 to our show. We're the voice for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where we aim to create an inclusive platform that celebrates diversity, fosters connections, and amplifies the voice of our Latino business owners. Today, we're going to be talking about who is the Hispanic Chamber and what are we up to? So thank you for joining us. And my co-host today is Marisol Ruiz, our vice president. Welcome, Marisol. Thank you so much, Barbara. I am Marisol Ruiz. I am the vice president, along with Barbara and co-founder. I'm really excited to be here today with you guys and share a little bit about the chamber and some pretty exciting things that Barbara and I have coming up. So let's get to it. Let's get to it. So how did we start the chamber? We organized in 2019. So let's talk about that. Yeah. So Barbara and I, right, she's a realtor. I'm a mortgage broker. And naturally it's a match made in heaven already. So we are really trying to, how can we expand our business? How can we grow? How can we network with other Latinos in the industry, both the real estate sector and the lending side? And we just wanted to network really. So we went out and we were trying to find a chamber and we're like, yeah, we'll join and network that way. And then what happened, Barbara, when we went knocking on the doors looking for that chamber? You were like, well, there's over 300 Hispanic Chamber of Commerce across the United States. There has to be one in Hawaii. So when we Googled it, we realized that there was a Latino business Hawaii 10 years prior. So we called the Chamber of Commerce and we asked, how do we get it started again? And they connected us with Marivia, who ran the LVH 10 years prior and her husband, Josavia. And they have a wonderful business called Via Business Consulting. And they were happy to help out and get us organized as a 501c3 and started our board of directors. And yeah, their business really took off during the pandemic. So they're an advisory role now. And Marisol and I are trailblazing the way. Yes, we are. And it's quite a bit of work. But we're constantly learning and growing and connecting. And I think above all things is really we're connectors. And we really like to expand and grow and amplify people's businesses however we can. But that's what we're here to do, just to connect and help one another and one another grow. Right. And that we do that through various initiatives that we've had throughout the year, like our Buenos Dias Breakfast Network in events. We were doing those every other month this year at the Taqueria, in a couple of days. And next year, one of our initiatives will be to have a Buenos Notes, right? A nighttime event. We had one last night. Let's talk about our mixer last night. It was really not a mixer. It was a members meeting. And I went, wow, we had about 30 people. Yeah, it was really fun. We're at the Locahe Brewing Company, which I recently discovered. I didn't even know they were here. They've been open. Is it a year or two years, I think? And had no clue. And they're Latino-owned. It was fabulous. And it was like a speed dating slash networking, not dating. And it was awesome. Everyone was dynamic and energetic. And people stepped out of their comfort zone. Some people didn't really want to initially speak, but it was such a safe, awesome space that it fostered that for everyone. And it allowed people to open up a little bit. And yeah, I made some amazing connections. And it reminds me that there's, for us, especially having these events, right? That we want to host them with Latino businesses, because we're supporting them and promoting them, right? Yeah. It was so great to find him on Yelp. I just looked up Latin X businesses on Yelp. And 160 or some came up. So just started calling. The reason why I got on Yelp is because we were looking to reach out to Latino business owners in the community to participate in our upcoming Latino business expo, which we can talk about. That's going to be October 7th at Aloha Tower Marketplace from 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock PM. You can go to our website and get more information. Tickets are free if you want to attend. And if you want to sign up for a booth, we still have about five more spots left. It's going to be a great event. We have a capacity for about 30 vendors. And if you're going to be selling merchandise, it's $250. And if you're not going to sell, it's $150. So it's really reasonable. We're a nonprofit. We're not here to make money off this event. We're here to promote your business. The fee is just to pay for the venue. And we're also going to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with some entertainment. You want to talk about that? Yes. We're so excited for this event. It's the first time that we're doing it. And we have, as Barbara said, about 30 booths of food and services. But with that, we have entertainment. So we're super excited. One portion of the evening is going to be carved out for baile folklorico. Very traditional. It's 30 dancers are going to come on stage and really perform traditional Mexican baile folklorico. They're coming all the way from Phoenix, Arizona. So really excited to have them. We're going to have DJ. We have the Mambo