Centro de la Familia de Utah, promoting healthy and engaged Latino(x) communities

Posted on March 20, 2019 by comm5775

Story by BRIANNA WINN

“We pursue what we see,” said Rebecca Chavez-Houck, former member of the Utah State House of Representatives. “If children do not see people that look like them representing their communities in positions of higher power, then they don’t see that as an opportunity for them.”

Chavez-Houck is also a longtime advocate of the Latinx community.

“I was in my early 30s, I’m looking at the legislature and I’m thinking about my neighborhood and amazing people I know with accomplishments. I’m wondering why we’re considered a representative democracy when none of the legislature looks like our state or our community,” she said while reminiscing.

This, she said, is what motivated her to run for office.

Chavez-Houck previously worked at Centro de la Familia de Utah.

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Words on the wall walking out of one of the classrooms at Centro. 

Centro de la Familia de Utah means “Utah Family Center” in English. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for children’s educational success and fostering healthy and engaged communities.

According to the website, Centro works with Utah families, most in rural and difficult situations, to help them with resources to improve the outcomes of their children.

“Sometimes the families were Latinos, sometimes they were from other communities, sometimes they were white, but most of them were from the Latino community,” Chavez-Houck said.

Centro impacts underserved communities through services founded on parent engagement, providing standardized year-long programs in rural communities, and engaging staff in meaningful professional development, as stated on the website.

According to the website, the program originally was incorporated in April 1975 as the Institute of Human Resource Development during the Chicano movement in Utah. The agency has now taken an interest in serving youth.

During the 1980s and 1990s, programs were incorporated into the agency’s mental health services to prevent substance abuse and its associated problems. Centro initiated its Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (HYLI) program as well as several other programs.

The HYLI program provided prevention services to more than 300 high-risk Latino youth.

In 1994, the board and staff decided the name Institute of Human Resource Development no longer exemplified the mission of the agency, and changed its name to Centro de la Familia de Utah, according to the website.

Centro operates Head Start, Early Head Start, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs.

Kari Moore, program design and community impact manager, facilitates the execution of grant communications, the community assessment, self-assessment, annual reports, ongoing monitoring of the Head Start program services, and data driven-demonstration of community impact.

“Hispanic families are mostly the families we see throughout the program, but it really depends on what program and what location,” Moore said in a phone interview. “Up north and south of Provo we tend to get a higher number of Hispanic families.”

In 1991, the federal government implemented the Migrant Head Start Program for the state.

Head Start is a program dedicated to promoting school readiness among economically disadvantaged and underserved children through the provision of educational, health, nutrition, and other services,” according to the website.

“We tried to help the families learn to advocate for themselves,” Chavez-Houck said. “We wanted to give them tools to work within the Head Start program for their children.”

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Young students in class, image courtesy of Kari Moore

For instance, the Head Start program includes parent policy committees. The idea behind this is that there is no hierarchy of teachers and administrators. “Parents come and decide for that center what their priorities are going to be,” Chavez-Houck said.

According to the Utah State Board of Education, Hispanic/Latino students have increased significantly with their graduation rate over the past five years with increases of 9 percentage points since 2013.

Will Gonzalez, a member of the program and father of three, said through an interpreter, “This organization has had a huge impact on my family. We have learned to get along better — we have learned many things.”

He added, “The primary changes I’ve seen is in the behavior of my children. It has helped the children get along better.”

Centro has provided over 41 years of community service focused on increased individual and family self-reliance in Utah.

“I started off as a family service specialist basically going out and recruiting families to join the program,” Moore said. “I really fell in love with the work and I’m just so blessed in my own life for the different opportunities I have to help educate families and give resources to help encourage parents in their children’s education.”

Today, Centro operates five rural Head Start centers and nine Head Start childcare partnerships, according to the website, as well as a portfolio of outcome-based programs for elementary, middle and high school students.

It also offers programs for adults that provide necessary tools and skills for self-sufficiency. Centro continues to fulfill its mission by helping the neediest populations in Utah.

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Students and teachers at Centro. Image courtesy of Kari Moore

According to the website, Centro annually serves more than 700 Early Head Start and Head Start children throughout the state of Utah in both rural and urban areas.

Centro de la Familia is just one program that is helping Latino families all around the state of Utah. If you want to get involved, you can donate online to help provide stronger programs and broaden the impact in the community. Volunteering is another option. You can also contact Kari Moore at (801) 521-4473 or info@cdlf.org.

Centro’s corporate office is located at 525 S. 300 West in Salt Lake City. Other locations are in Providence, Honeyville, Genola, Mount Pleasant and Centerfield.

Filed under: Education, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Immigrants & Refugees, Nonprofits | Leave a comment »

Latinx populations help the US economy to thrive

Posted on March 20, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by ZANE LAW

In recent years, with the presidency change and promises of a wall between bordering lands, southern immigrants have been the hot point of numerous conversations. While some argue that immigrants hurt the United States economy by stealing jobs and not paying taxes, other credible folks think just the opposite of the situation.

In regard to stealing jobs from American-born individuals, Alex Guzman says the community members create their own jobs and support each other as a collective Latinx whole. Being the CEO of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Guzman knows the working-class population and estimates that as many as 35,000 Hispanic individuals own businesses in Utah.

