Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse Nightclub Massacre on June 12, 2016. It may contain sensitive and difficult to read content. Post written with narrator’s consent.
Zoe Colon is co-founder of Proyecto Somos Orlando and she is a director of the Hispanic Federation‘s chapter in the South East.
Zoe was supposed to go to Pulse on the the night of June 12, 2016. She had been doing voter registration and was supposed to do voter registration at the clubs. She and the canvases were all ready to go. Ricardo, a canvasser who had recently arrived from Puerto Rico called and he said that the club had advised that it was probably not a good night because Gay Days had just ended and it was going to be super packed. Zoe was upset. It would have been a great opportunity to even set up in the parking lot.
The next morning Nancy Rosado called and asked if Zoe had seen the news. Ricardo, the canvasser had decided to go on his own. He texted at 4 AM saying they should not go to Pulse. He had no shoes on and he was in someones car. There was a shooting and his credit card was still inn the club.
Co-workers from New York began to text asking if she was OK. The magnitude of what had happened hadn’t sunk in. Every radio was tuned to the news. The world stood still. As the names were published, she realized how many were Latino. Zoe decided to go to the Center. She spoke to Christina there about how Spanish speaking counselors would be needed. That is how it all started. There were people inn the club that night who were undocumented. Family might not come forward to file a claim for fear of deportation. She was concerned that people might be re-victimized if they were paired up with someone who did not fully understand them or empathize with them. Clergy could also do more damage than good. Nancy Rosado brought in an amazing wealth of knowledge and years of experience.
After the Center, she went to the Hampton Inn with Christina, and Nancy. Families up to this point had not been able to talk to anyone in Spanish. At least 10 people at the Inn wanted to help bring about advocacy. That night they called a press conference. It was held at the Hispanic Federation inn the court yard. There were about 60 people there. They wanted the Latino community to know the phone numbers they needed to call.
Somos Orlando started out as a hashtag. It means Latinos, Latin X, LGBTQ, we all are Orlando. This was a movement about not being invisible. She went to the Hispanic Federation and asked what could be dome to move things forward. The Federation has a relationship with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jennifer Lopez. They ended up creating a song which raised money for Somos Orlando. Things happened so fast. It was emotionally draining. Love Makes the World Go Round.
