Creating Hispanic History: Women and men breaking barriers in Central Florida

LOT OF PRIDE IN THIS. AS A MEXICAN AMERICAN, AS WE CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH. IT’S TIME TO PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON LATINOS AND LATINAS BREAKING BARRIERS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA TODAY. THEY SEEN AS A BUSINESS AND WE WANTED TO MAKE IT AS A LIKE A FAMILY. THEY ACCEPTED ME THE WAY I AM, THE WAY I SOUND. AND 25 YEARS LATER, I’M HERE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE. THEY’VE FOUND A WAY TO SOAR. THANKS TO THEIR HISPANIC HERITAGE. I’M VERY THANKFUL THAT MY PARENTS SPOKE SPANISH AND IN MY CAREER IT’S HELPED ME TREMENDOUSLY. IT’S OPENED THE DOORS AND SAMPLE THE SWEET TASTE OF SUCCESS. IT’S A CRAZY PIZZA YOU MADE PUERTO RICO ON A PIZZA. LET’S BOUT THE MAYO AND THE KETCHUP MAYO. KETCHUP IS IN FLORIDA MAYO. KETCHUP IS LIKE IT’S EVERYTHING. SO THIS IS CREATING HISPANIC HISTORY. A WESH 2 PROJECT COMMUNITY SPECIAL WITH LUANA MUNOZ AND NANCY ALVAREZ. HELLO. HOLA. BIENVENIDOS. WELCOME TO OSCEOLA ARTS IN KISSIMMEE, WHERE THE VIBRANCY AND TALENT OF HISPANIC ARTISTS SURROUNDS US. THIS IS ARTE SIN FRONTERAS, OR ART WITHOUT BORDERS. THE EXHIBIT HONORS THE HISTORY, THE HERITAGE AND THE CULTURE OF OUR HISPANIC AND LATINX COMMUNITY RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. IT REALLY IS THE PERFECT SETTING FOR WESH 2’S PROJECT COMMUNITY SPECIAL CREATING HISPANIC HISTORY. TONIGHT, YOU WILL MEET LATINOS AND LATINAS WHO ARE BREAKING BARRIERS ACROSS OUR LANDSCAPE. ENTREPRENEURS, DOCTORS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, EVEN PRO SPORTS. OUR GROWING COMMUNITY IS SEEING THEIR DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT AND THAT’S LITERALLY WHAT HAPPENED TO VICKIE JARAMILLO. YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW HER NAME, BUT THIS LATINA IS A BIG REASON WHY YOU CAN JUST HOP ON A FLIGHT TO JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD FROM ORLANDO. SEEING A PLANE OVERHEAD WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING NEAR ORLANDO IN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS TYPICALLY NOT A BIG DEAL UNLESS YOU’RE VICKIE JARAMILLO WHEN I DRIVE HOME FROM THE AIRPORT ON 436, AND THEN AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY WHEN YOU HAVE THE LUFTHANSA FLIGHT FLY OVER, I’LL SEE A TAN FLIGHT OR I’LL SEE ANOTHER AIRLINE, FOR INSTANCE, AIRLINE IS I CAN LOOK AND GO, WOW, I WORKED AND BRING THAT AIRLINE TO TO CENTRAL FLORIDA. VICKIE IS MACOS CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER. HER LATEST ROLE IN ALMOST 30 YEARS AT THE AIRPORT. THE ORLANDO NATIVE AND DAUGHTER OF COLOMBIAN IMMIGRANTS HAS DEEP ROOTS BOTH HERE AND THERE. I WAS BORN HERE, BUT FROM THREE MONTHS OLD, MY PARENTS WERE ALWAYS TAKING US TO COLOMBIA. MANY TIMES IN THE UNITED STATES, PEOPLE SEND THEIR KIDS TO CAMPS IN THE SUMMERTIME. FOR US, IT WAS CAMP COLOMBIA. I WENT TO OAK RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEN I WAS WORKING AT I WAS GOING PART TIME TO UCF. IT WAS AT THAT TIME CALLED FLORIDA TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY. I