Whether documented or not, Guzman says they open businesses “not to be entrepreneurs, but to survive.” Those who cannot find jobs due to the lack of a social security number, discrimination, little education, and other reasons are able to open businesses and provide for their expanding families. These business owners are then able to pay it back to fellow immigrants by offering new jobs and opportunities to thousands of other people in similar situations.

While the community creates jobs for themselves and others by having a high number of business owners, another overlooked aspect of immigrant workers is the fact that they are willing to do whatever it takes to provide.

According to a talk at the Center for Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley, immigrants are more willing to move for work than native folk. Giovanni Peri explains that “immigrants’ willingness to move helps slow wage decline in stagnant regions and contributes to economic growth in booming ones.” They move away from regions that do not have enough jobs, allowing the locals to take the few available spots. Immigrants then move to bustling areas, with high demands for work, and are able to fill the positions that owners want to be filled, Peri says.

Alejandro Gutierrez, a Mexican-born man of 45, did just that. He originally moved to a town in California, but as the job market began to fill up, he found his way to Salt Lake City. Gutierrez now works as a dishwasher at the University of Utah’s Peterson Heritage Center, pays his taxes, and adds money to the economy.

While Guzman, Gutierrez, and others within the Latinx community create jobs and work hard for their money, Guzman says that the community also contributes plenty of money to the churning economic machine.

“We live la vida loca and we put our money in the market right away,” explains the enthusiastic business owner, marketing professional, and former Guatemalan senator. “La vida loca” translates to “the crazy life” and Guzman says this is the case for many Latinx individuals. They buy the foods they want, upgrade their cars, party and vacation frequently, and live carefree lives.

Guzman says the community finds it difficult to save, but he sees this as a learning experience for youth. He further backs up his lifestyle choices by saying the “spending helps to inspire a sense of generating income.” The philosophy is that when their kids see what money can bring and how much it costs to live well, they are more driven to earn for themselves.

These spending habits stretch further than the immigrants who Guzman has come to know in Utah, however. Anna Chavarria, a student in Colombia, explains that she and her family have difficulties with saving as well. The family of six lives in a three-bedroom home in Medellin, Colombia, but they enjoy things like motorcycles, fine dining, and huge block parties.

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Anna Chavarria enjoys “la vida loca” in the sand dunes of Huacachina, Peru.

Chavarria says in a phone interview they would not cut the extravagance out for a more spacious house, explaining that they “live a fast-paced and fun life, and a squished home simply adds to the closeness of our family.” Both her mom and brother work seven days a week to provide such a life and she says she and her family would work just as hard if they lived in America. Chavarria has been in the Visa application process for approximately two years and says she has much to offer to the U.S.

Because Latinx community members often spend as fast as they earn, Guzman says the Latinx community is a major target for marketing as well. With his 25 years of experience in the field, he has found that the return on investment for this group is large.

Spanish-speaking outlets like Telemundo are greatly cheaper to advertise on than English-speaking sources. Then once the advertisements have done their job, Guzman also says Latinx people are very loyal to the brands they buy from. Companies are able to advertise their brands for less money, keep their customers for longer periods of time, and have peace of mind knowing the community will spend for as long as a paycheck is coming in.

The state of Utah and the country as a whole are filled with people similar to the likes of Alex Guzman, Alejandro Gutierrez, and the Chavarria family. According to a June 2018 article in the Salt Lake Tribune, the Latinx population even makes up at least 14 percent of the state’s residents. They are not an anomaly and are a community that will, no matter what, contribute to and affect the economy.

Filed under: Business, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Immigrants & Refugees, Politics, Utah's Economy | Leave a comment »

Losing the Latinx identity

Posted on March 20, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by KARA D. RHODES

Culture has always been an idea that people hold close to their heart as it brings families, friends, and generally speaking, people together. What happens when people decide that their culture is no longer important to them? Killing their culture little by little by not accepting or not keeping their culture as prominent as they once had before.

Alex Guzman, president and CEO of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is mainly a hard-hitting businessman committed to the growth of the Latinx business community. Guzman is a family man who fears his children are losing their culture that he is fond of. In an interview, he tells a story of his son getting ridiculed at the local elementary school for not speaking English well enough for his teacher to understand him.

Now, immersion schools assist with teaching those who have a first language that is not English. Guzman says he wishes his son hadn’t had to go through something so traumatic. This taught the young boy that his language was not correct and forced him out of his culture. Guzman likes to speak Spanish while he is home; his son now speaks Spanish with an accent that is not from his culture.

Christian Oregon, a 23-year-old student with family origins in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, says, “Culture is very important to me. It sets us apart; we value a lot of different things. My culture has helped define and shape me into the person I am today. I always remember my roots. I take huge pride in my culture so it’s definitely important to me.”

Oregon says he believes that his culture is stronger than ever despite all the push-back from the political climate. “We’re staying strong together because we have people thinking we’re all drug dealers and criminals. The racists are believing everything Trump says. We have people yelling at us with their MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats saying, build the wall, but we are fighting back and we’re not letting them take away or make us feel bad because of our culture.”

