ABOVE: (L-R) Barbara Poma, Luis Fonsi, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, Jerick Mediavilla, Brandon Wolf and Ricky Martin at the Pulse memorial in Orlando. (Photo courtesy Jerick Mediavilla)
ORLANDO | Singer-actor-LGBTQ activist Ricky Martin and “Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi paid their respects to the victims of the 2016 Pulse shooting when they visited the Interim Pulse Memorial in Orlando Sept. 15.
Martin and Fonsi were joined by Pulse owner Barbara Poma, Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and husband Jerick Mediavilla.
The Puerto Rican singers signed the memorial wall, posed for pictures and listened as Wolf walked them through the horrific events from that night.
“I’m here to represent the Latin community and Puerto Rican Community,” said Fonsi to reporters has the group left the memorial. “I’m happy to be here in front of Pulse. I hadn’t a chance to visit. It hits home. I lived here for so many years. And the most important thing is we have to get out to vote. We have to take care of each other.” Fonsi called Orlando home at one time attending Dr. Phillips High School in the 1990s.
Martin posted to Twitter about his visit to Pulse, writing “We will never forget and we will never let hate win,” followed by the hashtags #pulsenightclub #49 #LGBTQ+ #Latinx #votebidenharris.
We will never forget and we will never let hate win. #pulsenightclub #49 #LGBTQ+ #Latinx #votebidenharris pic.twitter.com/QcXXMbEbLb
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) September 16, 2020
On Instagram, Martin added, in Spanish, that they were “doing what is necessary for the welfare of our communities in the U.S.”
View this post on InstagramHaciendo lo necesario por el bienestar de nuestras comunidades en EEUU. #VoteBidenHarris
Martin and Fonsi then joined Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto and actress Eva Longoria for an event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in Kissimmee. Martin, Fonsi and Longoria — all surrogates for the presidential candidate — as Biden campaigns in Florida for the all important Hispanic and Latinx vote.
Biden began his remarks by playing a bit of Fonsi’s hit song “Despacito” before saying “I tell you what, if I had the talent of any one of these people I would be elected president by acclamation.”
Biden addressed a small, socially-distanced group for roughly 15 minutes about the part immigrants have played in our nation’s history, how a Biden administration will benefit the Hispanic and Latinx communities and the importance of investing in the recovery of Puerto Rico, among other topics. You can view his full speech below.
Both Biden and Donald Trump’s campaigns have stated the importance of winning Florida in November in their chances of winning the general election.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s latest poll, Biden and Trump are neck and neck in Florida with Biden at 48.5% and Trump at 46.2%.
