- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa," New Jersey, with Carlos Medina, has been provided by, 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.

- Bienvenidos familia, welcome back to "Que Pasa."

I'm Carlos Medina, and we have an exciting episode filled with soccer energy, entrepreneurship, and cultural pride.

We kick things off at the game room in American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey with highlights from the Statewide Hispanic Chamber, second countdown to the 2026 World Cup.

Did you know that New Jersey leads the nation in soccer fans and the next year we're not just hosting soccer matches, we're hosting the finale.

As part of the celebration, we sit down with world renowned sculptor, Dante Mortet, who shares the inspiration behind his tribute to soccer legends like Pele and Diego Maradona Then we bring it back home with two inspiring conversations.

First in the studio with Mexican restaurateur Arturo Ortega, and later with head council Mariana Diaz-Nagore, a career diplomat who's been building bridges and uplifting our community since 1999.

Let's check it out.

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

(lively music) - It's amazing.

- It's amazing.

(lively music) Almost 500 business people gathered for the New Jersey Hispanic Chambers 2026 World Cup countdown at the American Dream Mall.

It was a high packed event with the opportunity for folks to connect, collaborate, and elevate Latino and Hispanic businesses throughout the tri-state area.

The 2026 World Cup is projected to generate over $3 billion in economic activity, create 14,000 jobs, and attract more than 1 million visitors to our region.

New Jersey has been nicknamed Soccer Central, and one of the reasons is we have the largest concentration of soccer fans in the United States.

And we're proud not only to be hosting, but to be hosting the finale.

This isn't just a business event, it's a cultural moment, a powerful intersection of heritage, opportunity, and leadership.

We're featuring Italian sculptor Dante Mortet, whose famous Mano Art project honors icons like Pele, blending legacy, sport and timeless craftsmanship.

So Dante, tell me, I know in your family, art is a tradition, generations and generations.

Tell me how you fell in love with football, soccer, and also with art and how you combine those two forces for good.

(Dante speaking Spanish) (Dante speaking Spanish) - You mentioned famila, which we use a lot at the Chamber, and I know in Italian you have a G in there.

- Yes.

- Pero famila is also a lot of the people you've met the players.

So tell me how you've been able to navigate working with a player and capturing their art, but also the friendship.

How do you navigate that world?

(Dante speaking Spanish) (Dante speaking Spanish) (Dante speaking Spanish) (Dante speaking Spanish) (Dante speaking Spanish) (upbeat music) - And now you might ask yourself, what does it take to reach the American dream?

Well, for entrepreneur Arturo Ortega, it starts with Mexican culture, community, and a strong work ethic.

He's built a thriving restaurant business that honors its heritage and brings people together from all over New Jersey to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or simply to enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine in a space that is very welcoming.

His journey reflects the entrepreneurial spirit thriving in today's Latino community.

So what advice does he have for others chasing their own dream?

Let's find out.

Arturo, welcome to "Que Pasa."

Now, you had a passion for obviously your culture, Mexican food.

How did you turn that passion into a business, into a restaurant business more specifically?

- In fact, when I was young, I start doing restaurant, not restaurant business, but I start working for a restaurant and I start working for in, I'm from Puebla, Mexico, but I moved from Puebla to Cancun, this beautiful Cancun.

And there I was working for a, I'm gonna say in that moment, it was the most important franchise in a restaurant business.

It was Hard Rock Cafe.

I worked for this restaurant for six years and I learned many of the things that I know I learned from there.

I really like it to work for this company.

And then I moved from Mexico to USA because my family, they were living here in New Jersey.

I tried to be with my family all together and that's why arrived to New Jersey.

That's why we moved from...

I moved from Puebla to New York City in USA.

- I mean, building a business is always something that's so challenging.

Tell me some of the struggles, and you're one of the people I always remember because during COVID you actually expanded your businesses.

You opened new locations.

So tell me about that time.

I mean, you're struggling, worried about business, but you're smart enough to say, my future plans, I could pick up some locations now.

- Yes, in fact, I'm gonna say at the beginning it was very difficult.

My first location was open on 2002.

And then the second location I opened in 2011, it took me around nine years to open the second location.

And I believe when I opened the second location, it was really difficult because nobody knew about my brand, about my business.

It was difficult, I didn't have a liquor license, but I saw an opportunity because when the business start open just patios, I got a big patio in Clifton in one of my locations and I was able to open three patios at the same time.

That was the best opportunity for me.

And I did really good.

And because of this, I was able to get another location in Carson, New Jersey.

In fact, that's my biggest location.

I can seat around 400 people at the same time.