As strong as Oregon says the culture is, he believes that there are still people losing the culture. He says the times are to blame because people want to “fit in” nowadays. “Latinx people believe they should forget their culture to advance in today’s society,” Oregon says.

Oregon says there are ways to preserve their culture. “People can conserve their culture by sticking to their roots and teaching everything they’ve learned from their family onto their children. Doing this preserves our culture and keeps it alive. I think it’s just about passing it down from generation to generation.”

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Combining cultures: Amanda Ruelas, left, is Navajo while her husband is Latinx. She is pictured with her daughter, Gabby Ruelas. 

Amanda Ruelas, a mother of three, is immersed in multiple cultures including the Latinx community. Ruelas had a difficult time explaining what culture means to her but that it is very important. “I do feel that the younger generation is losing culture. They definitely see it different than I do. Especially my eldest daughter, Gabby. She is so interested in fitting in that she doesn’t want to understand our culture as much,” she says.

Ruelas’ husband, Vic, speaks Spanish but didn’t take the time while the children were young to teach them. She explains that they should have started teaching their kids both Navajo and Spanish when they were younger because her daughters are no longer interested in it. Ruelas is Navajo while her husband is Latinx.

Culture is clearly a big part in the Latinx community. Some believe it is thriving while others can see it slowly fading away. According to a summary of a 2014 forum at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, “Cultural heritage affirms our identity as a people because it creates a comprehensive framework for the preservation of cultural heritage including cultural sites, old buildings, monuments, shrines, and landmarks that have cultural significance and historical value.”

Filed under: Arts, Entertainment, Culture, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Immigrants & Refugees | Leave a comment »

Mass incarceration, health disparities, the achievement gap: Is the Utah governor’s Multicultural Commission helping?

Posted on March 20, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photos by MEGAN CHRISTINE

“What is the concern, what is being done about it, and what can we do?”

Jacqueline Thompson, a member of the governor’s Multicultural Commission, said this was the commission’s approach to issues facing minorities in Utah.

The commission’s goals are to promote inclusiveness, cultivate trust between state government and ethnic communities, and improve educational resources regarding equity for the state.

The Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs and the commission was created in 2012 when Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed an executive order.

Rebecca Chavez-Houck, a former member of the Utah State House of Representatives and current commissioner, said the commission “continues in some ways to be a little bit of a controversial existence because the development of it is grounded in some controversy.”

Before 2012, there was the Department of Community and Culture, which employed a director of ethnic affairs. This department had oversight of the African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander affair offices. Each office had employees who were responsible for listening and responding to the needs of its respective community.

When the commission was created, this department and its individual offices were disbanded. The Department of Heritage and Arts now oversees the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Commission.

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The Rio Grande building in Salt Lake City, home of the Utah Department of Heritage & Arts.

Chavez-Houck noted that the commission was developed in the middle of an economic recession when the executive branch was looking for places to cut. Some members of the community were against the elimination of the department and individual offices.

The commission is expected to listen to the needs of the community while also fulfilling the expectations of the governor. Chavez-Houck said that “sometimes it feels overwhelming that we’re trying to bring the voice of communities upward to the executive branch at the same time we’re trying to carry forward the executive branch’s priorities to the communities we represent.”

Thompson said the individual offices were able to work directly with communities one-on-one and could therefore have a more widespread impact.

Thompson also noted that though the staff at the office is small and consists of only three employees, they are “phenomenal.” She said that “if they (Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs) didn’t have the personnel they had, things wouldn’t get done because the staff is so outstanding and efficient.”

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Jacqueline Thompson, a current member of the governor’s Multicultural Commission.

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox serves as co-chair of the commission as appointed in the executive order by the governor. Thompson said Cox is “always thinking outside of the box” and is conscious of being inclusive of all voices.

The 25 commissioners represent a wide variety of voices, and the large majority of them are community leaders in their respective industries, whether that be government, nonprofit, or business. Chavez-Houck is a former Utah legislator. Maria Garciaz is the CEO of Neighborworks, a nonprofit organization. Thompson is a state employee with years of experience in educational equity.

Chavez-Houck said, “I still sincerely believe that there is value in consolidating issues because communities of color share a lot of common concerns.” These are things like health disparities, mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline, economic opportunity and development, and education and the achievement gap. “These things hit communities of color the same,” she said.

Garciaz said the commission structure is beneficial because “there’s good reciprocity. There are people on the commission who are community representatives and then you have the state department heads. There’s this exchange of information.”

Though the commission is able to have a wide impact because of the community leaders who serve on it, Garciaz noted that she would like to spread the work they do geographically. “When people hear commission, they assume they’re up on the hill (the Utah Capitol) and inaccessible,” she said. “I think we need to be able to visit other counties so that they’re aware that we’re here.”

The commission meets every two months, and the meetings are open the public. The agendas for previous meetings are available online. Recent topics of discussion include the hiring of an executive director for the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs, the role of the commission in partnership with Intermountain Healthcare regarding work on the social determinants of health, and the Multicultural Youth Leadership Day.

Commissioners listen to the issues that are presented and then respond with feedback. They work collaboratively to come up with solutions to complex issues that face our community.

