People

AHRIEL DELGADO is not currently living in El Bronx (home to my Tio Noelle and a lot of other people’s tips) but she was born there. Instead, every ounce of her Taina stature and perfectly sculptured Spanish cheekbones, have been gracing (though I suspect they are not worthy) the picturesque Pocono Mountains. I am not currently living in Manhattan, though my father was born there, instead I am living in Picturesque Buffalo, New York, and the story of what AhRiel Delgado means to me is profound. When I began this project in Dec of 2019, I started by writing about women in education. A shift came when I started “looking” for women to write about, that for whatever reason, “needed” to be recognized and written about. AhRiel Delgado is one of those women. She believes in herself enough to know the power of small-town girls with dreams. Who cares where you are from? How many people are in your town, or how small or dark your future may look from the outside? Who cares how small your chance is, the only reason you got one is because you think you do! GO FOR IT. That is what her life displays or models. Positive affirmations are phrases that you say to yourself to affirm and build yourself up, specifically when your body is under stress. I wasn’t taught coping skills and self-esteem building, rather my greatest insecurities were turned into nicknames. AhRiel has the eyes of someone who believes in themselves.  23 years old, young, but wise enough to know her talents, which sometimes take people a lifetime to discover. Naturally, her entire family’s culture is built on music. Rightfully, those who walk the journey before us enlighten our steps. Her great-grandfather was a writer (Spanish), she told me, he wrote a book of poems to her great-grandmother, who was Taina, to convince her to marry him, or so the story goes.  Is it possible that when the pen hit the paper generations ago, the universe knew about AhRiel? Knew that this man and this woman’s union and lineage would lead to a soul who would change my life? AhRiell made me brave enough to write about artists, and since I wanted to be one, even writing about them makes me feel revolutionary. It’s like starting over after three years-AhRiel Delgado- artist and businesswoman, number one.  What’s an artist? An artist is a soul that knows its gifts. They put their emphasis on building up that gift so they can share it with the world; that is the most important part. The person receiving your gift can mean so much about how you feel. That is why I write, to my invisible audience, my readers whom I can’t see but know. I know you are there, and I want to share it with you. Look for her in print in the Latino papers in your local Latino businesses. If your hometown isn’t getting a delivery but you are reading this and you want a paper – reach out to me. This entire project is based on people giving other people hope.  Join AhRiel”s audience, follow her, listen to her, comment on her, like her statuses, message her, “engage” as they would say, with someone who knows the power of positive thought.  See yourself in her, the part of yourself that wanted to do or be something different than you are or do now. I created Latinaherstory to celebrate the life of my grandmother. As I was writing I recalled my Abuela was a singer, she loved to sing “En mi Viejo San Juan.”  Telling my aunts, she used to “sing” when she was younger for the farm workers. I see my grandmother in AhRiel.  When the pen hit the paper for AhRiel”s first song, did God know she would remind me, three years after my grandmother’s passing, about one of my grandmother’s most private aspirations — to sing, to be an artist as well? INTERVIEW WITH AHRIEL DELGADO What is the name of your business/artistry? I decided to go with AhRiel in 2019. I needed something new and adding an H to my name seems to be all I needed. Why? Even though I only added one letter to my original name, I decided I liked the pronunciation better. My real name is supposed to be pronounced ah-riel, but many people associate my name with the little mermaid. Even though it is one of my favorite Disney movies, I would like for people to associate my name with me. Where were you born and what values were taught in your home?  I was born in Queens NY and lived there till I was about 6. My home was always full of music and family. My parents always taught me about the importance of being kind and keeping my imagination alive. I learned to value family and those who care for me. Family or not.  What was your experience like as a student?  I liked school and learning a lot. I still do. It was a little harder for me to understand things taught in class, but I had amazing teachers that spent extra time with me to make sure I finally understood anything I was having an issue with. Growing up with dyslexia also made it hard for me because I was constantly thrown off. I always pushed through and I’m grateful I did because I may not like learning anything new if I didn’t have to, as I got older. How do you define an artist? – An artist is someone who shares their passion with others. No matter what it is or whom it’s shared with. Someone who pours themselves into something they love doing or making. How do you define a businessperson?  I’ve always seen a businessperson as someone who pays attention to the small details of the analytics of anything and understands why they are important. Someone who can separate what is important for themselves and

