From farm worker to farm owner and from construction crew to lead engineer. There's no way you can be able to do it. It's too hard and breaking barriers and reaching goals. Celebrating our Hispanic and Latino communities through music, art to push each other and really honor whatever community we're serving and tradition. We keep doing the same thing we could grow with the same flowers. Everything is the same way that he liked honoring their roots and forging new paths. It was important to connect back to my culture. *** KCR *** three special Celebra Nuestras Raices, Hispanic Heritage Month is an exciting time to celebrate and highlight the accomplishments of the largest minority group in the nation, shaping culture, politics and the economy. Thanks for joining us. I'm Lisa Gonzalez and I'm Andrea Flores. Their contributions helped California become *** leading agricultural producer. The sector relies on migrants to grow and harvest crops that feed people across the country and the world. And tonight, we have the story of Mario Catalan who broke barriers by becoming the first Latina farm worker turned farm owner. Before achieving her dream. She overcame challenges and disparities. She's now sharing her story in hopes of empowering other migrant workers. KCR *** three's Carolina Estrada has her story. Harvest starts early at Catalan farms in Hollister, ahead of it, Maria Catalan. Catalan started working in the Salinas Valley fields. Nearly 40 years ago. She migrated from Guerrero Mexico as *** 25 year old, single mother of four travares Campos de la sounes Pero de la mia peo yama tension. And so she dreamed of life where feeding her Children was not *** struggle. Serrault, no me Sino para proo Trabajo. And it was that mindset that drove Catalan to go to school to learn how to manage *** ranch. Three years later, she began harvesting her first half an acre of land. Cuando Capacitor, Mucho Porque Buenos Zapatos, not Avia Ropa. We would struggle most of the time and yeah, we had to take care of ourselves. Sometimes in 2001, she became the first Latina farm worker to own her own farm in California. And two decades later, she says it's still *** difficult path, not Mira barrier. She now has others overcome Moria. No solo la Mia is de la de miles simile de mujeres, Cali Quello. So Madres uh Solterra C Mirano Catalan founded *** nonprofit that helps other migrant farmers own their own land uh to Camino Lo Abre to Sola. Her legacy, *** future of opportunities waiting to be harvested. Clo is Pros Pue and Hollister Caroline Estrada in KCR *** three news and Catalan also fights food insecurity among farm working families by giving out more than 300 boxes of fresh produce from her farm each and every week. Such *** necessity for people in the community. Yeah, especially to get that fresh food and to get it for free. Well, the impact of Latinos goes beyond the fields. They make up more than 25 percent of the state's workforce from the crops to the health care industry. Latinos continue carving paths for the next generation. And *** Sacramento engineer is on *** mission to let young people know the power of stem careers. Que cr *** three's Leticia Ordaz introduces us to Jose Alvarez who is breaking barriers and expanding career opportunities for all Latinos. We're gonna move all these IC patients. They're gonna go to the fifth floor when Jose Alvarez was growing up in El Paso Heights. He never imagined he could one day be an engineer and lead the merger of the old Sutter Hospital with *** new one. So grew up uh in the construction industry, my uncles were while there's cement, you know, cement guys or you know, doing *** lot of side work with him. That was until *** neighbor who was an engineer invited him to check out his work site. And one day my next door neighbor said, hey, you've been doing *** lot of construction work. Do you want to come with me and, and hold *** survey rod? He goes, I'll pay you 75 bucks an hour. I was 13 years old. He was like, hey, one day you could be like these guys. But instead of being the construction worker, why don't you become the engineer? So he put the seat in my head and he was also *** civil engineer when he got to high school. He was good at math. He was also *** star football player for Granton High School, even helping the team win *** championship. But he always made sure to keep his eye on the prize from there. Like I just, I wanted to be an engineer and I just, I started researching and looking and reading books and trying to find out more about engineering. Jose says he often heard people saying he couldn't make it. The naysayers fueled his drive for me. It was knowing that my parents had no education, right? So I wanted to get as many degrees as I could, right? And my mom went to second grade and I said, hey, you know, she always tell me go to school, go to school, go to school and now I have three degrees after surviving what he calls Einstein Math and graduating from Santa Clara University on *** scholarship. He now coordinates all of the purchases of Sutter's high tech equipment and helps build operating rooms. Jose says he had *** full circle moment when his dad who had stage four cancer ended up as *** patient at Sutter and one of the coolest things and I'm indebted to Sutter for this is I was able to build this room and my dad was one of the first patients to go in there. My dad, when he came out of the surgery, they told him he was cancer free. Fewer than 9% of all engineers in the US are Latino and these are statistics that Jose is working hard to change. He spends time visiting schools to let young people know about stem careers, especially if they like video games. We could see that the doctors that play video games are better off with the robotic system because it's hand eye co ordination versus *** doctor that didn't get trained. Jose offers this advice for anyone looking to follow in his footsteps. Our kids are in high school need to start getting good grades to get them to the next level. If we don't get good grades, we're not gonna get to the next level in Sacramento, Leticia Ordaz KCL three news. Jose's next big project is remodeling Sutter Hospital by 2030 credits being bilingual with helping him get to the next level. His current title is Clinical Engineer, but