Those who want to join the commission must apply and be appointed by the governor. A term can be one, two, or three years long but commissioners serve at the pleasure of the governor and are subject to be removed at any time.

The commissioners assisted in the development of the Senior Leader Toolkit and Participant Course Journal, programs that are currently in their pilot phase among state agencies and community organizations. The goal of these trainings is to improve cross-cultural communication and to “sensitize people more than anything,” Garciaz said.

The Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs oversees the Multicultural Youth Leadership Day at the Capitol and the Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit. The commissioners offer input, consultation, guidance, and are invited to attend. About 1,000 kids of color come to listen to role models of color, but also to present on what they think is or is not working in their schools.

“When these students come to the conferences, they are already born leaders. They are acting in leadership capacities. We call them future leaders, but they really are present leaders, too,” Thompson said.

The commission is attempting to tackle problems communities of color face with help from community leaders and government officials. Its purpose is to ensure that these voices are heard and that minorities are being represented at a state level, because some believe that is not always done effectively through the Utah legislature.

Chavez-Houck said, “I’m looking at the legislature, and I’m looking at who’s up there, and I’m looking at my neighborhood, and I’m looking at the amazing people I know who are very diverse and I’m thinking, ‘If we’re truly a representative democracy, that does not look like our state. That body, the institution, they don’t look like the community.’”

Filed under: Hispanics & Latinos(as), Nonprofits, Organizations, Politics | Leave a comment »

Tomsik helping West Valley community one taco at a time

Posted on March 20, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by KOTRYNA LIEPINYTE

Patricia Tomsik starts her Monday mornings by boiling some water on the stove. The smell of coffee engulfs the cozy kitchen as she sits down and scribbles notes in her notebook, the news playing on a TV in the background. Tomsik lives in West Valley City, the largest Hispanic city in Utah with 37.7 percent of the Hispanic population residing here. The news continues to flash on her TV, showing updates on President Trump’s plan of building a wall. Tomsik watches intently.

“There’s more problems we have to deal with than this wall,” Tomsik says scoffingly, going back to writing in her notebook. She’s referring to the 13.8 percent poverty rate and the 5.4 percent unemployment rate West Valley City is notable for, as well as the high rate of suicide the state of Utah is facing.

Tomsik originally came from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and is used to the massive number of homicides that country faces, but “nothing like this” she says, referring to the suicide rates Utah is infamous for.

Tomsik’s son has struggled with depression and suicidal tendencies since he was a boy. She says that this is normal in a Hispanic community, especially with bullying in schools. “It’s just one of those things that you unfortunately have to deal with, and that’s just the reality,” Tomsik says, shaking her head. “I know other mothers are dealing with it too. It’s just sad.”

Miguel Alonso, a friend of Tomsik’s son, agrees. “We’ve been friends since junior high,” Alonso says, “and it’s kind of just an unspoken agreement that we all have to be there for each other.” Alonso is originally from Mexico City, and was forced to cross the border with his family to live a better life in the United States.

Alonso often spends his dinners at the Tomsik household. Tomsik hosts regular weekly meals at her home, inviting Alonso and his high school and college friends for a classic Mexican meal, complete with music and dancing. “It’s nice to get together,” she says. “We’re all just trying our best.”

While the community feels uneasy with news regarding President Trump’s wall, Tomsik tries to focus on the bigger issues at hand that the Hispanic community in Utah must face. Tomsik pays particular attention to the overall well-being of her community. While she hopes to help the community with depression, she knows it’s not an overnight project.

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Gabriel Moreno, a University of Utah student currently holding an internship in Washington, D.C., grew up with the Tomsik family.

Gabriel Moreno, a University of Utah student, is also attempting to find ways to cope with the issues the Hispanic community is facing. “I’m seeing everything first-hand here,” Moreno discusses over the phone while working out in Washington, D.C. “It’s just scary.”

Moreno originally emigrated from Columbia and grew up in Sandy, Utah. His passion lies in “Project Be Yourself,” a nonprofit organization focusing on mental illness in the state of Utah. “One of the most sickening things about this all,” he says, “is how easy it is to prevent these things. We just need to show the kids that there’s no bad culture, there’s no bad race. We’re all the same.”

By providing her neighborhood with fresh food and a listening ear, Tomsik hopes someone will begin to pay it forward so the good acts can spread. Alonso and Moreno assist as much as they can while also focusing on the online problem of cyber-bullying.

The trio works together in an attempt to help the Hispanic community thrive, but rarely see results. “It’s tough,” Moreno says. “I mean, we can’t just make jobs or say ‘stop bullying’ and expect it to stop. It’s a work-in-progress, but I don’t think any of us are planning on quitting any time soon.”

As Utah sits as the fifth highest in teen and young adult suicide rates, the trio is scrambling to find something to help counter this. Often times, the food and advice are not enough. Tomsik believes that communication and openness about mental health will be a step forward in the right direction. “We’re not talking enough about it,” she says, “and it needs to be talked about.”

As President Trump’s plan to build the wall continues to occupy the screen on the TV, Tomsik simply hums to herself as she resumes scribbling in her notebook, making a grocery list of ingredients for this week’s dinner. She sips her coffee while planning what meal she will prepare next.