Vixens that are going to do some dancing. We also have some dance lessons from the professional dancers at RIP Fitness. And what else do we have as far as aside from our DJ and dancing and traditional Mexican baile folklorico? Well, we have an exciting Kiki Zone coming together. That's right. Yeah. Speaking of Mambo Vixens, they do a salsa class for children. So I reached out to them and I asked if they would be interested in, you know, doing a little salsa class in our Kiki Zone. And they were happy to oblige. So they recommended doing two different, you know, classes. So it's a four hour event. So maybe in between, you know, two hour increments, get enough kids together and do a salsa class and have them do a little performance on what they learned. And, you know, this weekend I went to Duke's Car Show. They just had their fifth anniversary, right? So that was at the West Oahu Veterans Center. And I got to speak with the leader there, and I will loop it. Hold on, Barbara. Wait, wait, wait. You got to explain what you mean a car show? Like, you have to be pretty clear. What is that? Okay, low riders. And so they had about a 10 by 10 table with model cars, and the kids were having a hopping contest using a remote control. So I asked if they could have that in our kid's zone. So all we have to do is produce a 10 by 10 flat surface. So we're working on that. I think if we can put that together, that's going to be amazing. And speaking of Duke's low rider car show, they're going to be at our expo. So they'll have their beautiful cars outside of Aloha Towers parked right there by the spaghetti factory. Yep. Yeah, that's really exciting. I haven't seen a low rider since a real low rider with the hydraulics and jumping since I left Los Angeles. So I'm really excited. Or the car shows, Hot August Nights and Reno, those are amazing too. But this hits home. So I'm really excited to see that side of the our culture as well. And it's going to be so fun for the kids. We're hoping we can get, yeah, a few more people to fill up those those boots. But along with, you know, it's not just food, like she said, it's the low riders entertainment. We also have a VIP area, which is very exciting. Barbara, do you want to talk a little bit about that fabulous VIP and what happened there? That's its own event. So we just got confirmation yesterday that Taramana Tequila will be sponsoring our VIP networking. So we're going to have a VIP on the lawn networking with some of our business panelists, which we'll talk about next. And we have Oysters Hawaii, that's going to share their wonderful oyster shucking business and some oysters there with a tequila tasting, tequila tasting. And it's $75 a ticket. And what are we doing with the $75, Marisol? We are donating the proceeds from the VIP to Maui and everything that's gone on there with the fire. So we're trying to do our part however we can. So we're really excited about that, actually. Correct. Yes, we do have a Hawaii business fund that we have. It's active right now on GoFundMe. So we're going to add any profit, a portion of the proceeds to our Hawaii business fund fundraiser that we have. So yes, we're all doing our part to help Maui. And it's going to be a great networking event with tequila tasting and some foos. And let's talk about the panelists. Our special guests include the owners of Rip Fitness, Val, and Hip Rivera. Do you want to talk about our special guest panelists? Yeah, we'll talk about that. So Val and Hip are the owners of Rip Fitness. It's an amazing Latino-owned gym out in Waipahu. It is a vibe. It is non-threatening. It's fun. Everyone looks amazing. They work so hard. But they make you feel so good, right? So he's going to come out and he's going to, you know, he's one of the panelists are going to talk about, well, whatever questions we kind of throw at them. But really, you know, who are you? How'd you get here? How'd you do it? You know, how'd you blow up so well? So we're excited. We have, yeah, Hip and Val. We have the owner of, you know, Taqueria Andrancero. He's a veteran. He literally, like, googled how to start a business. I mean, and it's amazing how he's expanded and growing and the avenues that he's taken since his first location opened. So he's going to be on there as well, sharing knowledge. The Web. What's his name? Did I, I didn't say, sorry, Hector. Okay. Yeah, Gomez. Okay. And do you want to finish the rest? Sure. You're on a roll. Let's go. So our two more of our guests include the owners of Mercado de la Raza. They were at our mixer last night, Alex and Megan. They will be there. And they were there with their cute baby, Sebastian. Oh my gosh. And they're great. What I mean, they have, they're the only, I don't want to to say like a grocery store, but kind of it's just fine Latin American products, not just Mexican or Salvadorian. You have Brazilian, Peruvian, Colombian. I mean, you have everything and from spices and sauces and, and one of the wonderful things that they do is, right? Once a month, they have, they call it Marchentes. And they bring out, they basically create a space. It's Marchentes, Hawaii, where they provide a space for whether you make, I don't know, maybe you make pupusas or cookies or, you know, some kind of, you