"OUR CHICAGO: NUESTRO SEGUNDO HOGAR" will be hosted by ABC7 anchor Rob Elgas and meteorologist Jaisol Martinez with contributions from anchor Mark Rivera and Michelle Gallardo.
[Ads /]
The half-hour special offers a rich tapestry of stories highlighting members of Chicago's vibrant Latino community, airing twice on ABC 7, Sunday, Sept. 24, from 11:00-11:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 1, from 4:30-5:00 p.m. It will also be available on abc7chicago.com and ABC7's connected TV apps.
The Vault Gallerie, founded by Delilah Martinez who began the Mural Movement to showcase Black unity, will serve as a backdrop for the special.
ALSO SEE: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with these inspirational Hispanic-owned businesses
Throughout the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, a series of vignettes spotlighting inspiring people from the Hispanic community will be featured on ABC7.
The special will examine how the city is responding to the arrival of 13,000 migrants since last year. For example, Delilah Martinez has opened up the Vault Gallerie as a donation center for asylum seekers. Her care packages of clothing, toiletries and blankets are distributed to migrants around Chicago neighborhoods and at police stations.
Like Martinez, Otto Rodriguez is reaching out to the migrant community. As a coach for Street Soccer USA, Martinez has been working with migrant adults from the Wadsworth Shelter in Woodlawn to gather together for a game of soccer or baseball in an effort to promote a sense of community.
[Ads /]
Marty Hurley leads the matresses4migrants Chicago group. He's a one-man-band who has given away approximately 50 mattresses since June to migrants sleeping at police stations in the city and plans to continue to do so.
SEE ALSO: Hispanic Heritage month: National Museum of Mexican Art prepares for Día de Muertos
In addition, "OUR CHICAGO: NUESTRO SEGUNDO HOGAR" will profile stellar individuals and organizations who play an important role in their communities and the city of Chicago:
-Daniel Flores aka Trumpet Papi on TikTok, who was born in Peru, moved to San Antonio with his family when he was 5 years old.
Throughout his childhood, he threw himself into all things musical. As an adult, his passion for music and playing the trumpet has remained. He now drives around Chicago, playing his trumpet and showing the beauty of Chicago and sharing the music he loves.
-Edgar Florentino is a self-taught community gardener brightening up the neighborhood he grew up in by landscaping "hot corners" - streets where there is a lot of gun violence. Most of Florentino's work can be found along 48th and 49th streets. Beautifying the residential streets and intersections is Florentino's way of helping people feel safer. Florentino also created a bilingual gardening group on Facebook called Jardineros Y Jardineras De Chicago to provide a space for local Spanish-speaking gardeners to get inspiration and seek advice from one another.
-Gerard, owner of Antojitos Shop located in Little Village, is a Mexican snack shop wonderland. Gerard boasts 638,000 followers on TikTok where he makes funny videos about making chamoy candy; spicy-sweet gummies covered in sour, pickled apricot paste and topped with chili powder, a viral Mexican junk-food favorite. His TikTok videos are a fun way to share his Mexican culture.
[Ads /]
- Chicago-based photojournalist Alex Garcia has traveled across the globe, documenting thousands of stories in over 30 years. But the highlight of this Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer's career has been his numerous assignments in his native Cuba. Garcia, a former photographer for the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune, first traveled to Cuba in 1995.
RELATED: 'Windy City Weekend': Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month looking at thriving Mexican candy shop
Since then, he has returned to the Caribbean country many times, both as a photojournalist and a visitor. The thousands of images that he took during that time provide a complete view of Cuba - from candid glimpses of the country's longtime authoritarian leader, Fidel Castro, to a unique look at community life in Havana and other Cuban cities.
He recently presented some of his best work in Cuba at a photo exhibit at the Chicago Center for Photojournalism in the Uptown neighborhood.
-Bien Me Sabe, with its mouth-watering and authentic food, brings the flavor of Venezuela to Chicagoans. Serving up traditional arepas, empanadas and plantains among other delicious choices, the restaurant is visited by many natives as evidencedby the Venezuelan professional baseball players who eat there and have signed their name to a special wall. Owner Pedro Ron talks about his journey creating two popular Bien Me Sabe restaurants.
OUR CHICAGO is an Emmy Award-winning series of special programs produced by ABC7 Chicago.