Welcome to Somos Hispanos, I'm your host, Christiana Malacara.

In this episode, we will explore a subculture that is often overlooked, Chicano history.

We will learn more from Angelo Kapp, the owner of Nuestra Cultura.

Hi, Angelo.

Thank you for coming on Somos Hispanos today to talk about a subculture that normally just doesn't get its light shined on.

That is Chicano history.

And you are the founder of Nuestra Cultura.

What is that?

So I started, Nuestro Cultural Multimedia Productions, in January of 2024.

And it all happened with this idea of doing a film festival across the state of Michigan.

And we wanted to highlight Chicano History Week, which falls from February 2nd through the eighth.

And we, brought in a film called American Homeboy that highlights the origins of the Patrick control culture.

Chicano History Week is that nationwide?

Is that statewide?

And when did that start?

So for my knowledge, Michigan was one of the first states, beginning in the 1960s, to recognize the Mexican American contributions to the United States.

So a couple, cities in California and other cities around the country, they've been starting to recognize, Chicano achievements and contributions to their, respective areas.

But Michigan was one of the first states, and it just basically highlighting the work that we've been doing and the work that we continue to put in here.

But Michigan, of all places, I wouldn't necessarily think that's high on the list of 50 states to acknowledge Chicano history.

Is there a heavily populated Latino population in Michigan and that we need to know about Chicano history?

Yeah, I would say what the migration patterns of people from, you know, Latin American countries such as Mexico, from Texas, work in the fields coming up here, work in the fields in the summer and stuff, with the expansion of the automotive industry and the plants along the I-75 corridor, a lot of, the family stayed, right.

And Detroit actually had a heavily, population within the zoot suit movement.

So the Detroit has a lot of history, you know, with the Chicano movement back in the 1960s.

Right, civil rights, stuff like that.

So I would say that that's big population that's influenced by it.

So let's take a step back here.

Chicano history for our viewers who are thinking, okay, we have Latino history.

We may even have Mexican history, but Chicano history, what is that?

So Chicano history, it's it's not being, you know, as a first generation person, right.

Being recognized is here fully Mexican, right?

Because we live in the United States.

And at the same time in the United States, we're not treated as, as, you know, first class citizens.

So that Chicano movement was, you know, some something other, you know, like we're identifying as something else that has power, right?

And and there's many people that identify with Mexican-American, Latino, different names, right.

But I think more of the older generation that grew up with it would heavily identify more as Chicano.

But not everybody does.

So it's an identity.

Yeah, it's it's identity of of being strong to your roots.

And at the same time being able to create something that is reflective of family, culture and what it is to be in this country of the United States.

You know, so it's very it's a very unique way to celebrate and a lot of other cultures around the world, actually, embrace that Chicano movement as well.

Like, such as Japan.

Okay.

That threw me off.

I did not expect you to say Japan.

How is it that Chicano history is being celebrated in Japan?

Well I wouldn't say more or less the history, but the culture, right?

They identify strongly with the clothing, right.

The zoot suits, the lowriders and the arts The zoot suits, the lowriders and the arts and the tattoos, especially the music, right.

And, you know, the Japanese, when they do something, they make sure they do it correctly because they want to preserve and honor that culture.

So it's an amazing thing to see, you know, Chicano history and the culture being spread throughout the United States and the world.

Okay, we're going to take another quick step back.

You said that when there was the launch of your business, you kind of based it around this inspiration from a film, American Homeboy.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Yeah, so I was, on Facebook one day and a friend of mine had posted a trailer, and the trailer was American Homeboy, and it was just so captivating to me because it included a lot of historical footage, right.

And I believe that in our education system, sometimes our history isn't shared with us fully, right.

And so upon looking at this trailer, I was like, I felt I felt something in my spirit.

And I was like, we have to bring this to our city.

We have to expose the youth to this, right.

And so the idea to start it was like, let's share this film and then let's share other facts and bring other people in to share about the culture and where's the culture headed, right?

Because, culture is always evolving.

Evolving, evolving, that's a very strong word to say.

So what is it that Nuestra Cultura is doing to preserve some of that history?

So I like to look at Nuestra Cultura as the the vehicle for the people to share their stories, right.

We understand that not everybody has the same background or the childhood, right.

But together, united as Latinos, we have a strong voice and especially in this country where we make up almost 3.8, trillion dollars of the GDP, we could be about the fifth largest country in the world, based on GDP.

And so Nuestra Cultura is about having a safe place for Latinos to share about their upbringing, share about the food, the culture, the music, and especially, you know, in the United States, a lot of people are gravitated towards that.

You know, I mean, bachata and merengue, salsa those if you ever look on, you know, YouTube or TV, they're always having dance competitions across the world.

They might not know Spanish, but once you feel the rhythm in your soul, you can't stop but move.

What was the inspiration of having this here, right.

We're in the Great Lakes Bay region, and creating a business is it's a lot of work.

So what was your inspiration of one creating the business, but making sure that that's preserved here in this region.

So I would say that, you know, being born and raised in Saginaw all my life, up until maybe my mid 30s, I just known about Saginaw and the culture here, right.

