damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today some silicon valley leaders-- latino leaders taking silicon valley by storm on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ damian: we begin today with the monthly visit by the consulate of mexico here in san jose.

with me is embajadora ambassador alejandra bologna who's the consulate general of mexico right here in san jose. consul, we missed you last month. welcome back to the show. alejandra bologna: thank you so much, and thank you for having me. damian: thank you, embajadora. it's been busy over there. we have a few topics here. you're concerned about some people who will sell the connacionales an appointment with your office. talk about what the concern is there. alejandra: yes. well, you know that during the covid that we were with a lot of demand of the different documents. there were some delays for appointments. so people is desperate trying to take an appointment and sometimes they go to places where they are selling the process of doing the appointment.

so what we are requesting the people is to try directly to the website: citas.sre.gob.mx or calling directly to the site where the appointments are processed. that it's 428-309-0009. that's the phone number, the only one that is the official site to do the appointments. what happens is that they are giving their information to third-party people and they can use that information for whatever they want. so we open appointments each tuesday. there are enough appointments. we go week by week so that will be more manageable for us and

also for people, that they will not looking and having in 3, 4, 6, 7 months the appointment for doing their documents. the only documents that we do appointments through these systems are for passports for the credential for voting, electoral credential, or the matrícula consular. for attorney powers or dual citizen, they need to call directly to the consulate. damian: all right. and the website would have all that information. we'll show you that in a bit. but you have changing topics here. you have a contest, the "dibujos infantiles". it's a contest to see which juvenile can draw maybe the best painting. what are you looking for here? alejandra: no. yes, of course. it's an in--it's a global contest that mexico does through the different representations around the world, and it's a contest to-- it's endorsed to children

from the age from 6 to 14 years old. it doesn't matter if they are mexicans or from another citizen. what is important is that they need to make a draw with a specific subject that-- in this year is going to be [speaking foreign language] so will be the oceans and-- from mexico. so they can paint anything they want. let me just show--i think that you have the--you know, the winners of this contest, the draw contest-- as you can see here is one winner that is from mexico city, but we have other ones that are--for example, this one is from iran, and we have other ones from nicaragua and other countries. so the children around the world or the persons

that participate--the main 15 paintings, drawings are select for having this calendar, and there are also prices for the winners. so i invite all children and person from 6 to 14 years old to visit our website and see the different elements for participating in this interesting contest. it's really beautiful to see the drawing of different parts of the world in this calendar that it's yearly done with the paintings and drawings of the winners of the different editions. damian: yeah, it's very-- an honor for those children. looking at the website there on the screen is a consulate of mexico in san jose. log on for more information on this contest for drawings and paintings that might go into this international calendar that's being produced out of mexico city.

ambassador, thank you so much for being on the show. we look forward to seeing you again here next week-- next month. alejandra: thank you. damian: thank you so much. and up next here on "comunidad del valle," the sacred heart nativity schools the annual fiesta. stay with us. i needed it cool a at night.

yoyou trying t to ice me out o of the bed?d? onlyly on game n nights. you know you are retired right? am i?? ya! sasave $500 onon our next t n slsleep numberer smart bede. plus, spspecial finanancing. only at t sleep numbmber. our future leaders, and they're producing some spectacular students out of san jose. with me is deacon ruben solorio, the president of sacred heart nativity schools. deacon solorio, welcome to "comunidad del valle." finally! i've been trying for years to get you on. ruben solorio: five years, but it's--you're worth the wait. damian: tell us briefly about sacred heart nativity schools 'cause it's a private school system but with a special twist for our community. ruben: yes, indeed. padre mateo sheedy had this vision to transform this community here in the washington gardener community of san jose. a very beautifully rich community has always been an immigrant community since the days of the italian immigrants and now really embracing a lot of our first-generation hispanic

