Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much and we could not have had a better servant for the people than Commissioner Castro and I thank you for serving the people of this city. His journey here with his mother many years ago as a dreamer, who would have thought that he would become a commissioner that would be responsible for the future dreamers that arrived here.
We traveled together to Puebla, we traveled to El Paso together, we traveled to Colombia, we traveled to Ecuador, we traveled to watch so many who follow the same track that many of you have followed to come here in pursuit of the American dream.
And at the same time, it is required of you, if you're in this country, never to abandon your homeland. Mexico should always be in your heart and you should bring the culture, the food, the dance, the spirit, the entrepreneurship, all of the energy that you know from either your direct participation in Mexico or from your family and other members. And no one personifies that more than what Commissioner Castro has done.
He has been a constant companion during some of the most difficult times and God blessed him to be the commissioner during these times because his personal story allowed him to be personally committed to ensure that not only those who come from Mexico, but come from anywhere on the planet can go through an immigrant affairs agency and they get the support that they deserve. So great job, well done, thank you so much.
And during my days of borough president, I always hung out with my consul generals from Mexico. And the consul generals and their families bring so much energy to this city. And when you look at what the Mexican community has done, in every area you can think about, from education to healthcare, to construction, to food services, everywhere you look you see the presence of the Mexican community and it continues to grow and expand.
And let's turn that strength into political strength. Use your powers to ensure that you elect those who will represent you, not only verbally, but actually, bringing you a step closer and closer and closer to the city that you want.
And we cannot do it without public safety. Every event that I have of different cultural events, I always want to acknowledge the men and women of the law enforcement community who are here serving this city. They are your ambassadors.
When people question any immigrant group's arrival and participation in the city, you point to your law enforcement communities because they water the tree of freedom with their commitment and dedication.
And the mere fact they are willing to serve to put their lives on the line, that gives you the right to be a member of this great city. So, I want to thank my law enforcement community who's here this evening.
We had this celebration, I know it as the Day of the Dead. We had it at Borough Hall, and now we have it here at Gracie Mansion. It took 110 mayors before you were able to come here and celebrate something that's so important in your culture.
My mother died in 2021 while I was on the campaign trail. And I say it over and over again in the Bible that I read, it says absent from the body, present in the spirit. And you celebrate those who have transitioned from the physical to the spiritual. You come back and you celebrate them each year because this is a natural cycle of life. Death is more part of life than living because we all will die, not all will live.
And when you acknowledge that the mere absence of the physical presence does not mean the disappearance of the spiritual presence, you are giving honor to those who came before us. And we're not here on our own. We're here because of the great sacrifices from our loved ones. Our children, our parents, our aunties, our uncles, all those who have transitioned.
And when you do this celebration, it not only allows those of the Mexican community to celebrate, but the entire city to pause for a moment and reflect on the loss of their loved ones. So, I thank you. You grace us with your presence here in Gracie Mansion.
And everyone knows that New York City is the Mexico City of America. One of the largest populations that's here, particularly in the northern part of our country. And we want to continue to have you invest in families, invest in business, invest in education and children, and most importantly, invest in public safety.
And we want to congratulate our honorees and thank them for the work that they're doing. And I want to turn the program over to the staff. Thank you.
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