ROSA CURTO Consular in Charge

By JOHN NORTH

FLAT ROCK — Contrary to allegations by American protesters including Republican congressional candidate Carl Mumpower, the Mexican consulate in Raleigh was not violating any American laws during its one-day service visit to Henderson County last Saturday, according to Rosa Curto, conselar in charge.

The visit was intended to provide Mexican citizens with passports, matriculas (Mexican identification cards) and other documents, as well as any other necessary services.

“We were asked to come here, because a lot of people would like to have the services we offer in Raleigh, but they can’t travel the four or five hours,” Curto told reporters for the Daily Planet and Hendersonville Times-News in an interview during the visit.

 She added that the consulate does not check the residency status of people visiting the consulate. “We only certify their nationality and their identity,” Curto said.

As for contentions that mobile Mexican consulates are rare and being used for nefarious plans, Rosa smiled and said, “In all of the United States, it’s common. We’re trying to get closer to our people.”

As an example of another service the mobile consulate offers, she cited the issuance of a power-of-attorney document.
Curto said, “We are going to issue about 400 passports today.”

So why did she choose Flat Rock?

“Because our services were sought,” she told the Planet. “We were asked to come here. It’s a five-hour drive from Raleigh.”

A late-arriving reporter from a Hendersonville radio station joined the interview and asked about a recent national survey in The Chicago Tribune newspaper that indicated that the Mexican bureaucracy “was difficult to deal with.”

“Well,” Curto replied, “it’s a bureaucracy.”

In stating that 12 percent of the population in Henderson County is Hispanic, the radio reporter also asked, “So, this is a drive-up service?” in reference to the consulate’s visit.

Following a long pause, Curto smiled and answered, “Well, we don’t serve hamburgers.”

Asked why the consulate chose to visit BRCC in Flat Rock, rather than Asheville, where even more Hispanics reportedly live, Curto noted that the Mexican consulate has had a long-term, warm working relationship with BRCC, unlike it has with any other institution in WNC, and “they also help us get educational services” to Mexicans living in the region.

She reiterated that “we are renting BRCC” facilities legally and “we are taking care of our people. That’s why we are here.” Curto noted that everyone “needs to follow the law,” apparently referring to the group of Mumpower-led Americans, who broke BRCC rules by not giving a week’s notice on the protest. (BRCC officials informed Mumpower, as the march wound down, that they had elected to waive the requirement.)

So what does Curto think of Mumpower and the protesters?

“He (Mumpower) wants some votes,” she replied succinctly. “I don’t see” what the issue is. Then, she added, “It’s an election” approaching, implying that Mumpower’s motivation was his own gain.

Curto, who spent about 30 minutes in an interview with the Daily Planet and other media, added that “I’m open to any questions,” noting that “he (Mumpower) hasn’t contacted me — yet. If he feels he needs” accurate information from the Mexican consulate, Curto said she would be glad to answer Mumpower’s questions.

As for Mumpower’s allegations that the Mexican government is mistreating its people and that is why they are fleeing to the U.S., Curto said, “I’m glad they’re here because they’re happy.

“One reason is supply and demand — the demand for workers” from the U.S., she said. “I think the people who are here (from Mexico) are the strongest, healthiest and most ambitious.”

In further pondering the scenario, Curto said of Mumpower, “He’s not well-informed. It’s very important to get an ID. For security issues (for the U.S.), it’s better to know the nationality” of immigrants who are living in one’s country — to know that ‘I’m a Mexican.’”

Aside from Mumpower and his fellow protesters, she said, “Public and private enterprises (in the U.S.) much welcome these IDs.”

Curto further asserted, “The United States is better served if people are ID’d as a Mexican with a real name” that has been carefully verified by the Mexican government. “We’re connected to Mexico’s database directly,” even at BRCC.

As for Mumpower’s reference to the consulate driving “a fleet of Tahoes” from Raleigh to Flat Rock, Curto laughed and asked why the Asheville City Councilman named Tahoes as their vehicles.

When a reporter suggested that they might be considered luxury sport utility vehicles in some circles, Curto laughed and said, “Fancy cars would be Ferraris!”

In reality, she said, the Mexican consultate’s party of nearly 20 people rode in three Ford Expedition vehicles — in colors gray, blue and beige — to BRCC.

In an apparent tweak at Mumpower, a conservative, she noted that she is surprised he would be opposed to the consulate’s visit, inasmuch as “gas is so expensive” and a visit by a party of fewer than 20 people is enabling “400 or so” Mexican citizens living in the region to save on costs of a roundtrip drive to Raleigh.

Curto also noted that the consulate always prefers to take public transportation in its work— as would be the custom in Mexico — to save on costs, “but there’s no train services or bus services” from Raleigh to Flat Rock.