We were lucky to catch up with Angelo Solera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angelo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

On 2019 I founded Nuestras Raices Inc ” Our Roots” We are a 501 C3 community based cultural Hispanic/Latino organization, whose mission is to educate promote and preserve the richness and diversity of the Latino culture and its artistic heritage.

The reason why I founded this organization was because for a long time as a community advocate, activist and leader, I felt as a community we did not have a voice.

When we started the organization at David Rosario State Farm Insurance office in Highlandtown together with several Latino business leaders and community members, we really did not know what we were doing and if this crazy idea of ours would ever work.

Also in the beginning we just wanted to have our own Parade of Latino Nations to showcase the richness and diversity of our culture.

Through the years this event has grown into “Fiesta Baltimore” the largest and mos anticipated Hispanic/Latino cultural event of the year in the Baltimore metropolitan region.

Five years later we continue to grow as a cultural organization and as a community, we also opened in East Baltimore our own “Casa de la Cultura” ” house of Culture ” an educational, cultural and empowering center, the first of its kind in Baltimore city and the state of Maryland to promote Latino arts & culture and to offer a community space where Latino culture can be display, experienced & enjoyed.

Today we continue educating promoting and preserving the richness and diversity of our Latino culture throughout the Baltimore metropolitan region organizing cultural events, art galleries, cultural festivals and participated in numerous parades.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Angelo Solera, I was born in Madrid, Spain. When I was 17 years old, I immigrated to the U.S. from Salamanca, Spain. I have been living and working in Baltimore since then.

As a long-time Latino community advocate, activist and healthcare professional, I have over 29-years of experience working in the Hispanic/Latino community in health care, social services, government, business and nonprofit fields.

Some of my professional experiences include: Founder & Executive Director of Nuestras Raices Inc & Casa de la Cultura, Executive Director of the Latino Providers Network, Hispanic Community Liaison, Baltimore City Health Department, Vice-Chairman Mayor’s Committee in Hispanic Affairs, Political candidate Baltimore City Council Fist District, Self publish author and business owner.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As an immigrant in the United States, we always struggle everyday trying to reach for that American dream. There are many opportunities in America there are also many challenges and difficulties to overcome.

Language and cultural barriers are only the beginning, as a Hispanic/Latino cultural organization, we also have to struggle with many forms of onderline discrimination, lack of representation, lack of funding and a nonprofit system that was not made for community based organizations like ours and many others.

So we have no choice but to continue our journey, if we want to survive and make a better way for our self in this land that we have now made our land our home.

Understanding this is our journey as immigrants. we learn to relay on our self and others like us, others who understand our struggles.

Because of our experience, we feel that together we are stronger as a community even do we are part of a system that emphasize individual achievements.
We uses all of this experiences as we continue building our cultural organization understanding that the same struggles we experience as individual, we will experience as a community based Hispanic/Latino cultural organization.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Five years ago Nuestras Raices Inc was planing our first parade of Latino Nations in Higlandtown, Baltimore city. We visited several community and business organizations meeting in the area to inform them of our upcoming event.

During one of this meeting we felt resistance from some of the participants about the Latino community having their own parade. In part because, we were going to close a mayor street so that our parade could take place in our community.

Some of the community members and business leaders had an issues with us closing the mayor street in Higlandtown to have our parade.

At one point we communicated to all present at the meeting that we were not there asking for permission to have our parade passing through the main street.
The purpose of us been there at the meeting was to informed them that we were having the parade and we would love for them to be part of the parade.

Five years later, Nuestras Raices Inc is organizing “Fiesta Baltimore” on Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, October 8th in Patterson Park, the largest and most anticipated Hispanic/Latino cultural event of the year in the Baltimore metropolitan region which includes the Parade of Latino Nations.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nuestrasraicesinc.org
• Instagram: Nuestras Raices Inc
• Facebook: Nuestras Raices Inc