know, chocolate, whatever it might be. It has to be food related though, is I think one of their prerequisites. And they provide a space and you promote, they promote your product and, you know, it gives people an opportunity to try it, taste it, and you're promoting as well. So it's awesome that they're doing that. And they're over on Baratania. So they're going to be sharing their experience as well. And who's our, our final speaker, panelist, Barbara? I think Dominic and he owns HNLAX. There's two locations, Pro Ridge and Waikele. So it's a successful barber and salon. So he's going to be talking about marketing and how he grew his business. And the thing is, he doesn't even cut hair. He owns it and runs it. So it's great. And this is, this is what's making its business owners and setting them apart is that they're involved in our community, especially, I mean, not especially, all of them are. We just had a hip Rivera on and he was talking about the gym, RIP Fitness. And what they do differently is they, they offer salsam bachata classes, but they also do these sipping shops once a month where they invite members of our community, business owners and to come into the gym and showcase their product. And, you know, they also have their dance team. They're dancing, like Marisol said, it's a vibe. There's food trucks there, tents with food, music, a fashion show. They have a clothing line. So we're just going to, you know, have a great panel discussion led by Maria Arieta. She's got the questions prepared and it's going to be a great showcase. And one of the things I wanted to point out, you know, what is unique about this and why we felt it was important to have panelists, I think, especially within our community, in the Latino community. Yes, we have great food and dance and music and energy and all of the things, right? But to be able to showcase these panelists and talk about their experience allows other people to expand their mind, right? So just like with Dominic, he doesn't cut hair, yet he owns a barber shop, right? More than one, right? So it's, it breaks those barriers. There's no limitations. You don't have to be an expert in the food industry or, you know, cosmetology or whatever it might be to run a business in that field. And I think that's really important for people to know because it kind of blows the lid off of things and like, hey, wait a second, there's these other opportunities as well. I don't have to be a master at that certain craft to actually still engage in that business, right? So that's going to be really exciting to talk about that. And I think it'll help a lot of people that might kind of want to dabble or have ideas of doing things and might not know how. I mean, I think this will be, you know, encouraging and give people a support and a platform for that. Definitely inspirational. And you made a good point. Even Hector Garcia Gomez, owner of the taqueria, he googled how to start a restaurant. He's not a chef or a cook. I'm sure he has his family's recipes, but he's successful. And he's also doing things outside of the box. He has violets and dances there and comedy shows. And karaoke, you know, so anything to bring business into your restaurant. So they're doing things outside of the box. And that's why we want to have that discussion with them to just learn from them and see how they're growing. So it's going to be a great business expo of our community. And it's for Latinos and those who love us. So, you know, don't feel like it's exclusive. We want to be inclusive. So we just want to share our culture since it's Hispanic Heritage Month. And speaking of that, Marisol and I are going to be traveling next week to Florida because the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the big daddy, is having the conference. It's in Orlando, the 23rd to the 26th. So we'll be there learning about the Hispanic economy and bringing back some great information to share with you on our Hola Yaloja talk show. And after that, we'll be traveling to Miami. And in Miami is going to be this is a, okay, I'm going to give you the acronym, that's N-A-H-R-E-P, NAIREP. It stands for, there you go, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. And that logo right there is the top 100. Your girl Barbara DeLuca right here made the top 100 realtors for the Southwest region. So that would include Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii. So I'm so happy to attend this one because they have a special, you know, meetings for some of the members that made this this honorary list. So I'm excited to make that. And in conjunction with NAIREP is also latitude. So latitude is a whole another, I mean, it's two conferences really going on at once in Miami. And latitude is going to have it's talking more about the mainstream economy and how the Latinos contribute to the mainstream economy involving fashion, sports. Oscar de la Hoya is going to be one of the speakers talking about Golden Boy, his company. And John Leguizamo is another guest and Fat Joe and who else is going to be present? We it's just going to be a great conversation. Yeah, it is. And then one and then within, I mean, within those days, there's so many awesome breakout rooms, right? And little conferences