and african immigrants. and so their children have an opportunity to come here to the sacred heart nativity schools and receive a tuition-free education thanks to the many benefactors and donors that provide a full scholarship to our students; and they're able to receive that and propel them forward for 12+ years, is the support that we give them not only to the six college prep high schools in the valley but also through university and beyond. damian: quality education. right? i mean, we're talking about top-notch education, and some of these students end up going--transferring over to the jesuit high schools, the catholic high schools. ruben: yes, indeed. the six major high schools that we feed into are st. francis high school in mountain view, notre dame high school, presentation, cristo rey of san jose,

archbishop mitty, and bellarmine. and so they're the primary kind of feeder schools that we guide our students into, and then from there they're propelled forward to the best universities throughout the country. damian: and, again, this is free tuition for these students for a private jesuit-catholic education. that's why you're having your annual fiesta coming up next weekend because, you know, you have to pay for that tuition somehow. ruben: yeah. i mean, each student receives a $25,000 scholarship to be able to come here to sacred heart nativity schools, and our fiesta is the primary kind of breadwinner for us. it's the event that inspires and--more people to be able to be generous with our students, and we need 90 full scholarships. and so this is going to be an event that we look forward to. this year will be held at presentation high school and-- on may 6th, cinco de mayo weekend. so we're ready to party.

we're ready for a grand fiesta to be able to inspire and--others to be able to be generous, especially our hispanic community. damian: how vital is that? i mean, you--like i said, you're going into the washington district, which has, again, a rich history but at times a troubled history as well. how vital is it to let these chavalitas and chavalitos know that there are people around the community who support them and who are--they're willing to invest in their future? ruben: yeah, it's extremely vital. i mean, they deserve the best education and a jesuit education. as many people that have gone on to santa clara university and bellarmine and cristo rey understand the meaning of a jesuit education, of a catholic education. for many of our families, they would never have gone to these schools if it wasn't for nativity and-- especially as a first gen. most of our families in order to qualify to come here to our school make about an average of $40,000 a year. can you believe that? in silicon valley, to be able to make $40,000 a year

and to be able to survive is a big obstacle. but to be able to thrive in education, that's where we come in. together as a community, we walk with them on this 12-year journey supporting them every step of the way. damian: and you wear two hats in this committee. we're grateful for that. one, you're a deacon with the catholic diocese of san jose, but you're also the president of sacred heart nativity schools, which means it's up to you to make sure that the money--that the flow of cash keeps coming in to keep these programs going. ruben: definitely. my job is definitely that. i am blessed--doubly blessed to be able to be the deacon here at sacred heart of jesus church on willow street and also as president of sacred heart nativity schools. it's our lady of grace nativity school for girls on the first floor and sacred heart nativity school for boys on the second floor, and together we are one community. it's just a huge blessing to be able to walk with them

on this journey. we've been here since 2020--since 2001. for over 20 years we've been truly transforming this entire community, giving us all hope through education and seeing the transformation taking place not only here at nativity but with our partner agencies in this community as well as all of our neighbors and parishioners of the church. damian: you talk transformation. i'm assuming that with some of these children it just takes that opening of the door for them to realize, "wow, this is the potential and i'm going for it." i mean, it's got to be rewarding. ruben: i mean, it's to see the transformation from seeing these kids coming in fifth grade to apply to our school and then be able to see their growth in 3 years. i mean, they come in sometimes in english and math one or two grade levels behind, and to be able to get them in 3 years to a level where they will be able to thrive in a college prep school, the ones that i mentioned previously,

and be able to move forward into a university or college or any post-high school education of their choice. i mean, many of them might go to culinary academy or the school of arts and music. but whatever they choose, we are seeing that they are true leaders in our community, men and women with and for others. damian: deacon ruben solorio, i'm so glad that you didn't come on the show to do confessions because we'd be here for a long time. thank you so much for being on the show. ruben: thank you so much, damian. damian: thank you so much. and, again, this is a great fiesta happening on may 6th. we're going to show the information on the screen. it's at presentation high school in san jose to benefit sacred heart nativity schools and the great educational programs there. there's the website for more information. up next here on "comunidad del valle," a latino powerhouse weekend. you don't want to miss this. stay with us.

