- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa New Jersey" with Carlos Medina has been provided by (high-energy music) Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative 825, Hackensack Meridian Health, PSE&G, ROI-NJ Business Magazine.

- Welcome back, familia.

We're kicking off season six of "Que Pasa" with me, Carlos Medina.

We have a fresh new look and an amazing lineup of guests who represent the drive, talent and determination that define our Latino community.

Let's welcome Isamar Avery, a marketing and real estate powerhouse, whose storytelling skills shaped the brands of A-listers; chef Alejandro Ferrer, a Venezuelan entrepreneur turning his passion for food into the thriving Cavany Foods; and Berto Colon, a Boricua actor proving that hard work and talent open doors.

Most recently in his role as Solomon on season two of "The Night Agent" streaming on Netflix.

Let's get started.

(lively Latin music) - You're one of those people that should have had to show for a long time.

- It's amazing.

- It's amazing.

- It's amazing.

As we know, Latino-owned businesses are growing faster than any other segment in the United States.

And our first guest, Isamar Avery, is a role model of that success.

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Harlem, she became her company's youngest vice president of marketing at just 28 years old.

Now she has her own marketing agency creating powerful brand stories for A-listers like Eva Mendez.

As she builds an impressive real estate portfolio, she's here to share her inspiring journey.

Welcome, Isamar Avery.

- I'm so happy to be here.

Thank you so much for having me.

- [Host] Thank you for spending the time.

- Of course.

- So you were born in the Dominican Republic.

- I was.

- Moved to Harlem.

Tell me about that transition and growing up in Harlem.

The good parts, the parts that helped you in your career today.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

I was born in Dominican Republic.

I came when I was three years old to Harlem.

I was undocumented.

- Okay.

- And growing up in Harlem was hard.

Like my mom's, she's a single mom and, you know, as a community and as a family, we all helped each other out, but we were all struggling.

So one thing I always knew growing up is that I, as much as I love Harlem, I wanna make it out.

For me, it's always been very important that like I have to make it.

Whatever that means.

I didn't even know what that meant at 3, 4 years old, right, but I always felt like I need to make it.

That's one thing.

And number two, I want to make my mom proud.

No matter what I do, I wanna make it out of this environment and I wanna make my mom proud.

So I worked really hard in school.

I was very studious.

You know, I became a teacher's pet, and it helped a lot because, one, it made my mom proud, which is what I always wanted.

And two, it opened so many opportunities for me.

And I am proud of where I came from.

Like even though like it was really tough in the moment, it made me an overachiever - That Harlem education that's called.

- [Isamar] That Harlem education.

- You then went on to the company TechStyle and became at 28 the youngest vice president of marketing.

- That's right.

- Tell me about that experience and how those Harlem, that Harlem education helped you- - Yeah.

- In that career.

- So when I was 23 years old, I moved to Los Angeles because I needed to leave the community.

Like I needed to find myself, my voice.

I moved to Los Angeles and I started working at TechStyle.

I was a CRM specialist.

So I went to LA, email marketing was booming.

I started working at TechStyle Fashion Group and I went from being a specialist all the way to the vice president of marketing.

And how did I do that?

It was the hustle.

Even though I was supposed to just be doing email marketing, I started writing for the blog.

I started like modeling for some of their shoots.

I started working with their influencers.

I started like coming up with 360 marketing campaigns.

I wasn't getting paid extra to do that.

It was my tenacity.

It was that hunger of wanting to do more.

I told myself by 30 years old, I wanna be the VP of marketing.

And I did it at 28, and it made me feel so proud.

I was often like the youngest, and the only woman, and the only minority in the room.

And it felt so good to have a seat at the table.

It felt so good to have a voice.

The fact that I genuinely wanted it.

Like, I was trying really hard.

It wasn't for money, it wasn't for status.

It was to make my mom proud.

- Yeah, I like what you're saying because even when I think back on my career, a lot of it goes back, I just wanna make dad proud.

Right?

- Yeah.

- So it's always about that.

But you also are an expert in personal brand and you work with A-list celebrities such as Eva Mendez.

- [Isamar] Yeah.

- So tell me about your relationship with Eva, how you guys have collaborated, which I hope more Latinos would do, and tell us about your relationship and how you've helped each other.