within the conferences. So we have to sit and really kind of decide what we want to talk about, right? Or not talk about but attend, because there's just so much fabulous information that we can bring back, right? Especially about with Latino statistics. So we're pretty excited about that as well. I'm excited to learn about the Hispanic homeownership and and you know, how how we are contributing to the homeownership in America, because as a realtor and a lender, this is important information. And we can come back and share it with our our community. And I'm looking forward to the Esteban, Esteban, Emilio Esteban and Gloria Esteban. They are hosting it because this is their city, Miami, right? Right. And she is going to be performing. It's just going to be fabulous. Like like Marisol said, we got to pick and choose which ones we want to attend. And like, she might be interested in a different workshop. And then I might be, you know, I'm interested in learning about the the gross domestic product, the GDP and how we contribute to that. I'm just, you know, it's going to be great. Yeah, there's one. Did you did you see it's the preview of state of Hispanic wealth report? And I didn't know this, that it's like a 10 year anniversary of a Hispanic wealth project like blueprint. And they're basically it's like a comprehensive look at financial wellbeing of Hispanic households in the US. And this is a 10 year anniversary. So their goal is tripling Hispanic wealth by 2000. At that point was it 2014 was the goal was tripling Hispanic wealth. So we're coming up on that time that anniversary is coming up. So I'd love to see what those metrics are and and get the report on that. So we'll be sharing some information with everybody. Now there's so many it's it's it's pretty overwhelming. And you want to participate in all of them, but you just you just I know, I know, right? We're going to have to break out and you go there and I'll go here. I want to learn about the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino. That's a new Smithsonian. And the founder is going to be there talking about that. So that's really exciting. Right, right. And not to mention the gallows. Yeah, those are always fun. Not going to lie, those are fun. Right. And I mean, we're in Orlando in Miami. There's plenty of stuff to do, but I don't even know if we're going to have time to explore outside of know all of this exciting, you know, stuff, right? I don't I don't I don't think so. I don't think so. We're so tired when we come back. I know. Don't you remember last year when when we attended, I was like, I mean, I was exhausted. I was fried. And that was only one event we're doing two. Yes. Yes. So Phoenix was great. We went to Phoenix last year. So for the United States Hispanic Chamber Conference. And our goal is to bring the conference here to Hawaii. And our what we need to do is make more connections with corporate sponsors. And we're going to get there, you know, where we just organized this in 2019. And we have lots of interest from the Board of Directors of the United States Hispanic Chamber to bring it out here. They're just so happy to hear that we have Latinos in Hawaii and that we're 12% of the population and growing. And even even in Lahaina, you know, there, I know I'm switching gears here, but we learned from Ruben Juarez, our treasurer, he's also serves on the board of your hero. So civil beat reached out to us and he was able to share that the Lahaina population is 13%. So due to the service industry, we do have a lot of Latinos that work, worked in Lahaina. And 22% of the students in Lahaina are Latino. So, you know, that's almost one in four kids are Latino that lived in Lahaina lived and worked there. So yes, it's just learning, you know, all those numbers and sharing it with, with our community and Latinos and those who love us, whoever wants to learn about us, we're here, we're here for you. Okay, so what else do we have going on? At the end of the year, Marisol, we're going to meet right with our board and we're going to set out some initiatives for next year. So, Ola Ioloja Talk Show was one of our initiatives. So we're so happy that Think Tech Hawaii has provided this platform for us. And we want to thank our listeners for joining us today. And, you know, learning more about the Hispanic Chamber and our upcoming events. Please visit us October 7th at our Latino Business Expo. And thank you, Marisol, for joining me today. Thank you, Barbara. Yes, please everybody come one, come all, tell your friends, make it a day. It's a family day, music, dancing, food, cakey zone, with all of the wet. People tasting, and we're going to have a bar. There's also a bar if you want to purchase. And if you look at the screen right there, you'll see a lot of the vendors that are participating. Yeah, that would be really great to hold that up there for a little minute. Thank you, Marisol. I have a booth there too. Thank you for joining us. And we'll see you October 7th. And we look forward to our next guest on Ola Ioloja. And it's going to be Tito Puente Jr., you guys. He's going to be here for the Hispanic Heritage Festival October 14th and 15th. So he's our guest in two weeks. Okay, so we'll see you then. Aloha y adios. Aloha.