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Maylin Sambois-Sanchez & Javier Sanchez

Maylin Sambois-Sanchez & Javier Sanchez

The term “power-couple” is often used to refer to two individuals – dating or married – who are independently successful. At times, this phrase seems somewhat trite – terming “power” as economic success. Yet, in many ways, I am tempted to use this label for Maylin Sambois-Sanchez and Javier Sanchez. These two look to strengthen the Columbus community through their focus on youth programming. The vision they each have for improving children’s lives coupled with their support for one other lends a special kind of power to their endeavors.

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Natalia Sanchez

Natalia Sanchez

Seven large canvas frames lean against a corner of Natalia Sanchez’s new studio space. She spent most of this Friday building, breaking down, and then rebuilding these wooden rectangles. This CCAD graduate appears the perfect combination of exhausted and exhilarated. The canvases are slated to feature a series of paintings inspired by chakras – or psychic energy centers.

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Crucita Flecha

Crucita Flecha

In the 1950’s, representatives from a steel company in Lorain, Ohio traveled down to Puerto Rico to recruit much-needed factory workers. They succeeded in convincing Crucita Flecha’s maternal and paternal grandparents (among many others) to move from their small town in Puerto Rico to the Midwest. Flecha’s grandfather worked in these Ohio steel mills until retirement, while her father found work at a Ford Automotive Plant in the neighboring city of Vermillion, Ohio.

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Reyna Esquivel-King

Reyna Esquivel-King

Reyna Esquivel-King kindly took a break from grading finals to share her story with ¡Dímelo, Columbus! She is currently a graduate student in Ohio State’s Department of History studying the relationship between film censorship and identity creation in Mexico’s revolutionary and post-revoluationary periods. We discussed her dissertation, how our backgrounds inspire research topics, and the strong relationship between history and the present.

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Josué Vicente

Josué Vicente

The Ohio Hispanic Coalition (OHCO) is situated on the Northside of Columbus, near Crosswoods. The OHCO was founded by three Latinas in 1990 to promote access to health services in Columbus. Now, the organization’s programming extends beyond simply issue of health to “improve the well-being and quality of life for all Hispanics/Latinos through advocacy, education, training, and access to quality services.” The OHCO’s executive director, Josué Vicente explains how the Coalition functions in the unique Midwest environment and elaborates on his own experience moving to the United States.

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Genesis Cruz-Santos

Genesis Cruz-Santos

Look closely between the chain restaurants and vestiges of deindustrialization on Columbus’s West Side, and you’ll notice a few colorful gems jutting from the landscape. One of these is Panaderia Oaxaqueña – a business located on 63 South Murray Hill Road that boasts some of the best Mexican pastries in town. This week, Dímelo features Genesis Cruz-Santos and his insight on the changing Latino community of the city.

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Rocío Prado

Rocío Prado

A self identified “Mexican born in the United States,” Rocío Prado grew up immersed in and somewhat torn between two cultures. Though based in Anaheim, California, Prado and her family frequently trekked to Mexico and Tijuana for weekend visits to family and doctors. Her experiences in Mexico and Baja California juxtaposed with those in Orange County private schools, where classmates often noted her ethnic difference, were difficult to navigate.

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Yolanda Zepeda

Yolanda Zepeda

Yolanda Zepeda advocates for Latino students and other underrepresented groups on campus as the assistant vice provost in Ohio State’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. With a significant background in higher education, Zepeda has seen a shift in the treatment of diversity in a university setting. Her experiences as a former student and current administrator of color within the university system inspire her to help others struggling to defend their identities and explain their presence on campus.

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Ani Palacios

Ani Palacios

An intensely curious person by admission, Ani Palacios’ fascination with all matter of subject seeps into her writing. Each book is different: one gives advice to new immigrants in the United States, another shares the journeys of a handsome (yet fictitious) Peruvian Texan musician, No Strings Attached shares the secret to unconditional love, and her award-winning novel Nos vemos en Purgatorio is a semi-autobiographical story of a Latina in the corporate world. We met at Columbus Metropolitan Library and discussed Palacios’ journey as an author and her creation of Pukiyari Publishing which promotes Latino authors from around the world right here in Columbus, Ohio.

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