- Absolutely.

So I was the vice president of marketing at the time, and we met because she needed to start doing more on social media.

She, you know, I'm like, "Let me fly out to LA and talk to her."

And I went to one of our photo shoots and we met there.

And the moment that we met, we bonded over growing up Latina.

We bonded over just like that culture and like, you know, we have that charisma.

We were speaking Spanish all day on set.

And then she's like, "Mama, like, can you just do my social media?

Like, I love your ideas.

I love how everything feels so organic, it doesn't feel forced or fake."

And I was like, "Eva, I have a job.

Like I'm the VP of marketing."

She's like, "Yeah, but can you just do it?"

I was like, "Yeah, I can help, you know."

And then, you know, years later we stayed working together, even after I left that job.

And then almost three years ago I got laid off from my corporate job.

So she gives me this endorsement almost three years ago, and here we are.

Like that endorsement, like that she gave me, like posted me on her social media, led me to connecting with so many different people in different areas.

And to this day, I work with her.

Our relationship is great.

I'm so grateful for her endorsement, for her support, for her to continue to speak life into me continuing to motivate me.

- So you talked about buying your first home.

So tell me about this new balance.

I know we talked in the green room of real estate and marketing.

How are you balancing those two careers?

- I knew that I wanted to create generational wealth.

I knew how important that was.

So I said, why not use everything that I've learned in my 14 years of marketing?

And why don't I put that into helping myself and my community acquire real estate, whether it is for primary residence, vacation, rentals, it doesn't matter.

I feel like getting into real estate can be really intimidating.

So I am able to do, you know, social media marketing for my real estate as well.

How do I balance it?

It's tough.

But you know what?

I still have that drive and that hustle.

And I work with really amazing clients who are very understanding of my schedule.

I work a very flexible schedule as well.

So I'm able to split my time between, you know, the real estate stuff.

I have two properties that I manage in Miami.

And then I do all of my work also from home and travel as needed.

So I believe that when you're passionate and you wanna make things work, you will find the time.

But I have to prioritize and I have to say no to everything that does not get me closer to, you know, the life that I wanna live.

- You talk a lot on your social media platforms about health and wellbeing.

Tell me a little bit about your passion for health and wellbeing and how that impacts other Latinas that you work with.

- Food is medicine, and that's what I'm trying to learn more about.

And then share everything that I know to my community, to my family.

I want my mom to live for a very long time.

I want my sister, my aunts, my uncles, my grandma, my grandma just celebrated her 86th birthday.

It's really important that we spread awareness about nutrition, what to eat, what not to eat, and also like just educating yourself on how to lead a better life for yourself and your kids.

I always say I wanna be healthier for my loved ones because I want my mom and my family to enjoy a healthy version of me for a very long time.

So what does that mean?

Eating the right foods?

Yes.

Like you can still eat, you know, cake and whatever, but just balance.

Moving, incorporating movement in everything you do.

We love to dance.

Well, that's also a workout, right?

And then I think overall wellness, I think mental health is so important.

So I think there's just gotta balance out mental health, nutrition, moving your body.

I think if you're able to do those three things, you're gonna lead a happier life and you're gonna be more successful in anything that you choose to do.

- But what would you tell some young Hispanics getting into business, getting into their career, getting into marketing, getting into real estate?

I know necessarily you feel like you didn't have those role models, so it's important that people see you, you tell your story, and they learn from those stories at the end of the day.

- Absolutely.

I would say find the people who are doing what you want to do and knock on those doors.

Ask questions, follow their stories.

If you're curious about anything, if you wanna start a business, I know that there's also a lot of information about politics and the political climate, but choose the content you're going to consume instead of like going down the rabbit hole of what's happening with our political climate.

Instead, why don't you go and seek content and consume content that will motivate you, inspire you to go towards the life that you wanna lead, right?

People are willing to help.

Seek your people, seek your community.

And remember that you don't have to do this alone.

It's not just, no one did it alone, and Rome wasn't built in a day.

Be patient.

You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.

And I have to say this to myself as well, 'Cause every time I see a new article, I'm like, "Oh my God, I'm just gonna go back to DR." No, we can't run away from it.

