Spanberger’s campaign listed both venue locations as private, and attendees were told not to carry homemade signs, which were a “prohibited” item that would be confiscated by security, according to invitation instructions.

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At Soricha Tea & Theater, a Korean cafe in Fairfax County, where Asian Americans are the largest ethnic minority group, Spanberger took part in a tea-pouring and preparation ceremony.

There, she also watched with enthusiasm a ceremonial drum performance showcased by Korean school children dressed in traditional hanbok. In the corner, a stand-alone Spanberger campaign banner was wedged between structures holding the buks, or barrel-shaped Korean drums.

At the Alexandria location of Los Tios Grill, a local Tex-Mex chain known for its oversized margaritas, Spanberger flexed her multilingual chops.

Spanberger, a former CIA operations officer, spoke in fluent Spanish for approximately four minutes, much to the surprise of some in attendance.

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An expressive Spanberger, at times gesticulating in a Tim Walz-like manner, bantered with Spanish-speaking supporters seated before her, eliciting slight chuckles and approving nods scattered around the eatery.

If elected, as Spanberger’s surrogates reminded supporters Thursday, she would be the first female governor in Virginia history, though her Republican competitor would be that too, as well as the first black woman to win the commonwealth’s governorship.

In the political Left’s identity hierarchy, Earle-Sears has Spanberger beat. Facing criticism for being too scripted and for declining to take stands on hot-button issues, Spanberger, whose critics view her as an unremarkable white woman without conviction, surrounded herself just days before the election with more racially diverse allies who nonetheless spouted familiar talking points.

At the Latino-focused event, the front few rows were lined with Latino supporters, and behind them sat a mix of people.

Lauren Lobrano, an Alexandria local, told the Washington Examiner that although she is not Latina, what brought her out to the “Latinos for Spanberger” event was an email from the campaign.

“I’ve been volunteering for the Spanberger campaign, knocking on doors in my free time,” Lobrano said. “Got an email and was excited to come out and see her in person and say thank you.”

Maria Cardona, who is Latina, said she is a Washington, D.C. resident but knows many Spanberger supporters in Northern Virginia, naming Arlington Public Schools board member Zuraya Tapia-Hadley.

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“She is a dear friend of mine,” Cardona told the Washington Examiner. “I knew about this [outreach event], and I am close to the people who work with her as well.”

Many of those tightly packed into the crowded room, standing around the dozens seated, were campaign staffers, members of the press, and local officials stumping for Spanberger.

Spanberger was flanked by local Latino leaders, including Virginia Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), who insisted that Spanberger has “detailed plans about how to move Virginia’s education forward,” though she could not articulate a clear stance on school transgender policies during her one-and-only televised debate against GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.

Alexandria City Councilor Canek Aguirre, the son of Mexican immigrants, spoke about mass deportations under the Trump administration. Drawing audible boos from the audience, Aguirre accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of “snatching” innocents off the street and “terrorizing communities.”

Piling on, Spanberger painted frightening imagery of ICE operations, saying that although she is “a law-and-order Democrat,” it is “not law and order to have your citizens, your community members, live in fear.”

“Rounding up of people, making children live in fear, ensuring that elderly grandparents aren’t going to church because they are afraid, and then kids are staying home from school because they are afraid their parents may not be home when they get there, that should offend everyone,” Spanberger said, to resounding applause.

Spanberger’s time-pressed star guest, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), however, jetted off to the U.S. Capitol before he could share his origin story as a Latino child of immigrants making it in America.

“He did not do a very good job of telling his story, so I’m going to tell it,” Spanberger said of her headlining speaker.

That she did, recounting in great detail how Gallego got into Harvard after cold-calling Hispanic students off the university directory to seek out application advice. While enrolled, Gallego worked as a custodian, Spanberger continued, and learned to navigate the Ivy League’s elitist landscape as a low-income college kid.

“When kids who might dream big about what’s possible as they work a job or two in between helping translate for their parents or trying to get used to life in this new place, people can look to Ruben, saying, ‘He did it. I can do it too.’ And that’s what this country is about. I am grateful for his support, his service, in all its forms, particularly at this moment,” Spanberger said.

At the end of the event, Spanberger trotted out 95-year-old organizing powerhouse Dolores Huerta, a famous labor figure who co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers alongside celebrated Latino folk hero Cesar Chavez.

Huerta, now a nonagenarian, yet still energized as ever, was flown in on a red eye from California and wore a T-shirt spelling out “Protest, Organize, Walkout, Everyone, Rise Up,” acronymed “P.O.W.E.R.”

Standing next to Spanberger, a microphoned Huerta led the crowd in chanting the UFW’s storied slogan, which she created, “Sí, se puede!” In 2008, President Barack Obama adopted an English translation of it as a campaign motto, “Yes, we can,” and enjoyed much success from the borrowed mantra.