Disgrace At Gracie Mansion

Oh, Mayor Bloomberg, surely you can do better than this. When I received the invitation to attend a reception at Gracie Mansion to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I thought I would finally have a chance to see the inside of the historic mayoral residence. Alas, I and hundreds of others were feted instead under an outdoor tent, and I was left wondering if all cultural celebrations held at Gracie Mansion are so meaningless and condescending.

A mariachi band greeted the arriving guests as they lined up to register and pass the security check. I had sent in my RSVP as requested, and my name thankfully was on the guest list. I was then handed what looked like a postcard, which I was to fill out with my address. I was told this was for my picture with the mayor. What the heck was this, I wondered?

Nevertheless I filled out the card and slipped it into my coat pocket. I passed a group of beautiful young children, in native dress representing Central and South American countries, who smiled prettily and posed for pictures. Oh how cute someone thought this would be. Now let me guess, how long has it been since I got out my mantilla and castanets?

FYI: Hispanics rarely, if ever, dress like that anymore, unless they're in Miss Universe pageants.

I worked my way up to the crowded tent, which offered several tables serving drinks. I noticed some servers passing through the crowd with hors d'oeuvres, but the room was so packed with people that I never did get close enough to see what was being offered.

The invitation had said the reception would be held between 5:30 and 7 p.m., and I wondered if there would be a program or something other than free drinks and inaccessible finger food. I asked one gentleman who was wearing a tuxedo about this, and he said he didn't speak English. He was a Spaniard from Galicia and was as befuddled as I was about what was happening. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, and around 6 o'clock the mayor - or, as the gentleman called him, "el Alcalde" - arrived. Mr. Bloomberg moved to the front of a long line of guests waiting to have their picture taken with him.

My new friend and I watched as the mayor stood in front of the photographer. An assistant took the white card from the guest and slipped it into some device that would keep track of each photograph. The mayor then posed with each guest.

Smile.

Snap.

Next.

The line moved rapidly, and the Spanish man shook his head and said, "Todo es politico."

I'll say: All is politics. And no way was I going to get in line. I haven't waited in line to have my picture taken since I sat in Santa's lap in Macy's umpteen years ago.

There's always the possibility that I left too early and something of substance occurred later. If I've been hasty, I apologize, but I'm not quite sure what the purpose of such events is. Will a photograph with a public official guarantee a vote on Election Day? If politics is not the raison d'etre for these invites, and if the mayor desires to make a real connection with the Hispanic community, wouldn't it be wiser and less expensive to invite community leaders to a more intimate gathering to discuss the important issues like education and crime?

A reader recently suggested dubbing me "a new Michelle Malkin." I responded by answering that I'd rather be known as a Latina Thomas Sowell. My correspondent then took me to task for calling attention to my ethnicity. He remarked that neither Mr. Sowell nor Ms. Malkin feels any need to do that. He seemed to think that I was eager to hold on to some cultural identity. How very wrong he is.

I happen to be an American. I was born here in New York, and that is my identity, but since I am still in the midst of dispelling the stereotype that my face and my last name conjure, it may take some time for others to see me as just that. Wednesday evening at Gracie Mansion reminded me how far I and other Hispanics still have to go.

Meanwhile, I'd like to know who came up with the idea of hyphenating Hispanic, African, or any ethnic group before the cherished word American. Instead of holding multicultural events celebrating any ethnic group, the mayor should be doing what he can to help the citizens of this great city just become better Americans.