Posted inBusiness

Father and son business owners have served LA’s Eastside community across generations

When Cecilio Acevedo decided to pack up the few possessions he had to his name in 1964 and migrate from Mexico City to Los Angeles, he brought an invaluable asset with him. Three years of experience working across different furniture shops in Mexico would allow him to open his own business, which he’s now run for 52 years. In 1971, he founded Mission Furniture Manufacturing, a 7500-square-foot family-run shop that sits on Whittier Boulevard in the heart of East LA, which has sold hand-made furniture since its doors opened. His best sellers are traditional three-cushion sofas which have remained popular over the years.

Posted inEquity

Juan De La Cruz and other Latino philanthropists aim to counter the lack of Latino leaders in the field

Growing up as a first-generation Latino in historically impoverished Boyle Heights, Juan De La Cruz remembers the times he and his siblings did their best not to get sick. Like many other Latinos in under-resourced neighborhoods, the lack of health insurance meant panic, a memory that fuels his work today. For the last 16 years, De La Cruz has dedicated his life to philanthropy, serving in different capacities with the Los Angeles Unified School District and Young Men’s Christian Association. Today, he manages an $11.3 million budget as president of the Adventist Health White Memorial Charitable Foundation (AHWM), a nonprofit that supports research in the medical field and education. As a leader in philanthropy, De La Cruz is an industry minority, an inequity he hopes to change by spreading awareness and promoting himself.

Posted inLatinos

Alliance for a Better Community honors prominent Latinos at its first Zócalo event 

The Latino advocacy and outreach group, Alliance for a Better Community (ABC), partnered with the performing arts nonprofit, Grand Performances, to curate song and dance presentations that pay tribute to the county’s more than 4.8 million Latinos, which account for 48% of the total population. The event took place in October 13 at the California Plaza amphitheater in Downtown, Los Angeles, commencing a nonprofit’s debut Zócalo series. The event drew inspiration from the Zócalo in Mexico City, the main ceremonial center in the former Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

Posted inHealth

East LA Latinos reflect on mental health and cultural stigmas

The cultural “machismo” stereotype is upheld in many Latino households, forming a stigma around therapy and seeking help, which is often associated with weakness. When this practice is passed from one generation to the next, it becomes a difficult cycle to break. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, annually, 33% of Latinos suffering from a mental illness seek treatment, compared to the U.S. average of 43%. Gaithri Fernando is a psychology professor at California State University, Los Angeles, who recognizes how difficult having these conversations can be. “I hear many parents say, ‘If only [my kids] knew what I went through,’ and they don’t want to disclose those personal stories because of the trauma and they don’t want to burden their children,” he said.

Posted inEspañol

La lucha continúa: 53 años después, activistas comunitarios recuerdan la Moratoria Chicana

No llevó mucho tiempo para que los agentes del Sheriff, que se iban acercando a los más de 20.000 manifestantes ondeando banderas mexicanas a lo largo del bulevar  Whittier en el Este de Los Ángeles, dispararan cápsulas de gas lacrimógeno y menearan  libremente sus porras. Lo que inicialmente pretendía ser una expresión de oposición pacífica […]