The only way out is through.

- Thank you for coming.

Thank you for telling your story.

- [Isamar] Of course.

- It's very important that we hear these stories so that we could learn from them.

- Thank you so much.

It's a pleasure to be here.

(lively Latin music) - Our next guest embodies the entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, and hard work that define Latinos in business.

He's been unstoppable since graduating from the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Hispanic Entrepreneurship training program.

From Venezuela to Jersey City, Chef Ferrer turned his passion for food into a thriving business.

Let's hear how this culinary entrepreneur brings the wow to every plate.

Welcome, Chef Alejandro.

Your journey Venezuela to Jersey City, an inspiring journey.

And you've always had a love of food.

What made you turn that love of food into Cavany Foods, located right in Jersey City, New Jersey?

- Yeah.

It's a journey, to tell you the truth.

Came from Venezuela, from a Latin American country.

And I find New Jersey like a home for me.

It's been a dream come true.

It's difficult to a Latin American to come to another country and believe in the system, believe in how many chambers can help you and how many people is there for you.

You have to see the key word help.

And for me, food has always been in my family.

But in Latin America, they don't view food as a career.

So that's what I choose be by my own.

My father say, "I don't want you to cook.

I just wanna be a lawyer.

I just wanna be an engineer."

And things happen.

He give me the option.

I study for actually an industrial engineer.

- [Host] Okay.

- It was very good, but it wasn't my passion.

And then I decided to move to Argentina and study for a chef.

In that time, Argentina was very easy for us to live and work, convenient between Venezuelan and Argentina.

And I decide to make my own path, and I decide to take my passion, the food that everybody in my family see as a hobby and make it as a real career.

- You talk about hobby to career.

One of the pivotal moments in talking with you is when you set up shop at the Grove Street Market.

- Yes.

- Tell me how was, you know, what were your nerves that day and and what was the reception, you know?

Did that give you that energy, that inspiration to continue?

- Yeah, when I came here, I decided to just come here and see how's the business over here.

I work as a line cook, as a dishwasher, busser, runner, bartender, manager.

And the last three years of my career here, as I take with the chef for a restaurant.

And then my boss told me, she was from Thailand, and my boss told me, "You know what?

I'm tired of being working.

I already sold my restaurant, so this is your last day."

- Wow.

- And it was like very impacted to me because then I realized you have to focus on your things.

So she kicked me out, but she helped me through, go through your things, don't be at another employer and don't be, make your own stuff.

And then I decided, like a few blocks from my house that was a farmer's market in Grove Street, and you know what?

Let's take it, let's do it.

So I rent a commercial kitchen, a ghost kitchen, and I start two days a week.

I was, I start like selling humus.

It was my main thing.

And iced tea, and like bean salads.

And then I find, a friend told me, and he referred me to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

And he told me, "You should do that because they're gonna help you to grow your business."

When I signed up for the chairman, I got a call and then it was Valeria.

And she told me, "What are you doing now?"

And I'm selling stuff in the farmer's market.

And how much are you selling it?

No, I give you the numbers.

And she said, "Wow, you are selling a lot and you are doing that, like you need to fix that."

So I went through the program and they opened my eyes.

- Sure.

I'm gonna repeat the program.

It's the Hispanic Entrepreneurship training program that the Statewide Hispanic Chamber puts on.

So you're one of their proud alumni.

- Yes, the main things that the program made for me in my life and my career is just believe in myself.

Because when you came from another country, you came with a bag of dreams.

But at the next side you have a back of fears, and fears sometimes killed your dreams.

So they opened my eyes, and they told me you have to believe in yourself because you have nice products.

Your customers, you already have a 250 customers, they telling you that you're doing a good stuff.

So they teach me how to communicate with a tax person, with accounting, with all of the components from the business that a chef know, but you are like in a country that you don't even know what happened.

And they're starting helping me.

There's a lot of programs, there's a lot of grants, there's a lot of loans that you can do to build your business.

And I was, "Are you sure?"

Because where we came from, if you ask government, it's like, "No way."

- Yeah.

- It's no way to find an institution like the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and all of this help that the government gave it to you.

And that's very tough for us to start believing.

- Of course.

