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One of the very few Hispanic American faces at the RNC is Senator Ralph Alvarado from the Kentucky Legislature. He has been in service to the people of Senate District 38 since 2015, and his father is from Costa Rica. On Wednesday night, he spoke at the Convention and mention his Costa Rican roots:
From the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, the home of horses, bourbon, coal, bluegrass, and the finest people on earth, allow me to express my sincerest appreciation and gratitude for the privilege of addressing this assembly.
I am proud to stand before you tonight as the first Hispanic member ever elected to the Kentucky General Assembly. But, the road here was not an easy one. Three failed political runs were lonely at times and full of adversity. But, with a lot of determination, grit, and hard work, I triumphed.
Everything I am and have achieved, I owe to God and my parents. My father was a proud legal immigrant from Costa Rica, my mother from Argentina. Being the son of immigrants, I saw firsthand their sacrifice to provide our family a better life.
I watched their struggle in mastering a second language and their strong and quiet commitment to hard work. We didn’t have the luxuries that other families had, but what my parents did give me was family structure, discipline, support, high personal expectations, love and faith in God. They were Hispanic, they were Americans and they were very proud of being both.
They understood the value of preserving our culture and our language, but also the value of an education and instilling a pride and love for our country.
Like most immigrants, they understood that their sacrifice would not provide them immediate success, but the reward would be in the opportunity and success of their children and grandchildren.
But, this story is not unique to my family; it is the story of many legal Latino immigrants who come to America. At their core, Hispanics believe what Republicans believe: traditional family values, church, faith in God, the dignity of work, and the opportunity for self-sufficiency that comes from a free society and a limited government.
They have simple dreams that might seem mundane to the average American, but would sound familiar to our founding fathers and their core principles.
Some flee corrupt government leaders for the dream of liberty and freedom. Some flee crime and anarchy for the dream of safer communities for their families.
Some flee hunger and despair for the dream of opportunity, entrepreneurship, and abundance.
But, all leave their homelands for the dream of America – the place where if you work hard, study hard, and obey our laws, you can accomplish anything.
Over the past eight years, our President and his apprentice, Hillary Clinton, have talked about that American dream, but they have absolutely no idea how to protect it, foster it, or expand it. Today, we have a President who has not only failed to end racial tension, he has made us more divided than ever.
Today, we have a President who is itching to restrict our fundamental rights, such as religious liberty, the right to bear arms, and free speech.
Today, we have a President who has rejected honesty and transparency, lying to the American people over and over again: from Obamacare to the promise of immigration reform to Fast and Furious to phone record spying to an IRS enemies list to green energy crony bankruptcies to Benghazi – to the VA scandal, to the Iran nuclear deal, the list goes on and on.
And, with Hillary Clinton, this eight year nightmare will get far, far worse.
Americans face an important decision. Do we want someone who is brutally honest (perhaps to a fault) or do we want someone who is brutally dishonest? It is not a decision about America moving left or right, but it is a decision about America going up or down.
By protecting the American dream, we can make America first again.
There is only one candidate who will protect it for our current and future generations.
The Senator ended his speech with a message to Latino voters delivered in reasonably fluent Spanish.