WAS ALSO WORKING AT DISNEY PART TIME ON THE WEEKENDS AS A TOUR GUIDE. AND THEN IN 1978, I BECAME AMBASSADOR FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD. THAT CHANGED MY TRAJECTORY. HER WORK AS A GLOBAL AMBASSADOR FOR DISNEY CEMENTED HER PASSION FOR TOURISM, AN INDUSTRY WHERE SHE EXCELLED IN PART THANKS TO WHAT SHE CALLS THE GIFT OF BEING BILINGUAL. I’M VERY THANKFUL THAT MY PARENTS, MY MOTHER, SPECIFICALLY SPOKE SPANISH, AND IN MY CAREER IT’S HELPED ME TREMENDOUSLY. IT’S OPENED THE DOORS. THE DOORS AT ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL OPENED FOR VICKIE IN 1984, AND HERE SHE GREW RIGHT ALONG WITH THE AIRPORT. WHEN SHE BEGAN HER CAREER HERE, TOTAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC HIT 10 MILLION TODAY. IT STANDS AT OVER 50 MILLION PEOPLE EACH YEAR. MANY TRAVELING ON AIRLINES. VICKIE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING TO CENTRAL FLORIDA. SO HOW MANY OF THESE AIRLINES DID YOU HELP BRING HERE? I WOULD SAY AT LEAST 15 OR 16 OF THEM. THE CHALLENGE I THINK, WITH ORLANDO WAS THEY ONLY LOOKED AT ORLANDO AS THE LEISURE DESTINATION FOR INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS. THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THERE’S A BUSINESS COMPONENT TO ORLANDO. 20% OF THE SEATS ARE IN BUSINESS CLASS IN THE FRONT OF THE PLANE, BUT THEY CAN REPRESENT 50 TO 60% OF THE REVENUE OF THE AIRPLANE. SO THAT IS WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE TELL THE ORLANDO STORY OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN THIS COMMUNITY. AS FAR AS BUSINESSES THAT ARE MOVING HERE, THAT GROWTH ALSO REFLECTED IN THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY. NOW, MORE THAN 30% OF ORANGE COUNTY’S POPULATION, SHELDON AND 54% OF OSCEOLA’S WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT NOW COMPARED TO WHAT IT WAS WHEN YOU JUST GOT HERE, IT WAS IT’S IT’S JUST NIGHT AND DAY WHEN WE WOULD GO TRAVEL BACK TO COLOMBIA, WE’D BRING A SUITCASE FULL OF GROCERIES AND FOODS THAT YOU COULDN’T FIND HERE. NOW YOU CAN JUST GO TO FANCY FRUIT OR YOU CAN GO TO SEDANO’S OR YOU CAN GO AND YOU CAN FIND THOSE FOODS. I DON’T HAVE TO BRING THE SUITCASE FULL ANYMORE. WE’RE SO EXCITED AND I PERSONALLY AM VERY EXCITED FOR YOU BECAUSE THE MORNING WE VISITED THE AIRPORT, VICKIE WAS SEEING OFF A DELEGATION OF THE HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF METRO ORLANDO ON THEIR WAY TO HER BELOVED COLOMBIA TO EXPLORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR REGION. YOU’RE GOING TO GET A CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW MEDELLIN. IT’S A VERY ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY, A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT FROM WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP. WE HAD TO DRIVE TO MIAMI. SO NOW THAT TRIP, WHICH IS TAKE 19 HOURS, IT TAKES THREE. THE WOMAN CHARGED WITH SELLING ORLANDO STORY TO THE WORLD, ALWAYS HOLDING ON TIGHTLY TO HER OWN. IT’S KIND OF LIKE I HAVE MY FOOT IN ONE PART OF THE WORLD AND THEN THE OTHER PART OF ME IS IN COLOMBIA. IF YOU THINK VICKI IS AT THE GATEWAY