Tomsik lives by a “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there” attitude, tackling a single problem at a time in the West Valley City community. “It’s hard to measure progress with something so intangible,” she says. “But we’re just going to assume it’s working and go from there.”

 

Filed under: Food & Restaurants, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Mental Health, Politics | Leave a comment »

DREAMers at the U: One step to graduation

Posted on March 6, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by SHAUN AJAY

What does it feel like when you walk into a classroom? Do you fear integration? Assimilation? Deportation? Do you worry about your immigration status?

More undocumented immigrants, predominantly Latinx, enter the country and face daily challenges with their legal status, work, livelihood and education. Misconceptions have quickly spread that undocumented folks cannot pursue higher education and consequently secure a better job. Rivarola’s story tells us otherwise.

Alonso Rafael Reyna Rivarola was an undocumented immigrant himself. He moved to the United States from Peru at the age of 11 and has lived in Utah ever since. He attended the University of Utah in 2008 — a time when the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals policy, or DACA, did not exist. The DACA policy began in June 2012, right before Rivarola was finishing his final year at school. During his undergraduate years studying sociology, he worked with a group of scholars called The Mestizo Arts and Activism Collective. The group created a website that continues to serve as a center of information on the undocumented community and experience. It offers a list of scholarship resources for first-generation POC (people of color) college students and DREAMers (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors).

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Rivarola poses in front of a collage of DREAMers.

Fast forward to his master’s program in educational leadership and policy. Rivarola wrote a piece on the importance of undocumented student centers. A DREAMer himself, he became the first director of the Dream Center in the state of Utah in 2017. His personal experience allows him to provide support and services to students much like himself. “We work with everyone who enters our doors; those who are historically forgotten in higher education,” he said. Rivarola also became the first advisor at the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs (CESA). In that role, he focuses on working with other undocumented students on campus.

The Dream Center consists of a four-person team that works with undocumented students and their families to facilitate their academic success and graduation. The center helps students with their academic pathway, from individual mentorship to scholarship support. 

The Salt Lake Tribune reported in 2018 that Hispanics are now Utah’s largest minority. They comprise 14 percent of the state’s population, or 434,288 people. 

In Utah, some laws were made to help undocumented students access more affordable education, provided they have graduated from a local high school. For example, HB 144 allows these students to pay in-state tuition. But inversely, a law passed in 2009, SB 81, prevents them from receiving private funding. And now, under SB 253, passed in 2015, students can access federal benefits for their education. 

It’s a complex system that the Dream Center has to work with. And for those who are affected, the question, “Will I be able to afford college?” always lingers silently under the bills that pass in the country or state.

For the Latinx community, whether undocumented or not, higher education is a steep climb that many cannot risk to take. Jasmin Valdivia is a 21-year-old Latina, born and raised in Provo, a city just along the Wasatch Mountain Front. Her parents had both migrated from Mexico. In 2016, she graduated from high school in a majority white neighborhood in Springville. During her high school years, Valdivia involved herself with ballet, orchestra, and cheer — activities that weren’t typical for Latinas, she said.

“I knew what was expected of me as a minority,” she said. Valdivia compared her outsider-insider position of living in Utah to holding a snow globe and looking inside. In her last year of high school, her school counselor only recommended Utah Valley University — a school, she said, that most Latinx students attended. Valdivia considers herself to be an adamant person. She believed in her own abilities and didn’t subject herself to the stereotypes that people imposed on her. She applied and was accepted to the University of Utah Asia Campus, located in South Korea.

Valdivia is the first in her family to attend college. She said her mother graduated from high school and her dad from elementary school. Her grandfather can barely read or write in Spanish. Her first cousin attended a semester in college before getting pregnant and dropping out. A majority of her Latinx friends do fall into the stereotype of settling with just a high school degree. “It’s usually the cultural issue of, ‘Well, my parents didn’t go to college and they’re doing fine,’ and when you think like that, you start to limit yourself,” she said

Valdivia said a friend of hers was brought illegally to the U.S from Mexico. She was a straight-A student in school and a talented musician in her orchestra. Valdivia also said her friend, due to her legal status, was unable to get financial aid to pursue a good music program in college. Now, three years since high school, Valdivia’s friend is still unable to attend university.

What Valdivia hopes to see is a system that is more supportive of giving the Latinx population equal opportunities to pursue their ambitions. She is currently working on her bachelor’s degree in communication and aspires to work in the news field to represent her culture and ethnicity.

With representation on one hand and education on the other, Dream Center Director Rivarola said he believes these elements should work together. He wants more Latinxs pursuing education and eventually become future professors, teachers and paraprofessionals. He said a lot of Latinx students learn typically in their second language, as opposed to their native Spanish. Seeing teachers like themselves serves as an important indicator to strive for success and ultimately leads them to different fields of studies. The Dream Center at the University of Utah remains an active system for any student to reach out to and ask for help.

 

Filed under: Education, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Immigrants & Refugees, Politics | Leave a comment »

Hispanic belief system that the family is the heart and focus of life

Posted on March 6, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by EMMA JOHNSON

The family is the heart of the Hispanic culture. Children taking care of their parents as their parents took care of them in their childhood is a “circle of life” concept the Latinix communities value. Birth and death are interesting life experiences. Latinx people are viewed as family-centered with divine importance placed on caring for the young and elderly. Learning from family members’ wisdom that will benefit future generations is an honorable life adventure Hispanic families respect.

