Dianne Costa like most Mayors, receives a lot of invitations as Mayor of Highland Village, so it wasn’t until a second invitation was followed up by phone calls that Costa realized it was Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, asking her to join them for a reception at their home. The occasion: a celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Week. The Vice President and his wife invited Hispanic elected officials, Democrats as well as Republicans, like Mrs. Costa, from around the country to join them for a cocktail reception at their official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington D.C.. There were approximately 150 in attendance. At her own cost, Mayor Costa flew to D.C. where she and her husband joined the other guests in what she described as “a home fitting a Vice President.” “We were serenaded by a mariachi band and served sangria, guacamole, quesadillas and chips,” she said, adding Vice President Biden and his wife were very warm, attentive and approachable. His remarks, made from behind a podium on the stair landing, were very general, quoting Cesar Chavez: “When you have people together who believe in something very strongly, things happen.” Mr. Biden stated that under the Obama-Biden Administration, “good things happen.”

     Costa said she probably wasn’t alone feeling stereotyped by the reception atmosphere. “As subtle as those things are, there is more to the Hispanic culture than serving chips & salsa,” Costa said. “I had to wonder, ‘Do they really know modern-day Hispanics or understand what our issues are? Hispanics are small business owners,” continued Costa, “who value education, hard work, religion and patriotism. Our families didn’t come to the United States for a handout and we don’t want to be enabled. We want to be empowered. I went because it was a good opportunity to meet the Vice President and others. I have discovered the importance of showcasing Highland Village and our region in Washington,” the Mayor said. 

    In attendance, among others, was the Governor of Puerto Rico, a Congressman from El Paso and the Honorable Eddie Espinoza, Mayor of the Village of Columbus, New Mexico. “The magic of the reception was that even though we certainly didn’t all share the same political views, we do share a heritage and a culture and connected with one another on those levels.” Costa said she and Mayor Espinoza discovered they were equally proud of their country, patriotic and both have sons in the military. “When Mayor Espinoza told me his son was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, I said, ‘Send him down for a home-cooked meal!’ What an opportunity to show the hospitality of Highland Village!” She went on to say, “I was able to share with the Vice President how we are the safest city in Texas and very proactive about transportation alternatives.  Mayor Costa is known locally more for her leadership role in Highland Village and Denton County than for her Hispanic heritage. However, “the influx of Latinos, from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and elsewhere into Highland Village and neighboring cities in the last five years has stirred my pride as an American Latina,” says Costa.

     “My father’s father was from Northern Italy and married into a family that emigrated from Monterey, Mexico to Laredo. My mother’s family emigrated from Allende, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to San Antonio. “Growing up, we were very Mexican,” Costa says with a laugh. “Every Sunday after church we had our traditional family gatherings that were huge, at our grandmothers’ home. My mom was the baby of 17 children, my father one of 12. Until I was ten, we had to hide the fact we were Hispanic because Hispanics weren’t allowed in the neighborhood in which we lived.” Costa also grew up in a household full of music, so it may come as no surprise that she availed herself of the opportunity at the Vice President’s reception to join the mariachi band, dancing the Cumbia, a traditional Columbian dance, and having them serenade the guests with one of her late mother’s favorite ballads. “My mother, who grew blind as I grew up, used to call me, ‘mis ojos,’ my eyes,” recalls Costa. “The reconnection I am experiencing with my heritage gives me new eyes for what I love about our country and the values upon which it was founded. My mother would be so proud of where we’ve come; truly we are a United States.”