Hispanic Community

The power of coffee: Cocoa Cinnamon seeks to connect the community of Durham through an inviting atmosphere and welcoming space.

By Ava Dobson

March 11, 2024

The aroma of coffee and spices and the heat of animated discussion fill the air of a bustling Durham coffee shop. An ambush of the senses strong enough to overwhelm the soul, this wordless greeting beckons visitors as if to say, “you’re welcome here.”   Longtime Cocoa Cinnamon co-owner, Areli Barrera de Grodski, stands near the […]

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Managing a Covid Quinceanera

By Samantha Martinez

August 15, 2020

May 16, 2020, was the day I was going to transform into a young woman. That is, until Covid 19. This is the story of how Covid 19 impacted what was supposed to be a day to remember. I know what you might be thinking: “What is a quinceanera?”  A quinceanera, also referred as a […]

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East Durham Children’s Initiative and Partners for Youth Opportunity merge to become Durham Children’s Initiative (DCI)

By Carl Kenney

July 28, 2020

By David Reese, DCI President   July 1 marked a monumental day in the history of the Durham Children’s Initiative (DCI). Not only have we officially changed our name to reflect our county-wide work with families and our support of the development of the Durham County Early Childhood Action Plan (ECAP), but we have also signed […]

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NIS: working to improve racial equity in city policy decisions

By Heaven Gullate

April 15, 2019

  Durham’s Neighborhood Improvement Services (NIS) Community Engagement Team leaders Lynwood Best and Jacob Lerner understand something that many people don’t appreciate — that there is a vast difference between equality and equity. According to Best and Lerner, equality is making sure everyone is treated equally. Equity is making sure everyone is given the tools […]

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‘We’ve always been taking steps foward’: LCCU continues to grow

By Diane Adame and Veronica Correa

February 27, 2019

After nearly 20 years, the Latino Community Credit Union continues to do more than provide North Carolina’s Latino community with a safe place to store their earnings. A credit union founded in Durham in 2000, LCCU works to educate and empower all communities by offering a financial education program and savings, checking, loans and credit […]

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Durham nonprofits make educational programs accessible for immigrants

By Veronica Correa

January 30, 2019

When Durham mother of two Ana Sanchez started taking her son Leo to the Durham County Library, it was a struggle to get the kindergartner to enjoy reading. Today the fourth-grader can read at grade level with the help of weekly tutoring. “It really helps the kids open their minds,” Sanchez said in Spanish. The […]

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¿Por qué queremos escuchar tu VOZ? (Why do we want to hear your VOICE?)

By Maria Elena Vizcaino

April 11, 2018

My dad has lived in the United States for the past 10 years. He doesn’t speak a word of English. That’s why back in January, when my professor suggested The VOICE publish articles in Spanish, I didn’t hesitate before committing to translate our content. Like my dad, thousands of immigrants in this country decide to […]

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East Durham Children’s Initiative ofrece diversos programas gratis para los niño

By Liz Chen

April 2, 2018

Un sábado típico para Angel, quien tiene 10 años, consiste de un desayuno saludable y balanceado, jugando soccer con sus amigos y aprendiendo algo nuevo en los programas sabatinos de East Durham Children’s Initiative (EDCI) STEAM.  Los sábados STEAM se enfocan en avanzar la educación en ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería, arte y matemática para los estudiantes […]

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Durham elects first Latina to City Council

By Marissa O'Neill and Bryce Lapping

January 31, 2018

Javiera Caballero sat in the Durham City Hall Council Chambers, waiting. The next day, she would celebrate her 40th birthday, but a larger accomplishment awaited. After a 5-1 vote among the council, Caballero took her oath of office on Jan. 16, becoming just the second sitting LatinX-identified public official in all of North Carolina. The […]

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A Celebration for the Future: El Centro Hispano turns 25