OF OPPORTUNITY AT ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THE BROTHERS YOU’RE ABOUT TO MEET ARE IN THE COCKPIT. ORIGINALLY FROM ECUADOR, THREE BROTHERS HAVE TRANSFORMED THEIR LOVE FOR FLYING INTO A BILINGUAL FLIGHT SCHOOL, HELPING TO SOLVE TODAY’S COMMERCIAL PILOT SHORTAGE. TOGETHER, THESE BROTHERS ARE GOING TO SHOW US THAT WITH HARD WORK AND DEDICATION, JUST ABOUT ANYONE CAN TRULY ATTAIN THE AMERICAN DREAM. FLYING HIGH IN THE SKY. DOZENS OF PILOT HOPEFULS ARE FLOCKING TO THE BUHIGWE AEROSPACE CORPORATION IN A UNIQUE FLIGHT SCHOOL HEADQUARTERED RIGHT HERE IN KISSIMMEE. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE STARTED THE SCHOOL IS WE WENT TO ANOTHER SCHOOLS IN AND THEY WERE NOT WHAT WE WANT. LIKE THAT WAS NOT WHAT WE WANTED, LIKE A PRICES AND STUFF LIKE THEY SEEN AS A BUSINESS AND AND WE WANTED TO MAKE IT AS A, LIKE A FAMILY. OLIVER IS THE YOUNGEST OF THREE BROTHERS WHO CAME TO THE US FROM ECUADOR. THEY STARTED A FAMILY FLYING CLUB IN MIAMI IN 2018. CHASE HERRING 330, AND JUST ONE YEAR LATER THEY TRANSFORMED IT TO A FULL ON AVIATION SCHOOL FOR 6494 IN JUST FIVE YEARS. THEIR LITTLE FLIGHT SCHOOL HAS EXPANDED WELL BEYOND FLORIDA, WITH A SCHOOL IN GEORGIA AND TWO MORE IN PUERTO RICO. AND THEY HOPE TO KEEP GROWING THE FADLEY WAS DIFFICULT, AS EVERY BUSINESS, BUT THEN JUST WORKING HARD WITH THE HELP OF OUR FAMILIES, BROTHERS IN IN MAKING THE BUSINESS GROW, I WOULD GO TO THEIR ROOM OR TO THEIR HOUSE, VISIT THEM, AND WHEN I WOULD GO THERE, IT’D BE THE THREE BROTHERS IN THE ONE ROOM MAKING SALES CALLS, TRYING TO GET PILOTS TO SIGN UP, GET PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SCHOOL IS ABOUT. WHAT ABOUT IF YOU WANT TO GO FLYING TOMORROW. SO WHAT’S THE SECRET TO THEIR SUCCESS? THEIR WORK AND DEDICATION IS OBVIOUS, BUT IT’S ALSO WHO THEY’RE TARGETING. THE SPANISH SPEAKING ASPECT IS ALSO ONE OF THE BIGGEST FACTORS, BECAUSE I FEEL THAT HAVING THAT THAT SPANISH SPEAKING CULTURE AS WELL AND WELCOMING PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, SO NOT ONLY SPANISH, BUT PORTUGUESE, THAT DIVERSITY OPENED THE DOOR FOR DOZENS OF PILOTS WHO OTHERWISE MAY HAVE FELT INTIMIDATED ATTENDING OTHER SCHOOLS, LIKE 22 YEAR OLD DANIEL FUENMAYOR, WHO CAME TO THE US FROM VENEZUELA FIVE YEARS AGO. AND WILL SOON BE GRADUATING. SO TODO LA OPORTUNIDAD LATINOS, HE SAYS. ABOVE ALL, IT’S THE OPPORTUNITY THE SCHOOL OFFERS LATINOS AND NOT JUST LATINOS, BUT PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. THEY OFFER A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FINANCIALLY AND ACADEMICALLY. WITH MORE THAN 300 GRADUATES, SOME WORKING FOR MAJOR AIRLINES LIKE UNITED AMERICAN AND SPIRIT, THE SCHOOL HAS PROVEN TO BE A TOUGH COMPETITOR FOR WELL-ESTABLISHED AVIATION SCHOOLS. AND THEY SAY THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION. YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIFIC YOU KNOW, JUST, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING, A SECRET SAUCE. YOU JUST GOT TO BE ABLE TO BE DEVOTED TO TO WHAT YOU WANT TO MAKE FLOURISH. AND EVENTUALLY IT’LL IT’LL HAPPEN. YOU JUST IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME