RETIRE 21 CONTINUES TO MAKE NEWS

Bronx, NY: Who would of thought that from the small offices of the Latino Sports Ventures, Inc. (LSV), South Bronx CLUBHOUSE & Internet Hub the campaign to Retire 21 for Roberto Clemente would spread as it has been throughout the country?

Last week, both Julio Pabón, President of LSV and national coordinator of the Retire 21 campaign and Byron Hunter, Director of Media Services for LSV, both co-producers of  The Legacy of 21, a film highlighting the virtues of Clemente as told by countless other individuals were interviewed for BronxNet TV cable program. They both were interviewed Miguel Perez, respected journalist and professor of journalism at Lehman College. The program, Bronx Journal is a program totally produced and directed by students as part of the course that professor Perez teaches. In addition, the students also publish a popular community newspaper, also called The Bronx Journal. Both the TV program and the newspaper reviewed and highlighted the film.

Two weeks earlier, Julio Pabón was interviewed for a soon to be aired program on V-ME TV, a new Spanish network on PBS that will feature national interviews of issues and people affecting the Latino community. Everyone on the set applauded the great work that Latino Sports has been doing to promote the Retire 21 campaign and gave the documentary, The Legacy of 21 “two thumbs up.”

The film, The Legacy of 21 has in essence become an organizing vehicle for the Retire 21 campaign something that was not planned, or intended by either of the producers. “When we began to think about the project we just wanted to highlight many of the thoughts that other people had on Roberto Clemente,” stated Byron Hunter in the Bronx Journal interview. “Our idea was that perhaps if we share much of the footage we had of many interviews with former and current players on Clemente that would help others understand a little more of who Clemente was beyond the baseball playing field,” added Julio Pabón.

However, the private viewing at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Tribecca Performing Arts Center in November and the recent premiere at the Hostos Community College Theater in the Bronx on February 15^th, 2007 demonstrated that the film has touched viewers with more than the usual entertainment scope, but rather with an added interest in knowing why has the #21 not been retired? Why not? Is the question most viewers have with a follow-up, “What can I do to help?

As a result, the campaign to Retire 21 and the Film, The Legacy of 21 are slowly making their way into different Latino communities helping to not only share information on Clemente, but also giving many Boricuas a reason to come together and Retire 21 Y YA!