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Emma González (L) and Edna Chávez (R), were two of the most powerful voices in the March for Our Lives, last Saturday, March 24 in Washington, D.C. EFE / EPA / JIM LO SCALZO
Emma González (L) and Edna Chávez (R), were two of the most powerful voices in March for Our Lives, last Saturday, March 24 in Washington, D.C. EFE / EPA / JIM LO SCALZO

Latinas lead the most powerful speeches at #MarchForOurLives

Edna Chavez and Emma Gonzalez gave two of the most inspiring speeches during the march that gathered thousands of people on the streets of Washington last…

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The new generation of voters in the United States has transformed itself into a solid mass of determined, skillful adolescents, fundamentally, exhausted of the way in which politics takes place in their country.

After the fateful shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, the phenomenon of student revolution known as "Never Again" has brought to the table the true colors of a society that is not represented by conventional debates.

Last Saturday, the whole world could see their faces and understand the magnitude of their struggle, when between artists and singers, the real protagonists were young people of all races, from all backgrounds but with only one mission: to make politicians understand that "Enough is enough!"

Yolanda Renee King (granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr.), Mya Middleton (a 16-year-old student from Chicago), Cameron Kasky and David Hogg (survivors of Stoneman Douglas) and Naomi Wadler (11-year-old student who spoke on behalf of the African-American women victims of gun violence), were some of those who made the audience vibrate with their incredible speeches, as the national and international media reported.

But at a political moment in which a president and his administration insist on dividing and establishing mechanisms against the immigrant and colored community, two young Latinas marked a milestone during the demonstration.

Emma Gonzalez, known since the beginning as one of the organizers and spokespersons of the student movement, took the stage with her usual appearance - between torn pants, her shaved head and a jacket that showed the Cuban flag - and said: "In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured, and everyone, absolutely everyone in the Douglas community, was forever altered."

González hinted at the brevity in which the lives of young people in the country can change, especially when it comes to violence-led events. Making one of the longest silences in public speeches in the country, Gonzalez made her point very clear.

"Since the time I came out here, it has been six minutes and twenty seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape and walk free for an hour, before arrest," she concluded. "Fight for your life, before it's someone else's job."

Also, and as reported by Vox, a 17-year-old girl took the stage, made the sign of the cross and said in perfect Spanish: "Hola, Buenas tardes." It was Edna Lizbeth Chavez, a 17-year-old senior student from South Los Angeles, who spoke passionately to the public about her experience.

"I am a young leader. I'm a survivor. I have lived in the South L.A. my entire life, and I have lost many loved ones to gun violence," she explained. "This is normal. Normal to the point that I have learned to duck from bullets before I learned to read."

Chávez shared the story of her brother killed by a gunshot wound and even managed to get the entire crowd to chant his name: Ricardo.

At opposite ends of the national territory, these two Latinas have become leaders and symbols of a country that recognizes its heterogeneity and has united to mark the beginning of what is envisioned as a revolution.

As Omar Porcayo wrote in his column for Barrio (in Spanish): "Edna Chavez and Emma Gonzalez embody the worst nightmares of the stagnant American 'status quo'. They are young, they are Hispanic and they are not willing to give an inch for their rights."

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