Daphne Rubin-Vega to Be Honored at Medgar Evers College’s 15th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
Daphne Rubin-Vega to Be Honored at Medgar Evers College’s 15th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
Tony-nominated actress/dancer to receive Hispanic Heritage Month Trailblazer Aware on Friday, October 6
(Photo by Michael Mansfield)
Daphne Rubin-Vega, a Tony Award-nominated actress/dancer whose work in the theater and in film includes major roles in Rent and In the Heights, is set to receive a Hispanic Heritage Month Trailblazer Award at an all-day, CUNY-wide Hispanic Heritage Month conference/symposium being held at Medgar Evers College on Friday, October 6.
Having made her mark on the stage and the silver screen starting with Rent back in 1996 and in subsequent productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Anna In the Tropics, the one-woman show Empanada Loca and the 2021 film adaptation of In the Heights, Rubin-Vega has proven herself to be an outstanding Latina who has striven to make an impact on the Latino community and our entire society. She has consistently spoke out for tolerance, acceptance and equity during the current climate of intolerance and racism in our country.
The conference/symposium will take place on Friday, October 6, 2023, at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The event is being co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies. Rubin-Vega will also be participating in the main panel, “Latino/a/x representation in the arts, media and entertainment industry,” that will be held at the Edison O. Jackson Auditorium from 5-6:30 p.m. Panelists will also include Sonia Rincón (Reporter for WABC), Nelson Denis (author of War Against All Puerto Ricans), and Raesha Cartagena (board director for Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of the Arts [PRIDA]).The award ceremony will follow immediately after.
Since starting her public career, Daphne Rubin-Vega has not shied away from playing challenging roles,” said Dr. Rosalina Diaz, chair of the Medgar Evers College Hispanic Heritage committee. “From the HIV-positive heroin-addicted Mimi in Rent to the queer larger-than-life hairstylist Daniela in In the Heights, Daphne has courageously represented intersectionality in all its forms. The Latiñe community is multifaceted and diverse, and her representation of our community beautifully illustrates that cultural reality. For the many ways she has pushed the boundaries of cultural representation during her entire career, we are honored to name her our 2023 Latina Trailblazer.”
As a Panamanian immigrant, Rubin-Vega has endured and succeeded through numerous struggles including losing her mother when she was still a teenager. Her triumphs serve as inspiration for young people seeing and hearing from someone who looks like them.
“The Hispanic Heritage Month Trailblazer Award means that people who look like me are paying attention and it means that there’s an optic on what I do that can serve to remind you that you’re here too,” Rubin-Vega explained. “It also reminds me that I did not roll off a log and get here. I’m getting an award that recognizes the obstacles that I’ve had to deal with. The untrodden and unpaved roads that we’ve had to walk.”
Other highlights of the “Latina/o/x Voices: Transforming the Academic Landscape Symposium” include a documentary film festival to be held at the EOJ Auditorium running from noon to 3 p.m. featuring screenings of La Operación, Pa’lante, Siempre Palante!, and The Borinqueneers. Additional panels include Supporting Marginalized Latine Students in Higher Education, Decolonizing Education: Stepping Out of the Shadows of Marginalization, and Perspectives on Latinidad: Insights from Emergent Research at the CUNY Graduate Center.
For Rubin-Vega, the fact that this award is coming from Medgar Evers College carries special meaning for her.
“The fact that it’s Medgar Evers—an institution with the name Medgar Evers on it is particularly powerful because Medgar Evers was a solid example of someone who walked his talk and it cost him his life,” she said. “Just the proximity to his name is a high honor.”
Media Contact: David Gil de Rubio | DGildeRubio@mec.cuny.edu | 718.270.6193
About Medgar Evers College
Located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Medgar Evers College offers both associate and baccalaureate degrees. A four-year college within the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Medgar Evers College was established in 1970 with a mandate to meet the educational and social needs of the Central Brooklyn community. In its commitment to providing students with a sound academic foundation as well as an opportunity for personal development, Medgar Evers College offers high-quality, professional, career-oriented undergraduate degree programs in the context of a liberal arts education. For more information, visit www.mec.cuny.edu.
