Photo By Cpl. Daniel Eddy | Command Sgt. Maj. Sal Katz Jr. (right), command sergeant major of Division Special...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD—Soldiers of 1st Armored Division, United States Division – Center, enjoyed food, music, and culture during a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Sept. 23 at Camp Liberty, Iraq.
When Soldiers first walked into the Camp Liberty Field House, they were immediately immersed into Hispanic culture with a diverse spread of food and Salsa music resonating in the air.
Dozens of displays lining the walls told stories of past Hispanic-American Soldiers who have earned the Medal of Honor. USD-C Soldiers in attendance also had the opportunity to loosen up by taking photos wearing authentic Hispanic attire.
“With all the food, the music, the smiles, the instruments, the photography and decorating the room, it’s almost like a party in my own backyard.” said Capt. Richard Ramos, environmental science and engineering officer with the 1st Armd. Div., and a Los Angeles native.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ezequiel Vasquez, division property book officer with 1st Armd. Div., and an El Centro, Calif., native, and Spc. Terie King, an administrative specialist with 1st Armd. Div., and a Chicago native, silenced the room by singing and playing the guitar to a Hispanic love ballad.
“It’s a very important song to me,” Vasquez said about the love ballad. “It is so Mexico. It’s rich and such a nice song.”
Vasquez said sharing each other’s culture is one of the goals for these annual observances and he wanted to participate and share the love song with everyone, which has been handed down through his Family for years.
“They get to see us from the inside,” said Capt. Anselmo Hernandez, the division catholic chaplain with the 1st Armd. Div., and a New York City native. “They get to see us how we are. They get to feel the music. Because … this music, you don’t hear, you feel it. You get to see those who live it day-to-day, and get to see how it flows. If you are authentic, if you are living your culture the way it is meant to be lived, it will be felt and carried on.”
Hernandez said he enjoys learning about other Hispanic cultures because of their vibrancy and diversity and also likes to support the Soldiers who are of Hispanic descent. In addition, he likes seeing how receptive people are to each other’s cultures.
Hernandez said the main thing he wanted people to take away from his Hispanic heritage is how open Hispanics are to all people.
The guest speaker at the event, Maj. Eduardo Larumbe, an information operations planner with USD-C, and a Miramar, Fla., native, spoke about how important loyalty, one of the Army Values, is to him because of his Spanish roots.
“To belong to a Family carries honor,” Larumbe said. “We most definitely feel loyalty to our Family—Family first—but also being loyal to those who you serve for, regardless of whether it is the community or the country. These almost tangible things run deep in our ‘Hispanicity.’”
Ramos agreed and said many of the Army Values are embedded deep in his culture, which helped in his military career.
“It fits right in with the military,” Ramos said. “For me, the military life was not difficult at all because it was something I was already very familiar with [because of] my upbringing.”
Ramos said as a Hispanic officer, he felt compelled to represent what is possible for younger Hispanic Soldiers, and to be an example of what one can achieve.
“In everything that I do, or fail to do, I do feel I represent the Hispanic Soldier, the Hispanic gentleman,” he said. “What I try to do, is participate in each of the other [national heritage celebrations], I think each event is so much fun because I can show my fellow Soldiers that I admire them for their service and [show] my respect to them.
When I get a chance to host or organize an event, it’s a great pleasure to see, in the audience, a variety of folks that came out, and it’s a sense of tremendous pride.”
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2010 07:12 |
| Story ID: | 57166 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 10 |
This work, USD-C Soldiers celebrate Hispanic music, culture, by CPL Daniel Eddy, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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