A 2014 poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Hispanics have a higher likelihood of caring for their elderly relatives and having it be a positive experience. The poll concluded that Hispanic families have reported a greater percentage of their caregiving being less financially stressful.

Alex Guzman, president and CEO of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, feels the opportunity to take care of his elders enhances his family centered beliefs. “In the Hispanic culture, they will take care of their parents because their parents took care of them.” For him and his family, the statement is as simple as it sounds. Guzman says assisted-living homes are a rarity in his home county of Guatemala. The family is the center. Whatever sacrifices need to be made to ensure fulfillment of the circle of life will be made.

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The Livas family represents the circle of life. Standing from left: Norma, Manny, and Ed. Sam is seated

Latinx communities are loyal to their heritage.  They are proud of who they are and willing to share their rich culture with others. Sam Livas is a Mexican-American who prides himself on his family-oriented lifestyle. Livas’ mother grew up in Cananera Sonora, Mexico, and his father in Tucson, Arizona. His mother migrated to the United States to marry his father. Livas was born in California but said he would not trade his Hispanic upbringing up for the world.

Growing up, Livas said he watched as his mother cared for her elderly parents. “Seeing my mother and her siblings take care of their mother is where I feel or saw the need to take care of my own parents.” The firsthand experience helped him to realize the cultural importance and value of caring for those he loved.

According to a study conducted by the University Of Austin, Texas, despite high levels of need, Hispanics shun nursing homes and remain where they are even with compromised health conditions. It isn’t uncommon for children caretakers to fail meeting the needs of their elderly relatives. Most family members aren’t medical professionals. The looming pressure of where family members with health complications will live daunts and alters cultural customs.

Livas said in an email interview that his Mexican-American values have given him a clearer understanding of why many Americans put their parents into nursing centers. “I don’t fault those that CAN provide better care for their loved ones.” He said he feels assisted and rehabilitation homes should not be a substitute for family, but used as a resource that benefits all. “Don’t forget to call and visit,” Livas added, there is no better emotional love than a family can provide.

Latinx communities rely on family units as human bodies rely on their heart. Family belonging and involvement is the foundation of their lives. Guzman, with the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said, “If you have to work three jobs with the intention to provide for your children, you do.”

 

Filed under: Aging, Arts, Entertainment, Culture, Health & Fitness, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Immigrants & Refugees, Medicine, People with Disabilities | Leave a comment »

Finding success marketing in the Hispanic segment: Google Translate is not enough

Posted on March 6, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by JUSTIN TROMBETTI

What if I told you that the majority of marketers are missing out on close to 20 percent of their viable market?

They spend countless hours on strategy, execution, and data analysis, tirelessly working to drive results for their company. In the planning stages, this usually means determining different avenues for reaching their ideal customers. Why, then, is so much still missed when it comes to targeting the market segment with an estimated purchasing power in the trillions?

The short answer is that, even if businesses realize leaving out the Hispanic segment is a big miss, throwing ad copy into Google Translate and calling it a win is about as effective as windshield flyers at a local mall.

Understanding the Hispanic segment means going beyond language barriers. It also means figuring out how Latinx audiences are different from their non-ethnic counterparts (and perhaps more importantly, how they’re not).

Human beings don’t fit into a nicely labeled box, but stereotypes are not the same as purchase behaviors.

Alex Guzman, a former Guatemalan senator and the voice of Latin America’s version of Tony the Tiger, seems to agree. Guzman currently serves as the president and CEO of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the financial power of the Latinx segment is far from lost on him.

In an interview with the Voices of Utah press pool, he stressed that this power goes beyond population compositions. Hispanics as a cohort spend hard. A product of the cultural happy-go-lucky mentality, savings accounts are an oft fleeting concept when the latest product hits the market.

Guzman went as far as to say that some of the best market tests can be run on this segment, which has no fear of price points when they think the return on investment is there.

The struggle becomes finding the best ways to go about reaching this vibrant segment. Guzman agrees with the data sets; they show that millennials — who make up over half of the Hispanic population — are on social media, but TV is crucial. It accounts for almost half of all marketing spend in the Hispanic segment, and it’s the channel Guzman believes integral to reaching the older demographics.

Perhaps the most important point Guzman mentioned was that Hispanic segments are extremely brand loyal. Earning that loyalty means resonating on a cultural level, not just a lingual one.

But if reaching the Hispanic population is as much about culture as it is language — let’s not conflate a simple translation being insufficient with it being unimportant — how do we marketers tap into that?

Eric Nielsen is a Hispanic Utahn who works at Soundwell, a popular local club that hosts Latin nights on Fridays in downtown Salt Lake City. He gave some insight as both a Hispanic and someone with experience promoting the events.

He was straightforward about the community focus around these events, and how it makes them effective. “You get a lot of older people mixed in with the younger ones, more than you see at other kinds of events,” Nielsen said in a recent phone interview.