he has set his sights on one day being the company's CEO pretty remarkable story, living together, working together and creating art together. One Sacramento couple is sharing their love of culture through design and we check out their studio to find out how they're bringing their art to the world. Pouring *** cup of creativity. Rosa and Antonio Sarabia start every project the same way. It has to be *** ritual before they head into their studio inside their Sacramento home. This husband and wife team own *** soe's design studio where they blend their love of art and culture. We both have our heart in it. And I think that's what I love about working with Antonio that um that we both understand why it matters. She has all of these great ideas and you know, when two people are creating ideas together, they just kind of augment each other, married to each other and married to the mission of engaging in authentic creative and compelling storytelling through design. Their latest project, creating designs for the Sacramento Republic Football Club's annual Hispanic Heritage Collection. And we wanted to create something that celebrated um like Latino America coming together because I think football is so tied to, to our culture and our upbringing, you know, football was always running in the background on Sundays. And this year again, we wanted to incorporate the flags um and *** soccer player and we added the word goal because I think that's just like, you know, when, when there's *** goal, I used to scream in Spanish and, and so the use of Spanish was also something we wanted to incorporate from the studio to the pro shop, Antonia and Rosa's designs come to life. You can see them on shirts, hats, even this beautiful scarf here. And when you buy some of the merch, you also get an original piece of their artwork in this poster. Their other projects include Hatam Maa Coffee, *** globally recognized farmer owned coffee company with roots in Davis. And we actually got to work with *** little bit of the farmers to come up with the story and the artwork behind all the labels that we did. We got *** chance to meet the farmers, we got *** chance to travel to Mexico to the coffee fields in Veracruz. Uh And like we created *** bunch of art that was really meaningful to us. It matters because people want to feel like they belong, people wanna feel like their culture is respected, right? Like *** lot of times you see *** lot of artwork out there that might be *** little disrespectful. It wasn't culturally like, right done, right? And so I think that's something that we pride ourselves in. Like we wanna tell *** very authentic story and be very respectful of where they come from, but also celebrate it, celebrating culture and people, we love people and we love working with people and it almost doesn't matter where you come from, but it's cool to know where you come from. You know what I mean? I think something that is in my mind *** lot, especially around Hispanic Heritage Month or we realize like, hey, it's not just *** month to celebrate like our work. Like, it's not just like, oh, look at um Latino art. No, it's like, I think for me it's like to remember like, hey, we are part of the social fabric that is here and they're sharing their art and their love with world in Sacramento, Lisa Gonzalez KCR *** Three News. And again, if you go to *** Sac Republic game, you're gonna see their artwork on jerseys and scarves and all around the arena. Their second year working with Sac Republic. But you'll also see their art in other places like Pachamama. Yeah, they have incredible art and it's so cool that they get to do it together. It's *** beautiful love story. Well, harvesting *** field of dreams, passing down *** legacy and love for flowers that continues to bloom decades later, keeping *** Mexican tradition alive. What one Stockton High School is doing to preserve the art of Mariachi for future generations. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we're highlighting the Stockton Unified School District and its Mariachi program. Mariachi music dates back to the 17 hundreds. But now there's *** modern twist as more young people are learning to play the music and as KCR three Laic Ordaz reports, one Mariachi director is teaching students how to get in touch with their culture and roots with each note they play oh Nothing inside this classroom at Cesar Chavez High School. Students are mastering the art of Mariachi music it's something that makes me really proud. I'm, I'm proud to be able to, like, go up in front of *** crowd and be able to sing and, and play *** song for people to make him happy and feel either like many different emotions. It's all under the direction of Mariachi director Tito Tale Mantes. He grew up in Stockton and is giving back to his community. It's *** true blessing to be able to teach what I do, to be able to do what I do. It's *** program that he wishes he would have had as *** kid. So for the last 10 years, he's made it his passion to pass on the tradition to his students. There's nothing old fashioned about this at all. In fact, I mean, I would argue that Mariachi in school is pretty new age. Um And so it's, it's about cultural preservation. *** lot of these students don't come from *** musical background so they don't touch an instrument until I get them freshman year of high school. And so to see their growth from freshman year to senior year, it's, it's for me, that's, that's it. That's, that's the moment that makes all of this worthwhile. Others like Yi Castro have been dedicated to learning to play Mariachi music since the fifth grade. Why was it important for you to do something like this? I feel like it was important uh to connect back to my culture. And then also to be able to like, uh by playing like *** song I'm able to like, connect to the people that I'm playing. It. To Mariachi program is about much more than music. It's also teaching some students to speak Spanish. The Mua Esperanza de Volver, Contigo SIA un un poco. *** jackal lao loves to belt out *** tune in Espanol. All the songs I sing are in Spanish. He makes it look easy even though he's just learning the language. My mom didn't really speak Spanish around me growing up and stuff like that. I don't know, I wasn't really