So you start the business and then the curve ball of COVID hits.

Tell me about- - Yes.

- That was when you just, really at the beginning of your business.

- When I signed my lease, you guys helped me through the lease programs with the lawyers and things like that.

And I got a 10-years lease in my hand.

And then, I hear in the news, the president say everybody have to go home.

I was like, "What?"

COVID changed everything on our business.

Because obviously when you're a chef, you wanna like have a Michelin star restaurant.

- Sure, sure.

- You wanna be successful, you wanna be in all the news and things like that.

And we realized that food is medicine.

So we decide just to change the concept.

And then we create a healthy menu.

- Okay.

- We stop using salt, we start using sugar.

So we start talking a food is medicine.

So we create a menu that you can go every day.

The program helped me, like, now you have to focus to sell some more because people can't go to the supermarket and buy food and they need to eat.

You are doing a service, you're doing a necessity.

So we start doing meal plans.

And my accountant, they say, what you sell on the COVID, you may not be selling on the regular, because you sell a lot.

You don't even need a loan to make your business because you're making the money right now.

- [Host] Love it.

- And you have the structure, you have the knowledge.

So give the experience to their home, because they can't go out, but you can go in.

- [Host] I love it.

- And when the same finish, and we start like giving the same experience to their home.

- It gave you a little extra something that you were able to introduce to your business.

So a lot of inspiring entrepreneurs, not only in the food business, they struggle with the next steps.

Like you said, the Chamber was a good resource.

But what would you give in advice to a young entrepreneur?

If you could talk to young Alejandro coming from Venezuela, what would you tell young Alejandro the best steps to take here?

- Yeah, the key of make things happen is believe in yourself.

- Okay.

- Believe in yourself and believe in this system.

Because this country, for me, this is the only country that I see that you can make your dreams come true.

Because there's a lot of help.

There's a lot of institution, there's a lot of chambers, there's a lot of people who can help you.

And you can be like scared, you can be like, just show up.

- Alejandro, thank you so much for telling your story.

It's very important that we share these diverse stories to our viewers.

- Thank you, because thank you I'm here.

(lively music) - From the Bronx to Hollywood, Berto Colon is a testament to the power of resilience and hard work.

This proud Boricua has been on "Orange is the New Black," "The Penguin," "NCIS" and "Power Book II: Ghost."

Now he's stepping into the role of Solomon in the second season of Netflix's hit series "The Night Agent."

His journey is proof that perseverance and talent open doors.

Welcome back to "Que Pasa."

(Berto Speaking Spanish) - Thank you for having me, Carlos.

- Alumni, my familia.

(Berto and Carlos speaking Spanish) - Thank you so much for having me.

- Boricua GenXer who grew up in the Bronx, tell me about that experience in growing up.

'cause I know when people grow up, we're in Hudson County right now- - Yeah, yeah.

- They talk about the grit.

- Yeah.

- Which he Bronx, Hudson County, similar.

- Respect, respect to Jersey City.

But the grit in the Bronx, it's a little different, It was upfront and it was in your face.

You know, like your group, the people that you were growing up with, they were giving you checks every day.

And if you cried or were the person that couldn't handle it, you would have to figure that out, 'cause there's no way you don't wanna be part of that group.

So you gotta figure it out.

- So you were a big football player and then you went into acting.

Tell me a little bit about football and how you made that transition.

- So, football I discovered in Puerto Rico, because I had been playing basketball, and I was a swimmer.

And so football came late.

I think it was like eighth grade.

And it was a rare thing because Puerto Rico, football's not big in Puerto Rico except for one place.

And so I ended up stumbling upon the league.

Six or seven teams in the whole island and we would play in Fort Buchanan, which was- - Oh, very cool.

- An Army base.

'Cause, of course, it was an American, you know, it was an American program that probably one of the guys on base started as a league, like NAAU.

But then, I don't know, it just, like, it just gripped me.

And I remember watching Scholastic Sports America on ESPN.

And I was watching kids get scholarships to college that were in high school already in the States.

A lot easier for them.

So I was like, oh, so maybe what I need to do is figure out a way to get to high school and then get the scholarship.

- So you're in the second season of "Night Agent."