He continues that there is consistency with the people there, the DJs, and the atmosphere in general. The diversity comes from the variety of weekly themes for the events. Nielsen believes that when so few major venues have a Latin focus, the community element is crucial to the club’s success; the events tap in to the norms and idiosyncrasies of the average Hispanic family in order to deliver an experience that feels authentic.

It should be unsurprising by now that social media is integral in promoting these events, given the Hispanic millennial demographics mentioned above. Word of mouth, though, is also integral. While most older populations of Hispanics are watching TV, you’ll be hard-pressed to see any clubs promoting on those channels.

In this way, the success of events that focus on the community also rely on it to stay relevant.

Madelynn Conrad, a seasoned marketer with familial connections to Hispanic culture, knows firsthand how challenging overcoming this “marketing gap” can be. In a recent interview, she detailed her experience working with a Hispanic-owned bakery that saw an almost 10 percent increase in sales after two weeks working with her.

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Conrad speaks to Voices of Utah from her home office.

From a business to business standpoint, she sees vast room for improvement in the marketing sector.

Conrad had to earn the bakery’s business with old-school persistence; she was the first marketer to reach out, pitch, and successfully close the bakery on a contract for marketing services.

“A lot of people in [the owner’s] family owned their own businesses, or sold things in their own way, and none of them actually used any real form of marketing other than flyers,” Conrad stated.

“[The owner] didn’t actually realize that there were people out there that specifically do just marketing, and she didn’t think that it could be effective,” Conrad continued. “She generally assumed that marketing was a big corporation idea.

“All I really had to do was show her that I could make a difference. She was actually really determined to maintain the idea that marketing wouldn’t work for her business.”

There’s something to be said for the fact that not all service sector professionals are well-rounded marketers or businesspeople, but Conrad believes there were cultural barriers at play with this client.

She told me “there weren’t a lot of resources available to help [the bakery owner] in the first place, like a business association for a meet-up that educated small business owners in her community specifically.”

While resources like the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce seek to provide businesses with these tools, they’re still just one entity in a state where the Latinx population is booming. In closing, Conrad suggests that there are issues of capacity and awareness with these resources that lead businesses like her bakery client to feel like they’re on their own.

Next time you think of phoning in a Google Translate ad for your Facebook campaign, consider what you might be missing out on, and consider whether or not your message will permeate across cultural barriers.

Filed under: Business, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Media, Small Business, Utah's Economy | Leave a comment »

Economic growth: Now is the time and Utah is the place

Posted on March 6, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by SARAH SAIDYKHAN

Utah is home to thriving companies, up-and-coming businesses, an eclectic array of restaurants, nightlife, recreations and so much more. For an eager entrepreneur, Utah is the home of opportunity. Since 1991, the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (UHCC) has worked in assisting people on their quest for economic development and stronger ties to their communities.

UHCC

The sign and coat of arms on the Salt Lake City building.

For almost 30 years, what began as a small handful of people looking for a change in Utah’s economy has grown into a large network now led by Alex Guzman, president and CEO, according to the Better Business Bureau of Utah. Now the chamber assists Utahns with networking opportunities to showcase their businesses, provides access to educational workshops, offers scholarship opportunities and more. In the four years that Guzman has been president of UHCC, he has revolutionized the chamber. He said he had a vision of what leaders in the Hispanic community must be doing and he set out to make it happen. Under Guzman’s direction, the chamber has moved away from the corporate office scene and ventured out into the community where he meets with the people of Utah.

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute reported in 2016 that Utah had a Hispanic community with over 400,000 residents. These numbers are growing each day. Utah’s Latino residents work hard, play hard and give back to their communities to help the state flourish. As Guzman said, “We take care of each other.”

One of the goals of a chamber of commerce is to help citizens understand what it takes to start a business. Guzman said he has taken this theory and put it into action. If you’ve thought about opening your own business, there are steps you must follow. For members of Utah’s Hispanic community, one of those first steps should be joining the UHCC. The possibilities to expand the business are then at one’s fingertips.

Esmeralda Avalos works for the chamber and is one of the first points of contact at UHCC. She said the opportunities offered through the chamber are beneficial to keeping a business running smoothly and she loves seeing business owners looking for new ways to explore the vision and mission of their companies.

One opportunity is the Business Academy, a 10-week course that specializes in essential business topics through education and training. It is only offered at UHCC.

“The Business Academy opens your mind to become more business wise; look at it as a business,” Avalos said. Participants must realize there is more to entrepreneurship than simply stating, “I want to open a business.” Avalos said the course entails in-depth education and hands-on learning. “Marketing, objectives, workshops, communications, customer service, goals, how to get funding” — these are just a few of the topics that are covered during the Business Academy courses, she said.

To obtain financing, loan institutions need to know that entrepreneurs have taken classes on accounting, marketing, distribution, licenses, fees, permits, employees and even taxes.

Juan Pascua is the membership director at UHCC. He said the chamber offers the skills to “help Hispanic businesses understand what they need.” Learning about owning and operating a successful company is all part of the membership, which includes media marketing on Alpha Media Radio, representation on the UHCC website and direct links to other members’ businesses.