surrounded by that kind of culture growing up. And this is like me connecting back to it, Jack who is Mexican and Filipino says being in *** Mariachi band at school has sparked his dreams and his confidence. He hopes to take it to the next level and become *** famous Mariachi singer director Tito says learning to play an instrument while connecting to their roots is sure to help them succeed in anything they decide to pursue. Really, it's about all the skills that they learn through the music, the discipline, the perseverance, the goal setting. Even if they don't want to pursue music in the future, it's, you know, fun for memories and, and you know, teaching you perseverance and teaching you practicing and teaching you that not everything comes to you immediately. If you want something, you gotta work for it. In Stockton, Leticia Ordaz KCR. Three news. They already sound like professionals. The Mariachi director Tito Deamonte says his students don't just get to perform at school. They have traveled to New Mexico to perform at *** big competition and they've also made appearances at the California State Fair at Cal Expo tradition and hard work. That's the legacy Jesus Contreras instilled in his family. The Contreras family farm has been harvesting flowers since the 19 eighties in northern California. And what started as *** dream for the patriarch has blossomed into *** successful family business. So every Saturday morning people line up to buy flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors from Contreras farm at the midtown Farmers Market founder Jesus Don Contreras started growing flowers after moving from Jalisco Mexico to California. In the 19 sixties. Decades later, Don Chy eventually purchased his farm near Half Moon Bay, going from farm worker to farm owner, his son Jesus now taking over the family farm after Don, he passed away last year. My father uh he passed away this last October. He's gonna be one year and we're just gonna keep his legacy. Uh keep going because he always encouraged us to always do what you like. I have four sisterss older than me and we all basically help with the farm along with all my uncles and aunts. So basically, it's, it's always been *** family run business. You can find Contreras farm. Saturdays at the midtown farmers market at the corner of 20th and J streets. And on Sundays at the Sacramento Farmers Market near eighth and W streets fast turns quick feet and *** whole lot of passion. The nonprofit on *** mission to tell *** story in the art of dance, an important expression of Chicano identity is being celebrated across California. *** lot that went into effect this year ended cruising B statewide. That means low riders are now free to cruise on streets And lowriders say it's an important tradition for their families. KCR *** three in partnership with very local, just released our documentary, Low Rider Legacy. While low riding is largely popular and Chicano, Hispanic and Latino communities, people, all backgrounds have joined in on the low riding and cruising lifestyle. It's important to keep low rider culture alive because of the significance that it has within our culture. And I think that we're doing *** great job of that. I love seeing young people take an interest. I think that as much as we can pass this along to the next generation and next generations, we will keep it alive. And Low rider Legacy is streaming right now on our free very local app. You can install the app on Roku Fire TV, or anywhere you stream your content, Cumbia, salsa Merengue and Bachata are all popular Latin dance styles. And for *** group of Sacramento residents, this is part of their culture. KCR *** three Z. Andres Valle shows us how one nonprofit is encouraging everyone to celebrate Hispanic culture through dance. Get people who just pass through and they fall in love with salsa. And then the next time you see them, you see them here and they're dancing and they're learning *** form of expression that's deeply rooted in Hispanic culture. I love salsa. My grandparents did salsa dancing and um I used to watch them dance but never did the old Sacramento waterfront transformed into *** Latin dance floor. I'm Cuban. So I enjoy dancing. So I saw that it was here at the waterfront. So I decided to come and bring my girls to try to learn to dance to our cultural music, moving to the rhythm of the beat. It's one way that we're able to move our body kind of celebrate the culture and learn about one another, hosted by dance on the edge. *** non profit organization that puts on free land, dance lessons and events across Sacramento being of Hispanic heritage. We're just one big melting pot, right? Where we have *** lot of indigenous roots of migration of cultural exchange. So here we go. Seven and 1234, Cody Smith, the executive director says the organization has been hosting these events for nearly *** decade. Well, we generally start with *** free dance lesson from one of our local instructors at 6 p.m. They're generally teaching the history of the steps *** little bit of body movement, some intricate partner work and footwork And uh after that, we come alive around 7 p.m. in Senio Meat or teach me how to dance. And that's exactly what dance instructor Chris Leu does six prepping. Turn, they turn 123 leads, turn his specialty Bachata. So when it comes to new dancers coming in, it's my job to take care of them and make sure they understand and get the rhythm and get them off their two right feet or two left feet. Like they just say, no matter the level of dance skills you have, event organizers say everyone is welcome. You know, dance itself is *** universal language. And so it's *** core part of, of Afro Latin and, and uh Hispanic culture, you know, and so this is just *** great way for people to have fun and everything that we, we fight about doesn't matter here. Casey already. Three news looks like so much fun, so fun. We need to go. We, we're going, it's happening. Dance on the edge will continue hosting events through early November. Their Latin dance nights are held at the waterfront in Old Sacramento and at district 56 in El Grove and always free to attend. Looks like *** lot of fun. Well, of course, we want to thank you for joining us for our KCR *** three special Celebra Nuestras is