On August 12, as the bright sun streamed in through the windows of the A-Atrium at Hostos Community College, the irresistible rhythms of a salsa band pulled faculty, staff and students onto the floor to dance. 
 

 
The percussionist propelling the band was none other than CUNY’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Hector Batista who had come to Hostos to fulfill a promise to President Daisy Cocco De Filippis: to come play for her at the College.
 

In addition to overseeing the operations of the nation’s largest public university, EVC Batista is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and his performance at the College was one of many demonstrations of his support for Hostos. 
 

“President Cocco De Fillipis is the only President in CUNY who doesn’t just tell me what she needs. She also tells me what she wants!” This forthrightness has yielded many fruits for the College, and EVC Batista’s presence could be a harbinger of bigger things to come. 
 



 
In the meantime, as the band played, the room filled with joy and laughter as more and more people, including the President herself, got up to dance at the unexpected lunchtime party. 
 

“What a joy it is to have our esteemed Executive Vice Chancellor Batista come and regale us with his wonderful music,” said President Cocco De Filippis. “He and his bandmates are so talented and have made this such a special, memorable day for the Hostos staff, faculty and students. For this, and for so many other things he has done for the College, I am truly grateful.” 

Billed as a surprise presentation by EVC Batista for the President, the event’s agenda was largely a mystery to the attendees, who had expected a formal affair with speeches and possibly a plaque or certificates of some sort. But as people gathered in the A-Atrium and saw the band set up, they soon understood that this was going to be a presentation of an altogether different sort. With bongos, bass, conga, Cuban tres, and trumpet, the musicians filled the room with Caribbean sounds that lifted everyone’s spirits and had them humming “Oye como va” well into the afternoon.
 

Thank you, EVC Batista and your talented bandmates, for a memorable lunchtime salsa party!