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in silicon valley. with me on "comunidad del valle" is frank carbajal who is from es tiempo is here, an author and community leader. also with us is adela cepeda, the co-founder of angeles investors. folks, welcome to the show. frank carbajal: thank you, damian. damian: you know, here in silicon--thank you. here in silicon valley, adela, there's a place called sand hill, and it's where a lot of venture capitalists get together and they decide where their money is going to go. tell us what the angeles investors is and how you all kind of do the same thing throughout the country. adela cepeda: right. well, angeles investors is a group that is over 180 members, and we're hoping to grow it even more. our objective is to help latino startups obtain enough capital to get their businesses to scale to the next level. we look at startups that are early stage in the growth

process; and with our membership being very sophisticated they analyze the industry that they're in, the dynamics of the team, the opportunities for expansion and growth, and then we have them present to us. it's called the pitch night, and that's what we're doing in silicon valley. we're so excited. we're going to have a really fabulous lineup of prospective pitch opportunities. and then the membership reviews, the proposals and decides that they're going to invest. and then together as a group we shepherd our investment to make a meaningful difference in the raise for this startup. it's just a great way to help latino entrepreneurs. and if you're a latino, you know that in your family,

in your network there are many entrepreneurs. damian: and we're not talking about $10,000 here, adela. we're talking about $10 million in investments, up to 100 million, whatever it takes if you-- if that vision is there. adela: well, that's true in that the investments-- generally, the companies are looking to raise 1 to 3 million, and then our group raises a small percent. because these are early stage companies, the investments are distributed amongst a large group of investors so that, you know, you minimize the risk from an investment standpoint but, you know, you try and help these companies reach the next level of success and growth. damian: that is awesome. and then you're going to be part of this panel of franca when it comes-- it's a 2-day event. you're part of that panel.

frank: i'm at the second day. you know, it's going to be exciting on day two on may 12th. myself and david olivencia, selena rivera, we're authors and we're going to do what's called level up. level up is going to be a 17-minute segment of each author speaking on our book, and it's important for folks to listen in because--either in person or virtually because we all feel david olivencia--co-founder of angeles investors and ceo of angeles investors feel that if we could write a book, people listening in or in person could write a book. and so it's important for us to really elevate one another. and as adela said, you know, more folks together, stronger we are as far as elevating one another. investing in our community is what's key. we believe that creating this ecosystem of latino/latina leaders is so important in the investment world.

and so part of the segment as authors is to motivate, inspire, and take action. damian: and how big of a deal is this 2-day event? i mean, i'm blown away by the opportunities available there, frank. frank: you know, that's a great question because this is the second annual, and last year, you know, with the scary covid where there were some folks that were still hesitant to fly out--we want to encourage it to grow even more. and i think it's like you said, damian. it's a big deal because right around the corner is sand hill road, and we weren't invited to attend sand hill road events so we feel it's important to create an event like angeles investors so that all are invited, not just latinos and latinas but allyships to invest in our latino/latinx entrepreneurs. so it's important for us to be inclusive as well.

damian: yeah. no, you make a very good point that we weren't invited to the table and so we kind of create our own table. and maybe--i don't know, maybe now they want to be invited to our table. we don't know. frank: they do. they do. damian: yeah, absolutely. well, let's show you the information again. this is a great event happening may 11th and 12th, the mother's day weekend in silicon valley. it's computer history museum in mountain view. there is the web address for angeles investors on the screen. it's pitch night & award ceremony. we'll get more into that in our next segment, so stay with us here on "comunidad del valle." adela: thank you. ♪♪♪

on "comunidad del valle." with angeles investors is adela cepeda, and frank carbajal is an author with es tiempo. and i'm looking at this app right now, adela. this is canela tv. this is one of your investments. adela: yes, it is. we're very proud of that investment,

