Latino Performers Promote Diversity In Schools
Comedian Ernie G’s audience Wednesday morning at Desert Hot Springs High School couldn’t get enough of him.
“If you grow up in a ‘barrio,'” he told them, “you will always have a little ghetto inside of you, right?”
It is a sensitive subject, but Ernie G’s audience got the joke.
“‘Ghetto’ means ‘fabulous,’ said student Gerardo Gradilla,
Other fabulous performers taking center stage included LaLa and Mark Guerrero. They came to school to spread some Latino pride and to empower students to go to college.
“The moment you graduate from college — the day you have your college degree — you instantly transform the perception that people have about the Latino community,” Ernie G told the audience.
Ernie G even took the word “ghetto” and made it into an acronym. According to him, “ghetto” stands for “Glorious Humanity Evolving Through Tough Ppposition.”
“I just think we need to transform our relationship to that word ‘ghetto’ and maybe take pride in the fact that we are survivors, and we make it happen,” he explained.
Some students believe more needs to be done in the Coachella Valley about changing people’s perceptions about their heritage.
“They [society] expect us to do less than what we’re worth, you know?” said sophomore Jaquilline Guerrero.
Next weekend, Sept. 18-19, the city of Palm Springs will be holding “Fiesta Days” at the O’Donnell Golf Course. With performers like Ernie G, LaLa and Mark Guerrero, Latino pride definitely will be something worth celebrating.