AND PATIENCE. A TESTAMENT THAT THE AMERICAN DREAM CAN BE ACHIEVED. IT WAS REALLY BIG IN MIAMI AT THAT POINT. AND I SAID, LET’S DO IT IN ORLANDO AND SPICING UP ORLANDO’S FOOD SCENE, MEET THE ENTREPRENEUR WHO’S CONCEPT RESTAURANTS PUT A TWIST OF THE FLAVORS OF HIS HERITAGE. THAT’S NEXT ON CREATING HISPANIC HISTORY, A WESH 2 PROJECT COMMUNITY SPECIAL. WELCOME BACK TO CREATING HISPANIC HISTORY, A WESH 2 PROJECT COMMUNITY SPECIAL. THEY WERE TWO PUERTO RICAN KIDS WITH BIG DREAMS WHO NOW HAVE BIG JOBS KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE. OUR OSCEOLA COUNTY BUREAU REPORTER MEGAN MELLADO INTRODUCES US TO THE VERY FIRST HISPANIC MAN AND WOMAN TO BE NAMED DEPUTY CHIEF AT KISSIMMEE POLICE DEPARTMENT. BORN AND RAISED IN PUERTO RICO, CAMILLE ALYSIA WOULD VISIT ORLANDO WITH HER FAMILY EVERY SUMMER. HER PARENTS DREAMED OF MAKING CENTRAL FLORIDA THEIR PERMANENT HOME, BUT ALYSIA WAS THE FIRST ONE TO MAKE THAT PURSUIT. THEN HER FAMILY FOLLOWED HER FIRST JOB IN THE SUNSHINE STATE. HOUSEKEEPING. IT’S BEEN TOUGH. I MEAN, COMING HERE AT 20 AND NOT KNOWING MUCH ENGLISH AND HAVING TO TAKE WHATEVER JOB IS AVAILABLE, BUT A PASSION FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT SHE SAYS DEVELOPED WHEN SHE HELPED A FAMILY MEMBER THROUGH SOME LEGAL TROUBLE, ALWAYS STIRRED INSIDE HER, FINALLY CHARGING HER TO SIGN UP FOR THE POLICE ACADEMY. IT WAS A LITTLE BIT HARD. I HAVE TO SAY, BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, THE I COULD READ AND I COULD WRITE ENGLISH REALLY GOOD. BUT SPEAKING UNTIL THEN, I DID NOT HAVE TO DO THAT. ALYSIA GOT HIRED BY THE KISSIMMEE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS AN OFFICER. SHE THEN SCALED HER WAY THROUGH THE RANKS, BEING THE FIRST HISPANIC FEMALE SERGEANT IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR ME WAS THE DREAM. AND I THOUGHT I WAS DONE. AND I WAS EXTREMELY HONORED AND SATISFIED WITH THAT. BUT THEN SHE BECAME A LIEUTENANT, A CAPTAIN, AND NOW SHE HOLDS THE TITLE OF DEPUTY CHIEF AT K-P-D, THE FIRST HISPANIC FEMALE TO DO SO. I’M REALLY GRATEFUL TO THIS DEPARTMENT AND THIS CITY BECAUSE THEY THEY TOOK ME IN. THEY ACCEPTED ME THE WAY I AM, THE WAY I SOUND. AND 25 YEARS LATER, I’M HERE. DOWN THE HALL FROM ALYSIA SITS THE OTHER DEPUTY CHIEF AT KPD, THE FIRST HISPANIC MALE IN HIS POSITION. WILSON MUNOZ, WHO MOVED TO OSCEOLA COUNTY IN HIGH SCHOOL. WHILE I WAS A JUNIOR AT OSCEOLA HIGH SCHOOL. I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF MEETING THE SRO, WHO IS A RETIRED SERGEANT OF THE KISSIMMEE POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE SRO, HE SAYS, LED HIM TO CPD’S EXPLORERS PROGRAM, A YOUTH MENTORSHIP THAT TEACHES TEENS ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT. THEN I GRADUATED AND I JOINED THE MARINE CORPS RESERVES, DID MY TRAINING. AND THEN WHEN I CAME BACK, I KNEW I WANTED TO BE A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER BASED ON MY EXPERIENCES THAT I HAD HERE WITH THE OFFICERS AS AN EXPLORER, HE WENT TO THE POLICE ACADEMY AT AGE 20, AND AT AGE 21, HE WAS PICKED UP BY KPD, WORKING IN MIDNIGHT IRONICALLY, THE THE SRO THAT GOT ME INTO THE