From the Publisher:
Victor Jaen Delgado Bonilla delivered this message to his classmates at Metropolitan State University of Denver a few weeks ago. The message is still relevant as Bonilla shares the emotions of a young adult experiencing the world of politics, immigration and education in the country.
Buenas Tardes,
Mi nombre es Victor Jaen Delgado Bonilla, tengo 25 anos, y estoy muy agradecido en recibir el premio de el Espiritu de Aztlan.
I am privileged to be earning a college degree, in physics, an industry not many Latinos go into. In 2022, 10,000 undergraduate physics degrees were given and 5 percent of those were Latinx in the United States. That’s 500. I am most excited, and grateful to be up here and have the honor to be able to stand up here and talk to this year’s Latinx class of 2025. Huge shouts out to the Bells all the way to Westwood. Growing up, it was places like these that grounded my feet while my head was in the clouds. I am the culmination of years of experiences learning on the street as well as in the classroom.
It is hard to be happy and celebrate. When for the past several months, I have had to be on guard. To date, according to Colorado Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, over 40,000 of our undocumented brothers and sisters have been either detained or deported by ICE. There have been people we love who have had their visas revoked, removed from homes and sent to detention facilities in other countries. Some of our families were escaping persecution in our home countries only to be persecuted in the place we deemed a sanctuary, a clean slate. Although I received my citizenship in early December (thankfully), that still doesn’t remove the anxiety for the well-being of my family members who are trying every day to better themselves.
MSU, is likely the only institution in Colorado to have ceremonies for marginalized communities like this one we have here. In addition to this, we have to come into spaces in higher education that were not made for us, but we continue to do what countless generations before us have done; prevail. We have to be more determined, sharper, then ever before, likely, it will come with 10X more pressure, 10x more stress, anxiety and determination. We must work 10x as hard to receive the same accolade than someone who thinks it is rightfully theirs.
You do not have to look hard towards those in power to acknowledge that they are trying their very best to remove our roots. I say to you, stand tall and stand strong, be loud and be just. They will cut, burn, blow, tear us apart; but we are no strangers to adversity, since the start of this country, they have tried everything in their power to remove us from the land that was once ours. We are still here and will continue to be here.
Every person here today receiving their college degree is an anomaly. You should all be proud of what you have accomplished today. We are participating in institutions that were built to keep us at bay; look at us now, becoming our ancestors’ wildest dreams. For those who are graduating in the coming years; stay strong, life has and will continue to throw trials in your way that will test your will. We’ve had to put countless hours in limited time and given up so many things to be able to be up here in this moment. Most of us have been conditioned to believe in luck as a probability, but I believe that luck is when persistent work meets opportunity.
I want to say I didn’t make it up here alone. Thank you to Dr. Avery, John Martinez and Dr. Dove, since the start of this journey, I wondered what the hell I am doing in this field full of physicists; knowing a similar experience, guided me and pushed me, seeing something in me that I didn’t see in myself. Instilling knowledge in me I never thought I would be able to interpret. But I’ve done quantum mechanics daily for the past two years now. There was a rule in quantum mechanics that says anything that is not forbidden can/will happen. Getting our degree can and did happen.
Thank you to my closest friends, Christian, Alan and Isaiah. Christian, Alan, seeing you guys become Engineers, Architects didn’t fill me with envy, but full of joy and a determination to become successful; and soon be able to spot you guys for all those beers. Isaiah, I have been next to you in your path the entire time since 6th grade, and the way you handle your trials and after everything not quit, only motivated me more. To my family, I do not know how I can show thanks for supporting me throughout this time other than getting this degree. Although I may not know how to connect a sprinkler system in the backyard, I hope this degree and my knowledge I have gained in physics can help us in making it. Wherever that is, I’m not sure, I just know that this degree was the right step. There would be no Victor el fisico, without my mother giving birth to me, my father teaching me a mistake doesn’t define a person, but how they come back up. And to my siblings for laying the groundwork for me to be here today. Checking my ego daily.
I heard a quote once, being in places like these, pressure doesn’t exist, going back home waiting in line to cross the border, you see these men with candy, one comes up and says, my candy is the sweetest you’ll ever have, buy my candy, another man comes up and says my candy is the healthiest candy here, another comes up and says nobody else in the Puente has this candy; one of these men will have enough to bring food back home, the others will not. That is pressure, that is real life. So, if you are ever feeling pressure, don’t scare away from it, enjoy it, because it is a privilege to feel pressure. I too live in constant fear of the west descent into fascism, I digress, there’re smiles on the faces, laughter in the air, courage in the drinks.
There is much pain in this world, but not in this room; be proud, be safe and celebrate your incredible accomplishment. Once again, gracias, que viva la raza, viva el imigrante y viva la oportunidad.
