Guest Speaker: Carmen Colon-Brown

I enjoyed hearing from Pastor Carmen Colon-Brown this morning and getting her firsthand perspective on Latino culture, both as a Latina herself and in her capacity working with the local Latino community.  One of the questions that has arisen in the course of the week regarding Esmeralda Santiago's When I Was Puerto Rican is "Are these experiences and perspectives an accurate and/or representative example of the Latina experience?"  Pastor Colon-Brown demonstrated on many levels ways in which the events of her own life allow us to answer that question in the affirmative.  The examples she imparted pertaining to her own background and experiences provided many specifics that I find useful in broadening my own understanding of the local Latino community.  While I've gained a great deal of insight this week through some of the more philosophic discussion, I find the practical knowledge will likely be of even more use.