What is culture? – To me – a shared set of experiences and the values-driven from those experiences. What’s it worth? Whelp – mostly usually oppression lol factually speaking of course. The fun parts are- lots of times- food, shared music, song, and art, some interesting stories, unique yet athletic or sports-like games, and then there’s government and religion – aforementioned. Latinos, who are we? What is our culture? How many of us are there? & who “Counts?  We are but one people separated by constructed privileges, a couple of oceans and rivers, and connected by technology and we all love el Conejo malo (I don’t care what you say). Further, our Latino culture is shared by people whose experiences span such polarized degrees of privilege- that it blows my mind. How much keen injustice exists within the culture I wonder? Factually injustice in this country and (others) is so, that I can have the very same name, the very same everything as another woman but if by a randomized act of God, she is born outside of the United States, and our lives are measured differently. Same name kept I am a citizen and she’s not two different social realities – that’s undeniable. There is a girl whose last name is Rodriguez (same as mine) sitting in a cell somewhere because she was born on the WRONG side of an invisible line or the tracks and had the common sense to run for it. Is that fair?  Is it my culture to accept that? It’s the way the numbers work that I’m on the outside and she’s on the inside. The scary thing of all is – we might even have the same dreams. Maybe even agree on religion and like the same food. But because it benefits some folx- they try to make it seem like me and her – we don’t have the same culture and trick me into wanting to lock her up. Nope. Not I. When I close my eyes the days, I feel the worst for myself I close my eyes and think about that girl. I won’t support “culture” that doesn’t count such women and me in the same deck. Just cus I’m half white and born in the United States doesn’t make me more deserving of liberty – the way that I see it. You’ve got to believe in liberty to be brave – because if not- what are you fighting for? Who are brave people in a culture? Brave people ask themselves that too. And the bravest of all, answer their question in the worst way- in a way that causes them to have to act. Amber Martinez is brave and complicated. She is a leader because she creates community (whose foundation is coalition building) – which itself is a challenging enterprise. Why do some build communities? Answering for myself – because they know the feeling of being alone. Anyone who can make It is the small-town USA and the city has got my respect. You’ve got to two have two different types of Moxy – on call- for both the country and the city in New York State, Amber’s got them. The type of “gotem” that made her a welcome guest in Croatia -finding herself making friends she could keep for a lifetime, a million miles away from home and impromptu ambassador for the Latino community. After 20 years or so in Buffalo she calls her home. What is her business? She is one of the co-curators of the brand La Kultura in her words “we chose that name for what it means: The Culture”. Explaining: “We are one and we will be the ones to set the tone for what creating unity looks like.” Amber Martinez- Her role? to unify communities around spaces centered around freedom of identity. Freedom of identity, the freedom to shed your culture born or not and or to assume another, to leave freer than before, if you so choose. THE INTERVIEW: Read Amber’s Interview, follow her brand, and accept we are all in constant states of transformation and growth and that’s part of our culture too. Where were you born and what values were taught in your home? Well, I was born in a small town in NY with my mother and brother. Some of the values that stick out at a young age are respect, discipline, and responsibility.     What was your experience like as a student?  My college experience was interesting. When I first went to college, my first semester was a realization that I was not ready or prepared for what college had in store. By my second semester, I dropped out and started my first full-time job at DD. It took 4 years to find my way back into college. I started back up at ECC and graduated with my associate’s degree in Liberal Arts. By this time, I took a year off to focus on a sales position. After the year, I decided to sign back up for school and started my journey to receive my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. It was a little hard connecting with other students at that time because I was 5 – 6 years older than the students in my class. I decided before I graduated, that I wanted to do an abroad program to meet people with the same interests. At first, I was denied for abroad programs. Then I took an International Marketing class, and the professor was promoting an abroad Spring break trip to Croatia. I wasn’t convinced but signed up anyway. I ended up being accepted into the program during my last semester in college. Long story short, it was a life-changing experience and that opportunity helped me develop relationships with the students on that trip whom I still speak to, even in today’s light of life.     What was your first job? My first job out of high school was with Dunkin Donuts (DD). Working