THOSE TWO THINGS, MY NATIONALITY BEING PUERTO RICAN, MY RACE BEING AFRO DESCENDANT, MEANT I HAD TO EMBODY WHAT THAT MEANT, AN AFRO DESCENDANT.

THAT MAKES ME PROUD OF THOSE ROOTS, PROUD OF THAT HERITAGE, PROUD OF EVERYTHING THAT REPRESENTS.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE I MODEL THAT.

I STARTED AS A TEACHER SO THAT MY STUDENTS WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE.

I AM AFRO DESCENDANT BUT ALSO PUERTO RICAN OR DOMINICAN OR HONDURAN, THAT THEY COULD FEEL PRIDE IN HAVING THAT NATIONALITY AND HAVING THAT RACIAL CONSTRUCT, AND AT THE SAME TIME FEEL THEY CAN BE PART OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY BECAUSE THIS GREAT COUNTRY REPRESENTS ALL OF THAT AS WELL.

PARIS: THINKING ABOUT ALL THAT EMBRACE MASSO AND CON SALSA REPRESENTS, HOW CAN MUSIC BUILD SOLIDARITY BETWEEN BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES?

JOSE: THERE IS A SOCIAL POWER IN MUSIC AND THE SPOKEN WORD, AND ART IN GENERAL.

THEY’VE ALWAYS SAID JAZZ IS THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE.

I THINK MUSIC IS THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE IN A SENSE THAT IT CONNECTS EVERYBODY.

WHEN I FIRST HEARD LATIN MUSIC, I WAS SIX YEARS OLD IN JAPAN OF ALL PLACES.

PARIS: WHAT?

JOSE: SIX YEARS OLD.

EVEN THOUGH I WAS BORN IN PUERTO RICO, MY FATHER WAS IN THE U.S.

ARMY, WAS TRANSFERRED TO PUERTO RICO.

WE HEARD A CUBAN BAND THAT WAS POPULAR AT THE TIME, MAMBO NUMBER FIVE AND ALL THESE SONGS.

WE WENT TO THAT CONCERT, I STILL HAVE THE PROGRAM.

AND THE AUDIENCE, MAJORITY WERE JAPANESE.

THE NEXT GROUP WERE AMERICAN SOLDIERS DRESSED IN THEIR UNIFORMS.

MY DAD TOOK MY MOM, BROTHER AND SISTER AND I TO THIS CONCERT.

IT WAS SO IMPACTFUL TO SEE THIS MULTI-DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE ENJOYING LATIN MUSIC BEING SUNG IN SPANISH OF ALL THINGS.

I THINK MUSIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE BRIDGE FOR DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES, CULTURES AND LANGUAGES NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.

YOU CAN GO TO JAPAN AND HEAR A JAPANESE GROUP SINGING IN SPANISH.

YOU CAN GO TO JAPAN AND BE A CUBAN PIANIST AND PERFORM, AND THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE THERE WILL BE JAPANESE AND WILL LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

I THINK MUSIC IS WHAT BRIDGES US TOGETHER.

IF YOU ADD ON TOP OF THAT SPOKEN WORD OF THESE GREAT POETS, THEN ART THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT, THEN YOU’VE GOT ALL THE INGREDIENTS TO CREATE A COMMUNITY AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME.

PARIS: BAD BUNNY IS DOING SO MUCH FOR THE NATION OF PUERTO RICO.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU TO SEE HIM RALLYING YOUNGER PUERTO RICANS, YOUNGER LATINOS, YOUNGER MUSIC LOVERS IN THE WAY THAT HE IS?

JOSE: I LOVE IT, BECAUSE HE’S USING HIS AGENCY AND HIS PLATFORM TO EDUCATE PEOPLE, TO INFORM PEOPLE, TO MOBILIZE PEOPLE.

EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT PUERTO RICO, AND THE SITUATION OF PUERTO RICO IS A COLONY OF THE U.S., INFORMING THEM IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ARE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING, USING THEIR AGENCY TO MOVE THE COUNTRY FORWARD, NOT TO WAIT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE TO MAKE IT MOVE.

THEY ARE DOING IT ON THEIR OWN.

HE’S USING HIS PLATFORM AS A WAY OF BRINGING PRIDE TO WHO WE ARE, BUT DOING IT IN A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FEEL LIKE WE CAN DO THIS, WE ARE NOT SUBSERVIENT TO ANOTHER GROUP DECIDING HOW WE WILL HAVE OUR FUTURE DECIDED FOR US, WE WILL TAKE THE REINS.

HE’S USING MUSIC IN ALL FORMS AND GENRES OF PUERTO RICAN MUSIC.

HE’S GOT TRAP, RAP, RIGATONI, FOLKLORIC MUSIC.

HE’S INVITED OTHER STARS TO JOIN HIM.

PARIS: PAYING HOMAGE TO ALL THIS MUSICAL LINEAGE.

JOSE: WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR FESTIVAL ON THE LAST DAY OF THIS.

WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO HERE IN BOSTON AS FAR AS FOUR DAYS OF FESTIVAL.

WE ARE DOING FRIDAY WITH LATINO HERITAGE MONTH FESTIVAL IN EAST BOSTON, THEN THE EMBRACE MONTH, THEN SALSA IN THE PARK IN CAMBRIDGE ON SUNDAY.

FOUR DIFFERENT CELEBRATIONS AS FAR AS PLACES, BUT THEY ARE ALL REPRESENTING THE CONNECTION WE HAVE, UN SOLO PUEBLO, ONE RHYTHM, ONE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR.

WE ARE CELEBRATING THAT WE ARE ALL COMING TOGETHER AS ONE COMMUNITY.

PARIS: I LOVE THAT.

BEFORE WE WRAP, I WOULD ASK IF YOU AND I CAN COME TOGETHER.

YOU MAY NOT BE BAD BUNNY, BUT I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO TEACH ME A FEW STEPS IF YOU WOULDN’T MIND.

LET’S DO IT.

CAN YOU SHOW ME A FEW BASICS?

JOSE: IF YOU HAVE CLAPPING, YOU HAVE RHYTHM.

READY?

[CLAPPING] PARIS: OKAY.

JOSE: THAT WILL KEEP YOU IN RHYTHM.

OUR STEPS WILL BE VERY BASIC.

ONCE THE MUSIC STARTS, I WILL HOLD YOU AND WE WILL DO SOME GOOD SALSA DANCING.

PARIS: I CANNOT WAIT.

CAN WE GET SOME MUSIC?

♪ HEY!

[LAUGHTER] JOSE: I’M GOING TO TURN YOU AROUND.

READY?

PARIS: OOH!

JOSE: THE OTHER WAY.

ONE MORE.

DO A LITTLE HIP SWING THERE.

HERE WE GO.

PARIS: I CAN DO IT.

JOSE: ONE MORE.

AND?

PARIS: AH!

[LAUGHTER] EXCELLENT.

[APPLAUSE] THANK YOU.

THIS HAS BEEN ANOTHER EDITION OF GBH NEWS ROOTED.

I’M PARIS ALSTON, AND UNTIL NEXT TIME STAY ROOTED, STAY RHYTHMIC, AND STAY TUNED.

♪ ♪