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Our Fraternal History

The Idea

In the fantasy land that it sometimes seemed like up at Cornell University (especially for a Latino from New York City), in the summer of 1981, an idea was born. It was an idea that would take a life of its own. A conversation was started by a group of Latinos on campus that summer brought up the fact that there was a need for a Latino fraternity at Cornell. At the time, there was little choice for Latinos who wanted to join a fraternity; you either joined a traditionally white fraternity or a traditionally black one. This group of Latinos began not only to talk about the idea of creating a Latino fraternity, but to take some steps towards building one. From that summer conversation sprung informal meetings to discuss the idea.

The Early Days

That following semester (Fall 1981) the work began on organizing the Latino fraternity. The organizing was slow. Most people indicated an interest in the mission, but few committed themselves. The first few meetings were attended by only a handful of people. After the fourth meeting, the core group had expanded. A club, La Unidad Latina was registered with the university on 9/15/81, with myself as President. The intent was to register first as a club and then officially become a fraternity. After much work at recruiting people, the fraternity started to gain form. From approximately 30 interested men, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity was formed with 13 members:​

The Founding Fathers of La Unidad Latina are:

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  1. Hermano William Barba – Senior Pre-Medicine

  2. Hermano Dennis DeJesus – Sophomore Pre-Medicine

  3. Hermano Hernando Londoño – Sophomore Engineering

  4. Hermano Jesse Luis – Sophomore Engineering

  5. Hermano Samuel Ramos – Senior Engineering

  6. Hermano Tomas Rincon – Sophomore Engineering

  7. Hermano Edwin Rivera – Junior Engineering

  8. Hermano Mario Rivera – Junior Engineering

  9. Hermano Victor Rodriguez – Senior Economics

  10. Hermano Victor Silva – Sophomore Pre-Medicine

  11. Hermano Jose Torres – Junior Pre-Medicine

  12. Hermano Henry Villareal – Faculty Advisor

  13. Hermano Jim Ziebell – Cornell Administrator

*Honorary Founder: Hermano Angel Montañez​

The idea of a Latino Fraternity originated out of a need at the Cornell campus. In that environment there was a small number of Latinos relative to the rest of the population, as well as an almost non-existent Latino community around the university. The existing Latino student organizations did not provide enough sense of unity among the Latino population. There was no focal point for Latino culture. Many of the students needed a place to find their cultural roots. There were also many divisions among the Latinos. These factors coalesced to create the need for the creation of La Fraternidad. The need was there, and through the hard work, dedication, and faith in our destiny, La Fraternidad was founded...

Founding Father:

Hernando Londoño

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Our Chapter History

The Beginning

Compared to our national organization and countless other chapters, we are young, but that doesn't mean we aren't hungry. The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Provisional Chapter was founded on Friday, November 25th, 2016 by four inspiring and passionate knights who saw a hole in the Blacksburg community for men like them. After becoming Hermanos they focused heavily on fighting for the rights of DACA students at Virginia Tech and the outside community. After each Hermano slowly graduated they were unfortunately unable to cross another line, causing the chapter to go dormant. As a chapter, we keep much of our history internal and close to our hearts. To keep it brief, after 5 years a group of students reached out in wanting to revive the Virginia Tech Chapter. Since then it has been nothing but up. I’m excited for what’s to come and can’t wait to watch how our chapter grows and cements itself in Virginia Tech, and our fraternal history.

Gamma Line SP 22'

Felix Lopez

Hermano
Roster

Alpha Line (FA 16'):

  1. Fabrizzio Paolo Silva Martinez

  2. Alejandro Humberto Pezo

  3. Gabriel Ricardo Martinez

  4. Errol Alexander Arcienega

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Beta Line (SP 21'):

  1. Kevin Mera Cruz

  2. Jonathan Rodrigo Reynosa Gonzalez

  3. Francisco Javier Perez Solano

  4. Eric Manuel Aponte

  5. Jose Daniel Rico

  6. Kelby Alexander Henriquez

 

Gamma Line (SP 22’):

  1. Felix Julean Lopez

  2. Martin Andres Ochoa

  3. Carlos Jason Cordova

  4. Samuel Emilio Ayala​

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Delta Line (FA 22’):​

  1. Juan Pablo Espinoza

  2. Andres Enrique Zelaya-Macoto

  3. Piero Salvador Zavala Lozada

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