By Bernardino Guerrero, Jr. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th thru October 15th, we should take a moment to contemplate this year’s theme. Diversity, Integrity and Honor: A renewed hope of America. Truer words have not been spoken. Since the 16th century, Hispanics have been a part of the fabric that has shaped our great nation. They have brought diversity to our... 

By Loida Casares Ruiz I grew up in a poor family. When I was in my early twenties I saw some old files with my parents’ income tax return forms. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that my parents raised, fed, clothed and sent five children to school on that income. Now as an adult with my own family I think back to that memory and I admire their budgeting skills. Even though we were poor and... 

When I was about seven years old, I was playing with my next door neighbor, Miguelito, in my home in Buenos Aires. We were having so much fun together that we promised each other we would get married when we grew up. My mother and my great-aunt, Tia Rosa, called me over and reminded me, “Annie, when you grow up, you must look for a man to marry who has enough money so that you’ll have a good future... 

By Charlie Vázquez My life, like the lives of many people around the world, has been both challenging and charmed. I consider myself a lucky person—and a man with a good heart, more importantly—as it’s always easier to turn toward the dark or give up or to just stop caring. I was never the kind to quit—even if it meant that staying in the game (so to speak) meant failing in the end. I believe... 

By Anthony Leon By the time I enrolled in computer school in 1999, I had always felt I was too old to go back to college. After high school I attended Long Beach City College in California (LBCC) mainly because I would receive the Social Security benefit checks my mother received to help raise my brother and me which she received from my father’s death who worked as a civil service worker with the... 

By Megan Munoz “Now what?” I remember thinking. “My life is ruined!” I cried to my boyfriend.  I stared down at those two pink lines on the pregnancy test. I couldn’t believe it! I was fifteen, just a child, and now I was going to have a baby. Growing up was difficult with my family enduring many hardships throughout the years. I was raised by a single mother.  Having three rebellious children,... 

By Marysol Jimenez There I was at the age of 32 in a dismal situation.  I had worked at a part-time job for 16 years, though I applied and applied for full-time positions, I got nothing. I was also 7 years into a miserable relationship with a man I no longer loved. He didn’t work, he was a heavy drug user, and had no goal or ambitions in life. And unfortunately, he dragged me down into his big,... 

Celebrating back in the black. By Lillian Passadori, Central Valley Pacific Mortgage In 1965 my mother came to the United States from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico — just south of the California boarder.  She was only 15 and worked in a clothing factory as a seamstress in a sweatshop in L.A.  She earned just enough to get by. Shortly thereafter, she met my father, got married and by the... 

Going to school and raising three kids is not something for the birds.  It takes stamina, focus and a lot of determination, something Amber Duran knows about all too well. After the birth of her first child Amber was inspired to return to college to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts.   “I never wanted my child to want for basic necessities,” she explained of her reason to...