By Allen Longstreet

November 8, 2017

   It was a quiet and chilly Thursday morning, but the lobby of El Centro Hispano was filled with the sounds of a new workday – phones ringing and conversations taking place. A man and a woman waited to be assisted by the receptionist. The woman, Concepcion Morales, 55, presented the Case Manager, Macarena Sanchez, […]

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Threehouse Studios opens early to say “Somos Juntos”

By Gabby Bulgarelli

October 18, 2017

Some of Durham’s creatives and small business owners nestled into a small parking lot just off of Durham/Chapel Hill Boulevard on Sunday. They were there with a mission: to raise money in solidarity with Puerto Rico. Organizers Courtney OM, Autumn Nicholas, and Josephine McCrann have been working locally for some time, and knew they would […]

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Durham Green Flea Market: It’s all about what you can give

By Allen Longstreet

September 20, 2017

  On Saturdays and Sundays, there is quite a bit of congestion on East Pettigrew Street, just past the intersection of Alston Avenue. But the traffic isn’t caused from churchgoers or construction — it’s the line of cars waiting to get into the Durham Green Flea Market. Boasting over 150 vendors, with items ranging from […]

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Miguel Collado, owner of Los Primos, is everybody’s cousin

By Brian Shurney and Jarely Parada

February 1, 2017

Supplying juicy fruit, leafy vegetables and fresh cuts of meat on dinner tables throughout Northeast Central Durham, Miguel Collado is a provider for the community. Miguel is the owner of Los Primos Supermarket on Alston Avenue. He used to have partners running the business with him, but he took sole ownership of the store in […]

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El Centro Hispano shifts focus as it moves into new office space

By Noah Grant

October 5, 2016

El Centro Hispano celebrated its move into a new office space on Saturday, Oct. 1, holding an open house and town hall meeting for board members and citizens of the community. The organization moved into the new space at 2000 Chapel Hill Road in late May, said Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, El Centro’s president and CEO. Rocha-Goldberg […]

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Vianey Martinez: A “Community Baby”

By Anna Williams

October 1, 2015

“I’ve lived in the same ZIP code since I got to the U.S. in fourth-grade—27703,” says Vianey Martinez. Martinez, a 21-year-old senior who is majoring in sociology and Hispanic linguistics, grabs shelter from a downpour at the Old Well. She is the only student from her graduating class at Southern High School to attend UNC-Chapel […]

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Critics claim Alston widening creates division, not access

By Sarah Kaylan Butler

September 17, 2015

  Community members say the Alston Avenue widening project will create more division than access to the neighborhood even after the compromise to save Los Primos Supermarket. The widening project, which will stretch from N.C. Highway 147 (the Durham Freeway) to Holloway Street, has been part of the conversation in North East Central Durham since […]

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The business behind Valentine’s Day

By Jennifer Tietnguyen

February 18, 2015

  Valentine’s Day isn’t just flowers and chocolates. For some Hispanic families in Durham, N.C. – it’s a livelihood. Mayra Hernandez, 21, and her mother, Irma Delgobo, 37, have been setting up their Valentine’s Day stands for over five years. For Delgobo, who runs no other business, this holiday is a special and — most […]

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Latino Fest brings out the best in Durham

By Robert Berges

October 1, 2014

La di da di, Durham likes to party, and on Saturday, Sept. 27 the 10th annual Latino Festival came to Rock Quarry Park – just to see you smile and enjoy yourself. Cynthia Booth, a public affairs coordinator from Durham Parks and Recreation, said, “I like to see people come together to enjoy music, dance, […]

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La Voz of Lakewood YMCA reaches out to growing Hispanic community

By Elizabeth Byrum

April 10, 2013

¿Hablas español? The staff and members of the Lakewood YMCA in Durham want the community to know they do. The La Voz (The Voice) Spanish-speaking Advisory Committee aims to address the needs of the Latino community in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as the greater city of Durham. The idea for the committee began as part […]