And as I got older, I got to experience, you know, different parts of the country and different parts of Michigan.

And just the music and, you know, it's it was kind of foreign to me, right?

Because, you know, usually in Saginaw, most people are Mexican-American descent.

And so like the bachata and the merengue is that wasn't something that we're more familiar with, right?

There's more Tajano music from Texas and stuff.

But, you know, just understanding that there's a lot of different people that, you know, speak Spanish, right.

Have that origin from a Latino or a Latin country, you know, some of the foods cross over, right.

And, and it was like, we need to enrich the area right over here.

Because there are people that are moving from southern states over here for jobs for, for just the, slower pace of life, right.

Where there's nothing wrong with that.

But, you know, how how can we provide them with entertainment and incorporate them into the community where they feel welcome?

And so it's it's, you know, kind of the best of both worlds because you're making somebody feel like they're home, but at the same time, sharing experiences with other people where they necessarily don't have to travel to a big city or out the state.

So you're definitely growing and preserving something, but also expanding the horizons of those who might not know what Chicano history is, or any type of Latin American history in general.

So I have to ask the name of your business, Nuestra Cultura.

What does that mean for our non Spanish speaking listeners and viewers?

So Nuestra Cultura is our culture.

And originally when I was you know, this is years ago when I was thinking about having a multimedia company.

I just wanted it simple, you know, like, you hear Nike, Starbucks, those are one word.

And I wanted Cultura, but as I searched the internet, there was a lot of other businesses name that.

And there was a furniture company from, I believe, Europe, other entities, right.

And so, you know, getting down to it, I didn't want people to feel like they didn't belong, right?

And so by calling it Nuestra Culture, our culture, it's in the fabric of American society, you know, American, Chicanoism and stuff that's that's deeply embedded into the United States.

And so our culture is it's everybody's culture.

You know, and how they interpret that and just their appreciation for the arts, the music, the food, diversity makes us stronger.

And so I want people to feel like, you know, just because you don't know Spanish, how to do a cumbia, like, come over to us and we're we're going to have events where you could learn, you know, and let's learn about their culture as well.

So learning is a big component of your job in your business.

And I know because I've seen you kind of just navigate all across the state.

What are some of the things that you're doing to grow your company for our region and beyond?

So growing up here in Saginaw, you know, I always used to think like it'd be great to live in a big city, right?

With the bigger city, there's more people, there's more things going on, but there's also constant traffic.

You know, the cost to get into a venue or an event.

So one thing that we try to pride ourselves on is, is making that barrier to entry very low.

So we heavily rely on sponsors to, you know, share with with the culture, with, with other people, right.

And, you know, being that the Hispanic market is growing so rapidly in the United States and worldwide, they see the benefit in that.

And so by keeping things local here, I like to try to bring some of those big city events and bring them over here, right.

Connecting with, with different entities, you know, sports teams, artists, you know, people that generally wouldn't leave their, their vicinity are now understanding that we have Latinos here in Saginaw, we have Mexicans.

We have we have a variety of people.

And not only that, but if you look at Dow and Midland, they're a worldwide company.

And so they have so many other people here too, from Latin American countries where, you know, they need a sense of home sometimes too.

So how can we, you know, combine the best of both worlds and make something in the Great Lakes Bay region, right, for everybody to enjoy.

So I can't go any further without asking what's next?

What is what is the next plan for you?

So I got a lot of pots in the fire right now.

Definitely Chicano History Week.

Originally we were going to do another installment of that this year, and it was going to be Chicanos in Hollywood, but we're going to do a Latino film festival in Detroit, Michigan.

And during that time, there was the wildfires in California.

So we felt that it would be better to kind of postpone and, you know, plan, take a little bit longer to plan.

But right now we have a couple things with, some artists we're working on, and then, we're, we're trying to create this, pipeline, right.

This pipeline between college students and professionals in their career because, you know, when I was growing up, I didn't know a lot of people that were in these positions.

Right.

And so how can we better navigate that?

By connecting them with people.

And so they could kind of get a sense of what they do, how they got there.

And, you know, being, part of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Last year I was awarded Chamber Member of the year.

And so I really try to bring people into that world, right, that that are looking to put a hand out and say, come on.

Like, we're going to we're going to make you feel comfortable and whatever you need.

Like, let's help you get there.

Because I think going forward with technology and everything, there's so much that has not been created yet, right.

These jobs that, traditionally took place are being phased out of new jobs are coming.

And so, you know, how do we really bring the youth into the future and, and, you know, working with some of these pioneers that have, you know, created these industries and they're evolving, you know, and just basically making sure that the youth has a voice, you know, and they're always on the highlight of having families coming to our event.

And, you know, again, trying to make things as free as possible.

So if someone wanted to learn more about Chicano history and Nuestra Cultura where could they find more information?

So you can find us on Instagram or Facebook, Nuestra Cultura, Right now we're we're also trying to, build, build a website so we can have some more content, you know, feature stories and stuff like that.

But, Instagram and Facebook, that's that's where we keep up to date of things.

Wonderful, well, thank you for coming on today.

And thank you for, preserving and expanding Chicano history and more.

I appreciate you coming on.

Thank you very much.