NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) attends the raising of the Colombian flag at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Before I introduce the mayor, I want to ask for another round of applause for Alfonso,
00:10our emcee for today.
00:12Truly, I don't know anyone who's proudest to be both a Colombiano and a New Yorker,
00:17so thank you so much, Alfonso.
00:20I am now honored, es un privilegio, para introducirles, to introduce to you, the mayor of the city
00:27of New York, Mayor Eric Adams.
00:39Want to say hello to my fellow mayor, because only mayors know what we go through.
00:43You know, we are so proud to raise the flag of Colombia, of this, when you look at a hundred
00:51thousand strong, and the contribution the Colombian community continuously make to
00:57this amazing city, I have already decided that one of my retirement locations is going
01:05to be in Colombia.
01:06I don't know of a beautiful place to go and just spend your last years hanging out.
01:11You know, you mean so much to this city, and when you think about it, I want to thank my
01:17good friend, Council General Andres Mejia-Pizano, who's here as well, and as I stated, the mayor
01:23of Cali, who's here, Mayor Adair, you know, really proud to have you here in this city.
01:29Enjoy yourself.
01:30You got to go out to Jackson Heights, little Colombia, and spend a lot of time there, enjoying
01:34the beauty of this amazing community.
01:37We believe that we are the center of the Colombian community here in America.
01:42It means so much when you do an acknowledgement that 214 years of independence.
01:47You have been such an ally to our country, the role you have played for so many years.
01:53Even President Bill Clinton talks about the close relationship he had with Colombia during
01:58the days.
01:59And you have done so much for us as we deal with the migrants and asylum seekers shift
02:03that's taking place in our country.
02:05I know the roles that you play, and your power, your representation, small business, health
02:12care professional, what you do in public life, civil service, our law enforcement community,
02:18the men and women who wear the blue uniform and keep our city safe every day, a member
02:24from the Colombian community as well.
02:26So this is an important flag raising from the music, to your cuisine, to your belief
02:31in faith, to your belief in family, to your belief in public safety.
02:36Everywhere you look, all the way from little Colombia and Jackson Heights to right here
02:41at Bowling Green, we raise the flag because we raise the spirit of Colombia.
02:46Thank you so much for being a part of this great mission.
02:53Thank you, Mayor Adams.
02:54Un gran aliado de la comunidad.
02:58Now we want to invite to the stage Andres Mejia-Pizano, Consul General de Colombia en
03:05Nueva York.
03:06We want to invite to the stage Andres Mejia-Pizano, Consul General de Colombia en Nueva York.
03:21Mayor Adams, Commissioner Edward Mel Mustaine, Commissioner Castro, Alfonso Lopez, Arthur
03:31Picodo, Leonor Zalabata, Jonathan Jimenez, Taliana Vargas, Alejandra Eder, Alcalde Cali,
03:40Artistas Colombianos.
03:44As we gather here today in this historic site for the independence of the United States
03:49to celebrate our 214th anniversary, I want to keep it short because we're on heat alert.
03:55So I'm going to say mainly two things that I want to communicate today.
04:01First of all is gratitude.
04:03I think the feeling today is gratitude towards the authorities of NYC.
04:10From the head down to the ones who keep us safe and everybody in between.
04:17They have been generous to us.
04:20They have received us.
04:21They have honored the history of this city receiving immigrants.
04:26And we cannot be anything different but just grateful.
04:29Thank you for all that you do and for all that you help us with in our communities.
04:40I also want to talk a little bit about perspective in terms of what Colombia is in the world
04:46when you talk about biodiversity.
04:50And it's sort of what New York is in terms of human population and culture.
04:55You wake up here and you want to have for breakfast, I don't know, Vietnamese, you go
05:00across the street and you find it.
05:02Colombia is a little bit like that but in terms of nature.
05:06We are number one in orchids, number one in birds, number two in reptiles, in plants,
05:18number three, and it's so on and so on.
05:21Number four in mammals.
05:22Wherever you look at, from any angle, you're going to find one of the most biodiverse
05:27countries in the world.
05:30And the leadership of our authorities, including the mayor of Cali and the president of Colombia,
05:35has made it possible that this year we host the COP16, which is the most important convention
05:42that gathers leaders around the world to talk and work about this.
05:46To preserve life on our planet.
05:49So I want to take this opportunity to invite you all to join us to the COP16 this year
05:55and to help us conserve the life on our planet and our natural resources.
06:00Thank you very much.
06:01And now I'm going to switch to Spanish.
07:19So I'm going to switch to Spanish and then I'm going to switch to English and then I'm
07:39going to switch to Spanish.
07:43And then I'm going to switch to English and then I'm going to switch to Spanish.
08:03We're going to start the flag raising ceremony now.
08:23Ask the folks to remain where they are so that everybody at home can see the ceremony
08:27with the camera and that all of you can see the ceremony from where you are.
12:48Thank you so much.
12:56I love you forever.
13:01I'm glad.