EXPLORER PROGRAM GOT PROMOTED AND BECAME A SERGEANT. AND WHEN I GOT OFF FIELD TRAINING, HE WAS MY SERGEANT IN PATROL. MUNOZ WORKED IN A VARIETY OF DEPARTMENTS, GETTING PROMOTED TO CORPORAL, SERGEANT, LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN AND JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, I WAS GIVEN THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING PROMOTED TO DEPUTY CHIEF OF. OPERATIONS. AND HERE I AM TODAY, ALYSIA AND MUNOZ WORK HAND IN HAND, MAKING SURE EVERY THING AT KPD IS RUNNING SMOOTHLY. THEIR MESSAGE, AS LONG AS YOU DON’T GIVE UP, YOU TOO CAN ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS AND BEYOND. I NEVER THOUGHT 25 YEARS AGO I JUST THOUGHT NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE WHERE I’M AT TODAY. NEVER GIVE UP HARD WORK, DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT. IT WILL GET YOU A LONG WAY IN OUR CULTURE. LA COMIDA IS TODO FOOD. IS EVERYTHING REALLY A BUILDING BLOCK OF FAMILY WEEKENDS, WEEKNIGHTS? ACE ANY DAY REALLY CAN REVOLVE AROUND PREPARING A DISH AND THE HOLIDAYS, I GUESS. RICO CENTRAL FLORIDA IS BLESSED WITH SO MANY RESTAURANTS THAT RECREATE THE FLAVORS AND THE RECIPES THAT ARE ABUELA AND ABUELO’S INTRODUCED US TO. BUT THERE’S ONE ENTREPRENEUR FROM PUERTO RICO WHO’S REALLY MAKING A SPLASH RIGHT NOW IN ONE OF ORLANDO’S FOODIE MECCAS. OH, MY NAME IS THOMAS WARD. I AM THE OWNER OF PINK FLOYD’S URBAN BARBECUE AND PIZZA ON MILLS LONG BEFORE HE BECAME A BIG NAME IN ORLANDO’S RESTAURANT SCENE, THOMAS WARD WAS JUST A KID CAUGHT UP IN A CHICKEN WAR IN PUERTO RICO. NO, REALLY, MY DAD’S AN ENTREPRENEUR, RIGHT? SO WHEN I WAS BORN AT THAT TIME, HE USED TO BE THE CHICKEN GUY IN PUERTO RICO. WAS HE ACTUALLY KNOWN AS THE CHICKEN GUY? YEAH, WELL, HE DID, BECAUSE THERE WAS A FAMOUS LA GUERRA DE LOS POLLO, THEY CALLED IT, BETWEEN A LOCAL SUPPLIER AND MY DAD THAT WAS BRINGING CHICKEN FROM THE UNITED STATES. AND THEN FROM THEN ON, HE MOVED INTO ICE CREAM WHEN THE FAMILY’S ICE CREAM BUSINESS TOOK OFF, THOMAS STEPPED UP. I USED TO WORK IN SUMMER WAKING UP AT 3 A.M., GOING TO SELL ICE CREAM. HIS NEXT STOP AFTER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION ON THE ISLAND, ROLLINS COLLEGE IN ORLANDO, ORLANDO A STINT IN REAL ESTATE, THEN A RETURN TO PUERTO RICO AND HIS DAD’S NEXT VENTURE. SUPERMARKETS, THEN IT WAS BACK TO ORLANDO, JUST AS FOOD TRUCKS WERE BECOMING ALL THE RAGE. IT WAS REALLY BIG IN MIAMI AT THAT POINT, AND I SAID, LET’S DO IT IN ORLANDO. AND I STARTED A BURGER TRUCK. I HAVE TO BE HONEST, I HAVE NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF COOKING. I DON’T HAVE THIS ABUELITA STORY THAT MY GRANDMOTHER TAUGHT ME OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. LIKE I ATE EVERYTHING THEY MADE. BUT AND I ATE A LOT. BUT I LEARNED A LOT MORE ABOUT THE BUSINESS IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, WHICH LED ME INTO MY NEXT PROJECT, WHICH WAS I WENT BACK TO PUERTO RICO AND OPENED A RESTAURANT THERE, AND THEN EVENTUALLY I MOVED BACK TO ORLANDO AND I STARTED PINK FLOYD’S. AND AT EVERY MOVE, THOMAS CREDITS HIS FAMILY AND HIS CULTURE FOR HIS SUCCESS. BECAUSE I