and it's a mexican entrepreneur-- mexican american. isabel rafferty is the founder, and we invested in that early stage and then we invested again in what's called series a, which is the subsequent raise when she was looking to further expand the company. and i think they have over 100 employees now and it's a big success. we expect great things there. very excited about it. and these are the kinds of opportunities that as a member of angeles investors you can potentially invest in. so we're very excited both to help the entrepreneur and to help our investor group, our members to achieve some financial success. it's great to do it as a group. damian: oh, i bet it is. now, if i'm coming to you with a pitch on this pitch night,

what are my do's and don'ts if i want you to invest with my project? adela: so it's very important that you have your financial projections in good order. it's very important that you have a very crisp message as to why you, why your company, why this strategy that you have developed is more likely to succeed. it's very important that you understand the industry and are able to communicate to us why we want to be in the industry. now, if you're pitching to angeles, you come with an advantage because most likely you're growing a company that's taking advantage of the incredible dynamics that the latino market represents. we are the fastest growing, the youngest. it's just all the demographics are there to propel

our businesses. what's been lacking is capital. we're trying to help there. we're trying to open additional doors for you. we're trying to make connections for these entrepreneurs and help them reach the next level. damian: and--i mean, honesty is probably foremost. right? if there are some drawbacks to the investment, is it wise for that invest--for that entrepreneur to say, "you know, here's one of the drawbacks might be, but here's how we're going to tackle that." adela: absolutely. because we can see them, too. so it's better if you help us see them and help explain to us how you're going to overcome it. otherwise, the picture that we're going to draw may not be as favorable and-- so it's great to be open. we understand the industries. we understand the dynamics of corporate growth. help us understand your company, the recommendations for it,

and the risks. it's important to be as transparent as you can be. damian: yeah. how vital is it, frank, to have our own table-- we were mentioning that earlier. to have our own table to sit at and to call our own shots? frank: it's very important. you know, i share the quick story, and i'll share it during may 12th, is coincidentally, you know, my dad and i--i worked for my dad as a janitor when i was 12 years old, and he would clean the offices on sand hill road and i would just look around and daydream and think, "how does this happen for a latino/latina?" well, it didn't happen then in the early '80s, '90s, early 2000s, and today it's still not happening. so angeles investors formed in 2020 at the height of covid, and with that vision creating a table--an inclusive table that means that outside of our group--latino/latinx group,

folks could invest in our startups. but in terms of the drive that we have internally, we are all latino/latina. and adela being the co-founder, a powerful latina, she really has that experience in terms of banking and that industry of what it takes in terms of to fund entrepreneurs, and collectively we feel that it's important to continue growing membership. adela had mentioned, you know, the membership from, you know, the low 10s to the--in the 180, i believe you said, adela, and it's important to continue to grow. and how we grow is through pitch competitions not only in the silicon valley, but they had one in miami and we also had one in los angeles. right, adela? and new york. and so, it's important collectively. as you had pointed out, damian, you know,

to adela, things happen here in the silicon valley for non-latinos, now es tiempo. it's time to happen for latinos and latinas. damian: we have about 20 seconds left, adela. it's a sense of empowerment, isn't it? adela: absolutely. and, you know, we talk about the wealth gap. well, here's a way to help bridge that gap and to reach out to potentially a younger generation with great ideas needing capital. let's do it together. vamanos. damian: all right. well, we thank you so much-- thank you for believing in that ideology, and thank you for being on the show. frank: thank you, damian. damian: thank you so much. again, bring your pitches. it's pitch night with the angeles investors here in silicon valley may 11th and 12th at the computer history museum in mountain view. there is the website for more information. if you want to get ahold of me on "comunidad del valle," you can follow me on instagram. my handle is @newsdamiantrujillo. on twitter my handle is @newsdamian. we thank you for sharing another part of your sunday with us

here on "comunidad del valle." we're going to see you here again next week with some more exciting interviews and guests. we'll see you here next week. que pase usted muy buenos dias. ♪♪♪

right now on "access hollywood," our brand new bebe rexha interview and why she responded so strongly to people curious about her weight. and can i hold my own roller skating with the king of the rink, usher? then our dick van exclusive, a first for the 97-year-old icon who's done it all. plus, it's our countdown to the met gala,