By Jeremy Walsh
The event, sponsored by state Assemblyman Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights), the Latin American Immigrant Alliance and Center Care Health Insurance, takes place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, at PS 69 in Jackson Heights.It will include music and dancing as well as a panel discussion on whether the United States is ready for a woman president. Peralta said he sent an invitation to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the hopes that she would be able to answer the question.”We should be celebrating women on a daily basis,” Peralta said. “My mother raised the four of us by herself. Without her, I would not be here today.”Women play a central role in Latin cultures, but questions of equality or power can raise controversy, said Damaris Mone, spokeswoman for Peralta. Some Latina women are machistas, or supporters of the “macho” philosophy that women should be subordinate to men, she said.None of those women appeared to be at Novo Restaurant in Jackson Heights last week when Peralta and some of the panelists announced the celebration.Marytee Morelli, host of the local cable Dejando Hullas Show on Time Warner channel 827 and Cablevision channel 214, who will be the master of ceremonies for the March 29 event, said women play a fundamental role in society.”There's an old adage that behind every great man is a great woman,” she said. “It should be, 'Beside every man is a great woman.' “Peralta said women in his district are more likely to vote than the men.”In this area, 56 percent of votes come from women,” he said. “In some places it's as high as 70 percent.”Monica Gutierrez, a Peralta staffer, touted the screening of a documentary about a Latina woman whose jealous lover doused her whole body in acid, disfiguring her.”How does a woman come back from that?” Gutierrez said. But she said the subject of the documentary chose to become an activist against domestic violence.”It starts with very little,” she said. “A guy calls you stupid and you let it slide. You've got to hold on to your self-respect.”Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