WENT TO HOME DEPOT, BOUGHT A SMOKER, AND STARTED WATCHING A BUNCH OF YOUTUBE, AND I COOKED A TURKEY WITH MY MOTHER. AND I HAVE FOUR SISTERS, SO MY SISTER’S ALWAYS DECIDE WHERE WE’RE GOING TO EAT OR MY MOM. I SAID, LIKE, WE HAVE TO MAKE IT REALLY SEXY FOR WOMEN. LIKE A GOOD LATINO MAN. YEAH. YOU’RE LISTENING TO YOUR MOM AND YOUR SISTERS AND THE WOMEN IN YOUR LIFE. SO WE GOOD? YEAH. IT HELPED A LOT. WE BEAT OUR PROJECTIONS WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF OPENING, SO IT WAS REALLY IT WAS GREAT. THE MILLS AREA WAS CHANGING, AND AS MILLS 50 TRANSFORMED INTO A DESTINATION, THOMAS’S BUSINESS GREW WITH IT. PIGS NOW SITS NOT FAR FROM PINK FLOYD’S. THIS IS THE CHICKEN BOOM, THE SPECIAL WHEN WE STOP BY PUERTO RICO’S FAMOUS TRIPLETA SANDWICH, COMPLETE WITH A MAYO KETCHUP BLEND ON A PIZZA. IT HAS TO HAVE PORK, CHICKEN AND AND, YOU KNOW, STEAK. IT’S A CRAZY PIZZA. YOU MADE PUERTO RICO ON A PIZZA. WE DID. SO THESE ARE LIKE SIGNATURE INGREDIENTS. LET’S TALK AGAIN ABOUT THE MAYO AND THE KETCHUP MAYO. KETCHUP IS IMPORTANT. MAYO KETCHUP IS LIKE IT’S EVERYTHING. IT’S EVERYTHING. OH, MY GOD. WITH NEW PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON, THOMAS SAYS TWO THINGS NEVER CHANGE. THE INFLUENCE OF HIS ISLAND AND HIS FAMILY, THE FOUNDATION OF FAMILY BE THE BACKBONE OF THEM BEING THERE. IF YOU NEEDED ANYTHING OR SOMETHING HAPPEN MEANS THAT’S VERY IMPORTANT. YEAH, IT IS. AND HIS WILLINGNESS TO OPEN HIS ARMS TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEUR OWNERS, I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY. LEE THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THEY ASK THE QUESTIONS. THE BUSINESS HERE IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN IN PUERTO RICO OR THE BUSINESS IN WHATEVER ISLAND OR SOUTH AMERICA. IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS HERE, COME ASK QUESTIONS. I’M OPEN. AND FOR ME TO REPRESENT LIKE THERE’S NO EXCUSE, YOU KNOW, IT’S ALL OUT THERE FOR US. HOW LESSONS LEARNED IN ONE FIELD HAVE TRANSITIONED TO ANOTHER FOR THIS SON OF MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS. WE CATCH UP WITH THE BUCS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ABOUT BREAKING BARRIERS IN THE NFL, CREATING HISPANIC HISTORY, A WESH 2 PROJECT COMMUNITY SPECIAL RETURNS AFTER THIS. WELCOME BACK TO CREATING HISPANIC HISTORY. A WESH 2 PROJECT COMMUNITY SPECIAL. IT’S PRETTY WELL KNOWN THAT FOOTBALL IS THE DOMINANT SPORT IN SPANISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES, BUT FOR HISPANICS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, THE OTHER FOOTBALL IS WINNING OVER FANS. WESH 2 SPORTS ANCHOR KRISTEN LAGO RECENTLY SPOKE TO A LATINO WHO’S BREAKING THROUGH IN THE PREDOMINANTLY WHITE COACHING RANKS OF THE NFL. I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG KIDS WHO ARE REALLY STARTING TO THINK ABOUT THEIR FUTURE AND WHAT THEY CAN DO. AND FOR ME TO REPRESENT LIKE, THERE’S NO EXCUSE, YOU KNOW, IT’S ALL OUT THERE FOR US. FOR BUCCANEERS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DAVE CANALES, HIS LIFE AS A COACH AND AS A MENTOR EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE HASH LINES OF THE FOOTBALL FIELD. IT’S JUST WORK. IT’S HARD WORK. IF YOU WANT TO DO IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING. STICK TO IT. BE STUBBORN ABOUT IT, AND THEN YOU CAN CHASE YOUR DREAMS AND HIS DREAMS GROWING UP, THEY LOOKED A LOT LIKE THIS LIFE ON THE FIELD, A LIFE SURROUNDED BY OTHERS, ALL TIED TOGETHER BY, YOU GUESSED IT, A FOOTBALL. SO WE’RE ALWAYS OUTSIDE. AND IT WAS A TON OF KIDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SO WE PLAYED EVERY SPORT, ALL THE TIME. BY THE TIME I HIT 13, 13, THEN I WAS JUST LIKE ALL ABOUT THE NFL DRAFT, COLLEGE FOOTBALL, ALL THEIR FRESHMAN SIGNING CLASSES, ALL THAT. AND I JUST REALLY FOUND SOMETHING TO APPLY MY BRAIN TO. WELL, THE DREAMS CAME EASILY. THE JOURNEY WAS ANYTHING BUT A PERFECT ROUTE. FORTUNATELY FOR CANALES, HIS HERITAGE AND HIS UPBRINGING HAVE HELPED PAVE THE WAY. MY GRANDPA WAS HE MOVED FROM MEXICO TO THE STATES AND GOT CITIZENSHIP IN WORLD WAR TWO BY ENLISTING IN THE ARMY. THAT’S HOW HE AND MY GRANDMOTHER BECAME CITIZENS. AND THEN ALL THEIR KIDS, BY DEFAULT, BECAME US CITIZENS. AND SO HE WORKED THE FIELDS. MY GRANDMA WORKED AT THE FIELDS ALL OF MY ALL OF HER SISTERS AND BROTHERS DID NO JOB TOO BIG FOR THEM, NO JOB, TOO BIG FOR HIM. SO FOR ME, IT REALLY DID HELP ME THROUGH MY KIND OF MY UPBRINGING AS A COACH BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE THERE’S THESE ODD JOBS THAT LIKE SOME GUYS WERE LIKE A LITTLE BIT FUNNY ABOUT IT. I’D BE LIKE, I GOT IT. WHAT DO YOU NEED? HOW MANY? OKAY, I’LL BE RIGHT BACK. HE STARTED OFF AS AN ASSISTANT HIGH SCHOOL COACH AT HIS ALMA MATER IN CARSON, CALIFORNIA, NEARLY 20 YEARS LATER, HE WAS HIRED BY THE BUCCANEERS, THE ONLY HISPANIC OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR IN THE NFL. HIS PLATFORM AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS IS NOT LOST ON HIM. AFTER ALL, THE LEAGUE HOLDS ONE OF THE LARGEST LATINO FAN BASES OF ANY SPORT IN THE COUNTRY. IT’S WHY, DAY AFTER DAY PRACTICE AFTER PRACTICE, HE NEVER TAKES IT FOR GRANTED. AND AS I LOOK, I TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN THIS. AS A MEXICAN AMERICAN. BUT AS I LOOK AROUND, THINK ABOUT JUST, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE BUCS FAN. AND IF THEY GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY CATCH WITH MIKE EVANS OR CHRIS GODWIN OR BAKER OR WHATEVER, I MEAN, I STILL GET GEEKED OUT ABOUT THAT. SO EVERY DAY, EVERY GAME STILL OUT THERE CHASING HIS DREAMS, HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH IS ALL ABOUT HONORING THE PLACES, PEOPLE AND THE TRADITIONS OF OUR CULTURE. AND CENTRAL TO ALL OF IT IS REMEMBER GROWING. IT’S WHY ONE LOCAL LATINA IS WORKING ON AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY TO SAFEGUARD ALL OF US FROM LOSING OUR PRECIOUS MEMORIES. YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. SIT DOWN WITH DR. VALERIA VALDIVIESO, AND ONE CONSTANT THEME EMERGES MEMORIES. THE ONE SHE’S WORKING ON AND THE ONES THAT GOT HER HERE TO HER ROLE AS MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF ADVENTHEALTH’S MEMORY DISORDER CLINIC. I REMEMBER HER AS I GREW