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Zumbathon will benefit Durham’s El Centro Hispano

By Elizabeth Byrum

February 20, 2013

Twelve instructors. Three hours. One Zumbathon. Latin-influenced notes of salsa, bachata, merengue and cumbia will fill the Downtown Durham YMCA on Saturday, as participants of El Centro Hispano’s Zumbathon dance and shimmy into the night. Since 2011, the Zumbathon has brought hundreds of community members together for several hours of high-energy Latin dancing. Zumba Fitness […]

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El Centro Hispano helps immigrants work toward citizenship

By Elizabeth Byrum

February 6, 2013

Sofía Castro, originally from Colombia, has enjoyed spending the last 18 years in the United States and she plans to stay — but as a full citizen. “This country has very good people, of God, more than any other part,” Castro said. On Thursday nights, Castro, along with a handful of other students, attends the […]

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Barriers hinder access to necessary mental health care

By Caitlin Owens

As national attention focuses on whether or not mental illness contributes to violence, Durham mental health care officials have found that violence—among other kinds of trauma—may contribute to mental health challenges. Although the Northeast Central Durham area suffers from many of the same mental health issues as the rest of the country, trauma plays a […]

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¡Viva Fútbol!: soccer tourney launches Latino Festival

By Carl Kenney

September 19, 2012

By Carol Longoria UNC Co-Editor the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com The sun rises over Holton Career and Resource Center on Saturday morning, Sept. 15, while dozens of young athletes cluster with their teams for warm-ups in anticipation of the start of the soccer games. Tournament coordinators Alberto Carrasquillo and Fidel Quiroga ensure coaches know their field […]

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Latino Credit Union provides financial education

By Carl Kenney

March 24, 2011

By Leah Campbell UNC Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurahmvoice@gmail.com Between 2002 and 2007, Latino entrepreneurship grew by 135 percent in the state – faster than in any state but Arkansas, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Latino Community Credit Union, or La Cooperativa Latina de Credita as it […]

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Salvation Army branch helps growing Hispanic community

By Carl Kenney

February 3, 2011

By Emma Witman UNC Staff Writer The Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com For 100 years the Salvation Army has been working to better the community of Durham. It has also strived to help a demographic rising in numbers — Durham’s Hispanic community. The Hispanic Outpost is a branch of the Durham Salvation Army with just that goal.  […]

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New grocery store will provide much-needed facility

By Carl Kenney

February 5, 2010

By Catherine Rierson UNC Staff Writer The Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com Equipped with just six aisles and two registers, Los Primos—the tienda that sits on East Main Street at its bustling intersection with Alston Avenue—is one of the only supermarkets in Northeast Central Durham. With little access to nutritious foods beside those found at Los Primos, […]

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Taking care of hispanic neighbors

By Carl Kenney

November 19, 2009

By Cara Oxendine NCCU Staff Writer the Durham VOICE thedurhamvoice@gmail.com underrepresented for so long, Hispanics now represent a fifth of the population in NECD, and have developed organizations that offer an abundance of resources and contacts within their community. During the 1990s, North Carolina had the nation’s fastest growing Hispanic population and according to a […]

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Fiesta de la Salud educates and entertains

By Carl Kenney

September 24, 2009

By Claire Atwell Staff Writer the Durham VOICE Over one thousand people in the Durham area attended El Centro Hispano’s 11th Annual Nuestra Fiesta de la Salud on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Hillside High School in Durham. The Nuestra Fiesta de la Salud, or Our Health Fair, is held every year to provide health information, […]

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Los Primos Supermarket vital to the community

By Carl Kenney

by Cara Oxendine NCCU Staff Writer the Durham VOICE A grocery store in Northeast Central Durham (NECD) offers unique customer services and a community focus. Los Primos supermarket is the only grocery store in Northeast Central Durham (NECD); a 302-block area a few blocks from North Carolina Central University that is home to Durham’s most […]

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