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Free Concert To Raise Census Awareness on Long Island, April 24

Posted April 5, 2010 by Ted Hesson

You’ve heard the reasons to fill out your 2010 Census forms: more cash for your community, better political representation, and funds for infrastructure projects, to name a few. But there are likely people in your life—family, friends, neighbors—who know less about the benefits of the census than you do.

Want to raise awareness about the ongoing count without sounding pedantic?

Invite someone to the “Be Counted, Represent” free concert, which will feature Pacha Massive, a bilingual cumbia/dub/funk/trip-hop band, and Los Reyes del Bajo Mundo, a socially minded Salvadoran hip-hop group. The concert takes place on Saturday, April 24, at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk County Community College.

Festivities will be hosted by Celines Toribio, a Domincan-born actress and TV personality who was one of People en Español’s top 50 most beautiful people in 2008. In addition to great music and a breathtaking host, attendees will be treated to a free $25 value iTunes card featuring free music and census information.

Scroll down for more information about the event, which will be organized by Voto Latino and sponsored by Long Island Wins. You can also visit the “Be Counted, Represent” Facebook page, where you can confirm your attendance, and start ~~stalking~~ chatting with other guests.

WHAT:
Official U.S. Census partner and leading Latino youth civic engagement organization, Voto Latino, will bring its “Be Counted, Represent” census initiative to Long Island with a special FREE concert. The event features leading Latin artists, participation from elected officials and partner organizations. The event will serve to motivate Latino youth to participate in the Census and talk to their friends and family about the importance and benefits of participation. All attendees will also receive a free $25 value iTunes card featuring free music and census information.

WHO:
PACHA MASSIVE
(critically acclaimed bilingual cumbia/dub/funk/trip-hop band that was recently MTV Tr3s’ “Artist of the Month”)

REYES DEL BAJO MUNDO
(Salvadoran-American hip-hop act with positive lyrics whose music has been featured on HBO’s
“Entourage” and many other TV shows)

Hosted by CELINES TORIBIO
(Dominican born actress, model, TV & radio personality and passionate community advocate)

Partner Organizations
Suffolk County Community College
Association of Latin American Students
Hagedorn Foundation
Long Beach Civic Association
Long Island WINS
NALEO
SEPA Mujer
Suffolk Community Council
Local Elected Officials
400 young Latino and American college students and fans who are motivated to “be counted” in the 2010 census

WHEN:
SATURDAY, APRIL 24TH, 2010
3:00PM (doors open at 2:30pm)

WHERE:
Van Nostrand Theatre
Suffolk County Community College (Grant Campus)
1001 Crooked Hill Rd
Brentwood, NY 11717

WHY:
Latinos comprise the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the country and in New York State. Long Island municipalities that fail to ensure a proper and complete count will lose millions of dollars in federal aid as the Census is used to distribute federal funding for a wide variety of programs including education, housing and transportation. As the nation’s largest minority, Latinos have been historically under-counted by the census for a variety of reasons, including a lack of bilingual information for Spanish speakers, mistaken fears of immigration raids and too few Latino census workers. Voto Latino’s Census initiative seeks to redress these issues by creating a powerful online media tool as well as a high profile, celebrity-driven national PSA campaign and on the-ground special events that inform and motivate Latinos to be counted.