The University of New Mexico

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Contact: Carolyn Gonzales 277-5920

cgonzal@unm.edu

Oct. 13, 2006

De Colores Announces ‘Unsung Heroes'
Awards to be presented at banquet tomorrow

De Colores, Inc., hosts the 14th Annual Hispanic Culture Festival banquet, Saturday, Oct. 14 from 6-9 p.m. in the University of New Mexico Student Union Building ballroom. A dance will follow from 9 p.m. to midnight. “Unsung Heroes,” the theme of this year's celebration, will be awarded to individuals in lifetime leadership, grassroots, government, education, humanitarian, student recognition and a posthumous award.

Lifetime Leadership Award

Manuel T. Pacheco, Ph. D., president emeritus, University of Missouri System, will receive the lifetime leadership award from De Colores, Inc., at Former New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya was the nominator.

Pacheco will be honored for his commitment to education and to serving people, as evidenced by recently accepting the appointment of interim president of his alma mater, New Mexico Highlands University, while the Board of Regents undertake a search for a permanent President.

Pacheco has never forgotten his roots in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado nor has he forgotten the contribution that Highlands made in helping prepare him for his extraordinary future. After his many major accomplishments, Pacheco returned in 2004 to help the Highlands Board of Regents write a strategic plan for the university with a mission of making NMHU the foremost Hispanic Serving Institution in the country.

Pacheco was born May 30, 1941, in Rocky Ford, Colorado. The oldest of 12 children, he was raised on a farm in northern New Mexico. His parents valued education and ensured that he and his siblings received the best education possible. His mother returned to earn a degree after making sure her children had theirs.

Pacheco holds a bachelor's degree from New Mexico Highlands University , attended the Universite de Montpellier in France as a Fulbright graduate fellow, and holds a doctorate from Ohio State University.

Prior to his retirement in 2003, Pacheco was president of the four-campus University of Missouri System.

Education Award

Mary J. Lovato was born and raised in Gila, NM. She attended Cliff High School and Western New Mexico University in Silver City, NM. There she met and married Delfin Lovato and moved to Northern New Mexico in 1966. She put her educational goals on hold while raising a family.

In 1981, with urging and support from her family, she went back to college to accomplish a lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. In 1983 she graduated cum laude from the College of Santa Fe and started her teaching career. She has been teaching for 25 years, the last 24 teaching fourth grade at San Juan Elementary with the Espanola School District . In 1991 she was selected to participate in the Summer Institute on Children's Literature in Spanish in Madrid, Spain, sponsored by the New Mexico State Department of Education.

At San Juan Elementary, she coordinated the school's annual Spelling Bee in both English and Spanish. She also coordinates the school's fourth grade dance group with the National Dance Institute of New Mexico.

“I have always felt that to be a really good teacher, you must genuinely love children. Your heart will guide you through the rest, it's that simple,” Lovato said.

Humanitarian Award

Elba Saavedra, Ph.D., is director of the Comadre a Comadre Project, a community-based project committed to empowering Latinas by providing resources and support about breast health and breast cancer. She is co-founder of Caminando Juntos, a cancer support group for Hispanic cancer survivors and their loved ones. Saavedra received the 2006 Governor's Award to Outstanding New Mexico Women and was inducted into the New Mexico Commission's Hall of Fame of Outstanding Women. She also serves on the Governor's Women's Health Council.

Arts Award

Working Classroom, a non-profit organization with a diverse community of student and professional actors, artists and writers, provides developmental opportunities for historically overlooked communities.

Government Award

Jerry Romero was born and raised in Chimayo, NM. He earned an associate's degree in electrical engineering and is employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Chemistry-Physical Chemistry and Science Division. He has been involved in Habitat for Humanity Espanola Valley and Los Alamos, Chimayo Boys and Girls Club, Chimayo Teen program, crime prevention, Big Brothers Big Sisters and others. He is a single parent to two sons, both of whom are studying at UNM.

Grassroots Award

Genevieve Jaramillo-Padilla has a bachelor's degree in family studies and master's in education, both from UNM. Formerly a teacher at CNM, she is now lead organizer for Albuquerque Interfaith, an Industrial Areas Foundation program. She has been dedicating her time to organize community members in Albuquerque 's Westside and South Valley around issues affecting those communities.

College Student Awards

Vanessa Garcia, a UNM senior majoring in marketing management, is a founding sister of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc, and currently serves as president. She is a member of the Hispanic Business Student Association and plans to pursue an MBA after graduation.

Sebastian Iriart is working toward a bachelor's in political science at UNM. He is a KUNM volunteer at Raices Colectivas, Sin Fronteras Movie Night and the Progressive Action Coalition.

Eric Garcia is a UNM senior who uses his cartoon work to get people talking about political issues. He illustrates his views in what he terms, “comic-book baroque.”

High School Student Award

Gabriel Santistevan is a Rio Grande High School sophomore in Albuquerque . He is ranked 31 out of 518 students and has maintained a 3.96 GPA. Following high school, he plans to attend UNM to earn a degree in pharmacy.

Posthumous Award

Beverly Gene (Waddell) Garcia, (Sept. 24, 1923 - July 5, 2005), was born in the midst of a cyclone in Erick, Okla., and stirred up dust all her 82 years. Her father gave her middle name the masculine spelling “Gene,” so her initials would match his. They ended up being a lot a like.

Beverly grew up in Sayre, Okla., moving to Placerville, Calif., when she was a young teen. She never got past the 10th grade. Beverly and her parents worked in cafes and restaurants from San Clemente to Lake Tahoe . She eventually went to Western Union School in San Francisco, learning to be a teletype operator, which served her well for years. With three kids in tow, she followed her Texas-native husband to Ft. Worth in 1958 and landed a job with the Federal Aviation Agency. The job lasted – the marriage didn't. She got divorced in 1964 – a single, working mom with four of her five children still under her roof. But it was through her job at the FAA that she met the love of her life, Mike Garcia. When Mike got transferred to Albuquerque with the FAA in August of 1970, they thought it would only be for a year or so. Albuquerque was home for good- North Valley a particularly welcoming enclave for a Mexican and a ‘huera.'

Beverly became a passionate North Valley devotee; a founding member of the Mid-North Valley Neighborhood Association, the President of the La Luz Elementary School PTA, and in later years, highly active in the Village of Los Ranchos. Initially a passionate opponent of the Montano Bridge, her political realism, “if you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em” prevailed and she became an ardent advocate for the bridge, with the one caveat, that the “new” bridge remain one lane, each way. She wagged her finger at City Hall until the day she died for expanding the lanes, even invoking the ire of her Westside kids. Agreeing to disagree with Mayor Martin Chavez on the Montano Bridge, she retained her seat on the Mayor's Advisory Board for the Office of Senior Affairs.

Beverly was a lifelong, devoted, and active Democrat. She was a steadfast supporter of organized labor, a member of the hotel and restaurant worker's union at an early age in California. She remained active in Democratic Party politics all of her life, up until a few days before her stroke in April. She was a voice for improved public education, funding for the arts, universal health care, fair wages and equal rights.

In addition to political pursuits, she had a life ling affinity for literature, language, cooking and art. She sewed, quilted, studied and recited poetry, painted, gardened, cooked, canned and baked. She could not, however, make a decent piecrust. She spoke fluent Spanish, thanks to Mike Garcia, night classes at the public library and many trips to Mexico. She enjoyed years of camaraderie with De Colores and the Hispanic Culture Festival and helped the program grow year after year. She was flattered to be included in the organizing and securing of artwork for the festival each year – running down artists and hauling artwork all over town.

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