By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Latino journalist Abelardo King received the city’s coveted Hispanic American of the Year award at the seventh annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration on Sept. 19.
During a midday ceremony on the steps of City Hall, Mayor Dorinda Borer and the West Haven Hispanic American of the Year Alumni Committee honored King, a native of Samaná, Dominican Republic, for his community commitment and cultural pride.
The committee bestows the award annually on a Hispanic resident who epitomizes service in West Haven’s thriving Hispanic community.
On a day fit for a king, the award-winning journalist and longtime city resident celebrated his Dominican roots with dozens of friends and loved ones at the 35-minute event.
Along with descendants of folks from the Dominican Republic and Latin America, he was also joined by an array of West Haven and New Haven officials, West Haven employees and residents, and city and state leaders, including Rep. Bill Heffernan, D-West Haven, who presented King with an official statement from Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and a House of Representatives citation from the city’s delegation.
King has been a leading Latino journalist in Connecticut since moving to New Haven in 1992 and launching La Voz Hispana de Connecticut, a free weekly Spanish newspaper.
He humbly accepted the Hispanic American of the Year award by thanking elected officials and colleagues, including longtime business partner Norma Rodriguez-Reyes, who translated his remarks of appreciation to the crowd.
“I want to thank every single one that’s here today, especially our mayor from West Haven, Dorinda Borer, and all the members of the press that are here today,” King said. “This recognition for me has a very large significance, which constitutes not only as a recognition to me but to the many Hispanic communities that are here that have done a lot of support via businesses and different agencies.
“I arrived to West Haven in 2008, and for the first time, I am seeing the leadership here in West Haven that is a true leadership through my mayor, Dorinda Borer.”
King was born and raised in Samaná, a coastal town in northeastern Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola, bordering the Samaná Bay and the Caribbean Sea.
After graduating from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, he pursued a career in journalism, including a stint as a special reporter for the daily newspaper Hoy.
He now lives on Marion Street in West Haven, between Second and Third avenues.
At the City Hall event, Borer lauded the public-spirited King, who has won numerous awards for his journalistic work, for his devotion to “lifting up” the city and its vibrant Hispanic community.
At a time when many print newspapers have failed, King and Rodriguez-Reyes have maintained La Voz as the state’s leading Spanish-language newspaper as well as a source for online news.
La Voz is also a partner in running WNHH-FM, a bilingual community radio station.
Borer presented King with an embroidered “Hispanic American of the Year 2025” jacket and a Dominican flag — a proud tradition the mayor has continued.
“Hispanic Americans are the largest minority group in the United States today, and generations of Hispanic Americans have poured their heart and soul into making our nation strong and prosperous,” Borer said.
The mayor then read and presented a citation praising King’s good works.
“As a man of character and integrity, faith and family, your inspiring contributions to the fabric and spirit of West Haven are a testament to the diversity and promise of America,” said Borer, who has known King since she was a state representative.
The cultural event included congratulatory remarks by master of ceremonies Sammy Rivera, the city’s 2021 Hispanic American of the Year, who thanked Borer and the committee for organizing the celebration, and remarks by Joseph Rodriguez, the deputy state director of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s Hartford office, who presented King with a certificate of special recognition from Blumenthal and a state Senate citation from West Haven’s delegation.
It also included remarks by Vice President Maria Matos of the Dominican American Coalition of Connecticut Inc., who was joined by several members to present a certificate of appreciation to King.
Before a prayer by the city’s 2023 Hispanic American of the Year, West Shore Fire Department Chief Rafael Zayas, 2023 Miss Puerto Rico of Greater New Haven Miriam Cruz sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Rosaura Liz de Rodriguez followed with a moving rendition of the Dominican national anthem, “Himno Nacional de la República Dominicana.”
A Latin-flavored lunch was catered in the lower level of City Hall. A sheet cake was provided by Costco of Milford.
In observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15, West Haven recognizes the important legacy of Hispanic Americans and the inspiring contributions they have made to the culture and history of the United States.
Hispanics have had a profound and positive influence on the civic and cultural life of America through their strong commitment to faith and family, hard work and public service. They have enhanced and shaped the national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community.
Hispanic Heritage Month, which traces its roots to 1968, specifically honors the diverse cultures and histories of people from Spain and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean, which includes the Dominican Republic.
The celebration begins mid-month because it marks the independence anniversaries of several Latin American countries, including those in Central America.