- Second season of "Night Agent" on Netflix right now.

- Playing a badass character, which is a theme for you.

- A good theme for me.

- Solomon.

(phone rings) - Go ahead.

- Bad action.

I got at least three people follow me.

- Solomon's an ex-Marine, you know.

But I think the key to Solomon is what made him kind of turn, 'cause that's a big deal, man.

He walks around like he was dealt a blow and he doesn't look back.

He just, whatever.

It's for my sister, you know?

It's for my sister, so.

- Solomon's an intense, intimidating character.

Tell me where you pulled that energy, that intimidating energy from.

- You know, I try, the one thing I don't do is I don't try to intimidate.

I kind of, I've been told through my years how, you know, just your size alone does so much for that.

Like, it's like, it's hard as an actor to kind of push it.

So you kind of just kinda, you let what's natural happen, you know?

And in my case, you know, I kind of I count on my size a little bit, my stature, if you will.

It does what it does, and then the rest I try to like come from a place where it's real, like, yeah.

- I'm gonna go off script a little.

- Yeah.

- 'Cause I know we were talking earlier and I used to, I'm retired from CrossFit.

- Yeah.

- But how does that play, your physicality?

- Physicality, being fit is the mental state that you're in when you know you're healthy, right?

Like, it's not about pushing all this weight.

You know, in my case, I like speed.

I like explosiveness.

So CrossFit is exactly what I need.

'Cause I just, I go all out and I like to feel like I'm going fast and gaining strength.

Not really bulking up and getting big, but just gaining real strength.

- I would argue that CrossFit has helped your career 'cause- - Yeah.

- Confidence in this industry could be very daunting.

- Yeah.

No, yeah.

- You're, auditioning with hundreds of other people.

You get, you know, you're leaving that room sometimes feeling this big.

- Yeah.

- But the CrossFit is giving you confidence.

- 100%.

- Your resume is giving our community, hopefully our Hispanic community and the Hispanic arts community are also supporting you.

- All, all of that goes into every time.

All of that stuff is what walks into the room with you when you go in these places, you know.

There's a lot of things relying on me more than just me.

- How about "Penguin"?

Tell me a little bit about "Penguin" experience.

- Oh, "Penguin" was an amazing experience.

Yeah.

It was, you know, working with Colin Farrell, I mean.

And seeing that process, that just his transformation alone, that was a masterclass, you know, and production, I mean, the levels of production that I've seen from that group and the DC world, and Reeves, and it's a big deal.

- You're part of DC now.

I like it.

- Yeah.

Well, we'll see.

You know, I'm onto to the next, but I think, yeah, it's- - I love it.

- I have had amazing company in the last year and a half.

- What advice do you give folks doing the audition and getting frustrated?

- Have fun.

That's what it's all about.

It's really just have fun.

But there's more important things.

And I think, you know, as artists sometimes we get a little bit too caught up with, you know, things that don't really matter that much.

Because all those things, the confidence and all that stuff may or may not be there, or just a fluke.

You know, you just, sometimes you get affected by a last minute, oh my God, I forgot I left my keys with the, whatever.

Some little thing throws you off.

And you get a chance to check in on yourself and you're a little bit like, stop worrying about those things.

You already have this, you know, like you already have this.

- Thank you for coming.

Thanks for telling your story.

It's important that people hear your journey.

- Thank you for having me.

Thank you for giving me a platform too, man.

Appreciate it.

- Stories like Berto Colon's story and the ones you heard today are so important.

I thank you for tuning in and we're celebrating these powerful Latino stories of empowerment.

(Carlos speaking Spanish) Catch more episodes of "Que pasa" online at pbs.org and follow us on social media.

Share your thoughts, pick up the phone, send me an email, tag us, join the conversation.

This is a very important conversation to have.

It's an important time in our country.

Let's work together to help the Latino community thrive.

Thank you for joining us and God bless.

- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa New Jersey" with Carlos Medina has been provided by (high-energy music) Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative 825, Hackensack Meridian Health, PSE&G, ROI-NJ Business Magazine.

Thanks to the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

Find out more about our familia at shccnj.org.

This has been a production of the Modesto Educational Foundation.

(lively Latin music) (lively Latin music)