Boston Debate League

Debate en Español on El Mundo Boston

April 26, 2022 | By Sayyida Jean-Charles

Debate en Español debaters and alumni showcase their skills

In case you missed it, at the beginning of April, BDL debaters and alumni from Debate en Español started their mornings live on air! Students showcased their skills in a four-day debate series on El Mundo Boston’s groundbreaking public affairs show La Hora del Cafe. Debaters and alumni representing Everett High School, Fenway High School, Brighton High School, Bridgewater State University, and Clark University joined hosts Alberto Vasallo, III, and Natalia Aponte Reyes virtually and in person. Viewers had a chance to witness intense, fast-paced, informative debate sessions, where students presented their arguments and touched on their involvement with competitive debate. The mini-debates were in Spanish and featured topics of interest to the El Mundo and Latino/a/x communities such as rent control, the minimum wage, driver’s licenses for immigrants, and technology in education. The Boston Debate League strives to support Debate en Español debaters and alumni to engage in these vital discussions on issues that affect the Latino/a/x communities.

The four-part series kicked off on Monday, April 4th where host, Alberto Vasallo accepted the challenge to debate Is Rent Control Enough to Solve Boston’s Housing Crisis?  with BDL Alumna Valeria Pereira. Gracias to the La Hora del Cafe hosts for inviting our students onto the show. 

Felicidades to Valeria Pereira, Julio Nivar, Yeylin Mendoza Ezquivel, Kevin Guardado, Alde Jimenez, Eliana Rivas, and Neurelis Bautista for their flawless argumentation skills. View the segments below.

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Kelly Cody, Senior Volunteer Manager, joined BDL in 2021
Joshua Nixon, ASD and Resolved Program Manager, joined BDL in
Douglas Matute
Douglas Matute, Program Manager for Debate en Español, joined BDL in 2022
Ranner Faugas, Assistant Director of After-School Debate, joined BDL in
Roger Nix, Assistant Director of After School Debate, joined BDL in
Carlos Monteiro, Instructional Coach for DI Classrooms, joined BDL in
Sarah Mayper, Senior Instructional Coach for DI Classrooms, joined BDL in
Marisa Suescun, Director of Programs, joined BDL in 2013
Kimberly Bartlett-Ra, Director of Operations, joined BDL in
Kim Willingham, Executive Director of the Boston Debate League , joined BDL in
Jackney Prioly Joseph, Director of External Affairs, joined BDL in September 2020. Jackney leads our efforts to engage and partner with community and corporate organizations to create a community of support for our students. She previously served as Director of College and Career Readiness at the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. She has diverse leadership experience in education, nonprofits, and city government where she served under Mayor Thomas M. Menino and former City Councilor, now Congresswoman, Ayanna Pressley. A Bryn Mawr and Posse Foundation alum identified for her extraordinary leadership, Jackney works to secure partnerships that will tap and sharpen the leadership skills of our program participants.