Alexis and Fido polished up their English and their political knowledge to become Latino spokespeople at the event “Hip-Hop Team Vote: Turn Up The Vote,” which will take place next Sunday in Philadelphia.
This activity, which will take place in the Liacouras Center Arena at Temple University, was organized by the Hip-Hop Research and Education Fund (HREF), PowerPAC, and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) with the goal of motivating young people to exercise their right to vote in the Democratic primary, two days after the event, between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The initiative has emerged as “motivation for change,” according to Los Pitbulls, who participated in a similar campaign in Puerto Rico, “Vota o quédate callao” (“Vote or be quiet”), inspired by lines from their song “Cinco letras” (“Five Letters”).
“It isn’t about telling Latinos who to vote for. Rather, we want to motivate them to vote for whoever they see as the better candidate. The important thing is that by choosing they make known what they think,” said Alexis, who personally did not wish to ally himself with any candidate specifically.
However, Fido declared himself an Obama supporter impressed by the Senator’s oratory ability. “I have seen all the debates on CNN, and I admire him. He managed to convince me, and I feel that he can move the masses with his leadership ability. I’m not going to officially endorse him during the event, because the important thing there is to transmit a clear message of the importance of voting.”
Both Alexis and Fido, who will participate in several discussion panels, agreed that this type of event has the ability to reach young people in a “more real and direct” way, due to the speakers being people who “came up from below.”
“I have lived and worked for four years in Philadelphia, and I never voted because I didn’t know. That is why I want to stand there and tell everyone what they can do with their vote, because now I know what it means,” said Alexis, adding that the power of the event will be “undeniable,” because “young people value much more the words of someone who came up from below and has succeeded than some guy who comes and sits down to talk wearing a suit and tie. All of us who will speak there are real people who came up from below.”
The event, “Hip-Hop Team Vote: Turn Up The Vote”, which will took place on April 20, included artists such as Ciara, Mike Jones, Flo-Rida, Jim Jones, Rich Boy, and Russell Simmons, among others.
Simmons, who publicly endorses Obama, left his position as the president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network until after the 2008 elections to protect the integrity of the organization.
For the occasion, the radio stations Clear Channel Power 99 and Radio One 100.3 the Beat joined forces on the day of the primary, April 22, to transmit what happened at the event.