UP. MY FATHER HAD ITS OWN OPHTHALMOLOGY PRACTICE AND GOING TO HOSPITALS AND I WILL GO WITH HIM AND ASSIST HIM. GOOD MORNING, MARY. HI. BORN IN SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA, DR. B, AS SHE’S KNOWN, WAS AN EARLY ON THE MEDICAL FIELD WOULD BE HER FUTURE. AND ONE SIGNIFICANT EVENT STANDS OUT. MY MOM’S MOM, SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AT AN EARLY AGE AND THAT IMPACTED THE WHOLE FAMILY. BUT BEFORE SHE IMMERSED HERSELF IN TREATING ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS AND STUDYING THE DISEASE, DR. B’S JOURNEY TOOK HER TO MEXICO FOR HER STUDIES AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING. I WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE DISEASES, AND I DECIDED TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES. IT WAS A CHALLENGE TO MOVE TO A DIFFERENT COUNTRY, DIFFERENT CULTURE, DIFFERENT SYSTEM, AND TO CHANGE YOUR CAREER FROM ONE FROM SPANISH TO ENGLISH. THEN IT WAS ON TO PUERTO RICO, A PLACE THAT HELPED PUT HER PASSION IN FOCUS. NOW I DID FAMILY MEDICINE IN THE WEST COAST OF PUERTO RICO, WHICH IS PRIMARILY OLDER POPULATION. I WAS ABLE TO SEE THE NEED FOR SUPPORT, FOR RESOURCES, FOR HELP, COGNITIVE DECLINE. AND MUCH LIKE HER JOURNEY TO ADVENT HEALTH, HER WORK HERE HAS GONE GLOBAL WITH A RECENT GROUNDBREAKING STUDY, LEE. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN TWO SITES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IT WAS DONE AS WELL IN MEXICO, JAPAN, JAMAICA, SCOTLAND AND BRAZIL. AND WE WERE ABLE TO SEE THAT ON A COGNITIVE EVALUATION, A COGNITIVE TEST ITSELF, JEFF IS INSUFFICIENT. WE PHYSICIANS NEED TO START EARLY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BRAIN HEALTH TO PEOPLE 50, 55 AND OLDER. ALBERT VERGARA WAS PART OF THE STUDY IN ORLANDO THIS GENTLEMAN WITH THE BROAD HAT IS MY GRANDFATHER HERE WITH CONCERNS ABOUT HIS FAMILY HISTORY. AND AS A CAREGIVER FOR HIS MOTHER IN LAW, WHO IS LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER’S, THE DISEASE IS PREVALENT IN HIS LIFE. OUR CULTURE TENDS NOT TO TRUST MEDICINE MOST OF MY FAMILY AND EVERYTHING REFER USED TO GO TO DOCTORS. RESEARCH SHOWS HISPANICS ARE ALMOST TWICE AS LIKELY AS WHITES TO HAVE DEMENTIA, ACCORDING TO THE CDC, BY 2060, AN ESTIMATED. 3.2 MILLION HISPANICS WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S AND RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE. THEY SAY I LOOK EXACTLY LIKE HIM. NUMBERS, ALBERT SAYS, PROVE THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS COMMUNITY. PARTICIPATE IN STUDIES TO HELP DOCTORS BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY NOT BEING ABLE TO SPEAK IT OR UNDERSTAND THE ENGLISH THAT IS BEING SPOKEN TO YOU IS A IS A DETERRENT. BARRIERS. DR. B IS DETERMINED TO BREAK. WE WANT TO HAVE CLINICAL TRIALS, RESEARCH STUDIES THAT REALLY REPRESENT OUR POPULATION. FOR THEM TO BE MORE VALID. AND YOU CAN FIND ALL THE STORIES THAT WE’VE SHARED WITH YOU AND SO MUCH MORE ON OUR WEBSITE, WESH.COM. JUST CLICK ON THE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH TAB FROM THE ENTIRE WESH 2’S TEAM. THANKS FOR JOINING US. IN OSCAR NOYA.