Helping to support the Hispanic community in Salt Lake City is important. Pascua said. “If we don’t have the information, we can get the people to another member who has it.” For example, he explained that if someone has a question about business taxes that an employee can’t answer, an expert will be called in. “It’s all part of networking,” Pascua said.

The Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is growing. Right now, it has offices in Salt Lake, Ogden and St. George. These locations serve as information centers, places to hold seminars, workshops and the Business Academy courses.

With help from local sponsors like Zions Bank, Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Utah Cultural Celebration Center, Utah’s economy will continue to grow and provide for the residents for years to come.

For more information about UHCC or to become a sponsor, call Esmeralda Avalos at 801-532-3308.

 

Filed under: Business, Education, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Media, Nonprofits, Organizations, Small Business, Utah's Economy | Leave a comment »

Latinxs at work: stereotyping results from a lack of sympathy

Posted on March 4, 2019 by comm5775

Story and photo by SAYAKA KOCHI

The population of Latinx is increasing in the Western United States. The Census Bureau’s data says one in four Americans are supposed to be Latinx by 2045. Many people originating from Latin America have crossed the borders to seek high paying jobs for their own dreams to come true or for their families’ sake. On the way to get a better life, many Latinx immigrants encounter stereotypes in their workplaces.

Monica Carpentieri was born and raised in Brazil. After getting married there, she moved with her husband to the United States to pursue her master’s degree. Later on, she started working as a licensed acupuncturist. Monica and her husband have become residents in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Stereotyping was never overt,” Monica said in an email interview. “I personally had instances though that due to having a Latin accent, people immediately did not give me the credit of being highly educated. Unlike a friend of mine who had a British accent and no formal education.”

Monica’s husband, David, also faced the issue that the employers were ignorant. While he was in the medical residency training in the U.S., one hospital refused him to be a trainee for the following reason: they did not accept medical graduates from Europe. David is from Brazil, located in South America. The hiring manager at the hospital did not know where the country is.

“I was a bit shocked,” David said in an email interview. This case might be rare. But certainly, employers’ ignorance becomes an obstacle to get a job for Latinxs.

Stereotypes that are far from the truth are caused by ignoring true facts and cultural intolerance. The absence of true facts is highly contributed to by media productions. According to research done by an Eastern Washington University student, English-language television programs have often portrayed Hispanics and Latinxs as criminals or gangsters in the past few decades.

In fact, the data provided by the FBI in 2016 proves that more than 80 percent in total arrests were non-Hispanics. True facts are not on TV in many cases.

The same thing can be said about education. The Pew Research Center published a significant report in 2016. The report showed that even though the college enrollment rate of Hispanic U.S. citizens was still low compared to other ethnic groups, the rate of increase was outstandingly high.

Believe it or not, Whites and Hispanics have only 7 percent difference in the college enrollment rate. Recalling Monica’s experience, she has been stereotyped that she was not educated well because of her accent. Like Monica, Hispanics are sometimes unreasonably labeled to be uneducated no matter what kind of higher education degrees they have.

According to a 2017 poll by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, about one in three Latinx poll participants have ever felt discriminated against when applying for jobs because of their ethnicity. The same amount of Latinx participants have experienced that they couldn’t get promoted or a pay raise. What is the main cause of employment discrimination? One of the answers is a false portrayal that Latinx workers are lazy, violent, and uneducated.

Alex Guzman, president and CEO of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said, “Traditionally speaking, the Hispanic community members are very hard workers. They have one, two, or even actually three jobs. Mama works. Papa works. Grandma or grandpa works.”

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The Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is located at 1635 S. Redwood Road in Salt Lake City.

Guzman was born in Guatemala. He was a professional in the strategic marketing field there and also helped foreign companies reach out to the Hispanic community. While continuing his marketing career, he started a political career. However, his children were almost kidnapped twice. To escape from the threats throwing shadows over his family, he got out of his home country and moved to America in 2008. He became an advocate to support Latinx and Hispanic immigrants to become business owners, providing sources and connections.

“They become or became business owners without intent to be business owners. They are intent on surviving. For the business owners, they have to learn how to own a business. They need to know how to pay taxes,” Guzman said.

Utah is one of the states in which the Hispanic population is rapidly growing. According to the data by the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the population in Utah now exceeds  450,000. The data also show that Hispanic Utah residents are yearly contributing $9.5 billion to the local economy. Utah’s economy is highly supported by Hispanic hard workers.

Hispanic immigrants are citizens who have civil rights, including equal employment opportunity. Guzman considered equality as “one size does not fit all.” People have different backgrounds, ages, languages, and beliefs. Everyone cannot be treated in the same way.

“There are more than 13,700 Hispanic business owners registered at Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. But actually, the number is more than that. Only 13,700 business owners had the courage to self-identify themselves as Hispanics or minority when they registered their own businesses,” Guzman said.

People tend to estimate who the person is by only looking at the group where he/she belongs in spite of their backgrounds. Stereotyping results from ignorance of who the person is. Hispanic workers and business owners can feel more comfortable with their ethnic identity in a society where they can live fully as citizens.

 

 

Filed under: Business, Education, Hispanics & Latinos(as), Media, Nonprofits, Small Business, Utah's Economy | Leave a comment »

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