- I love that you took a challenge and turned it into something that was a blessing for your business.

Food is a powerful way to share culture.

Tell me about the way you kind of tell a story with your food and your restaurants.

- I'm from Puebla, Mexico.

And I'm gonna say one of my best dishes is a sandwich is called cemita.

And not too many people has these kind of sandwich.

In fact, when I start my business, I started selling this sandwich that in Pueblo is the most popular dish that you can find every corner in Pueblo City.

And here, I'm gonna say that that's my, like, my secret because it's very difficult to find this sandwich here in New York City.

In fact, and many people in New Jersey and New York is from Puebla, Mexico.

So if they want to try a really good sandwich, they have to go to La Poblanita, because we have the best cemitas, the best sandwich from Puebla.

And I'm gonna say, that's very important when you bring something that is very difficult to find and you have the best product, that's the key.

- Tell me a little bit about the sandwich.

Explain to our viewers what's in there?

- Yeah, yeah.

Basically it is like special Kaiser bread.

Something like this is, I'm gonna say it's the most similar special Kaiser bread.

And we put some avocado.

There is this cheese is called queso Oaxaca.

It's like a mozzarella cheese.

And we also put a piece of steak bread and fries and Chipotle.

Chipotle, but this Chipotle is very different because it's sweet and spicy at the same time.

It's homemade.

And my mother used to make these chipotle.

So basically this is cemita sandwich that we prepare.

- Tell me what you would tell other entrepreneurs starting their journey.

You know, what advice would you give them?

'Cause as you've described, it was a tough journey.

- When somebody ask me for any advice, I always say that if you wanna do something, do something that you really love to do.

That's for me, is the most important thing.

When you do something that you really love, you're gonna...

I'm pretty sure you're gonna make it.

And the second one is that you have to open your eyes and see if there is a good opportunity, go and take it.

Like, we were talking about the pandemia.

In pandemia, I saw a big opportunity to get a new location.

When everybody was closing restaurants and businesses.

I saw the opportunity to a good business.

And I'm gonna say now the opportunity is my best business right now.

It's my biggest location.

And I took it in pandemia.

So you have to be ready.

Of course, sometimes you're gonna make mistakes.

Everybody makes mistakes.

You have to learn from the mistakes, but you to open your eyes and be ready for the big opportunity.

- How many restaurants total is it again, that you have?

- I have six restaurants.

- Six restaurants.

- I have five locations in New Jersey.

And one location.

The newest one is open in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Upstate New York.

- Well keep doing a great job and inspiring us and thank you.

- Thank you, Carlos.

Thank you for being here.

(upbeat music) - I was lucky enough to sit down with Mariana Diaz-Nagore.

Head Counsel of Mexico in New Brunswick.

She has over 20 years of experience in the Mexican foreign Service, and has served in major US cities, including New York, and Washington DC.

Strengthening ties and advocating for Mexican nationals here in the United States.

Let's dive into our work and impact.

Check it out.

Mariana, welcome to "Que Pasa."

- Thank you Carlos.

Thank you for the invitation.

- Your career in diplomacy in Mexico spans over 20 years.

Tell me how you got started in the foreign service.

- Wow.

I started very young.

I joined the foreign service when I was 25 years old.

And I've been very fortunate to have this career that has taken me to lots of places.

Consulates in the US basically New York, LA, Denver, the consular section of the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, DC and now here in New Jersey, so.

- How has that experience, talk about a diverse geographic experience.

You really experienced the whole united... Good portion of the United States.

How has that helped your journey here to New Jersey?

- It's been amazing because it's given me the tools to do what I'm doing now.

So I started as a junior officer at a consulate doing press.

I was in charge of press and then I moved on, did economic affairs, political affairs.

And my last position before coming here, was as a deputy consul.

So I got to see how the consulate was run and in all departments.

So it gave me really the tools that I needed to start this consulate.

Like, as you know, we started from scratch, from zero.

So it really made me have the abilities to really do this job.

- So Mexico has a very large presence in New Jersey, thus a consulate.

How many councils are in the country?

I know.

- 53.

- [Carlos] Oh wow.

- 53 consulates.

We are the number 53.

We're the new kid in the block.

- Tell me what some of the priorities are.

If you had, you know, top two or three priorities that the Mexican American community here in New Jersey and even in New York, what are they experiencing?

What are they asking you?

What are the common questions that you help them with?

- Yes, well, first of all, the consular.

When somebody thinks about a consular they think about passwords and consular ID cards.

But we're more than that.

Aside from those documents.

We also issue powers of attorney.

We also issue what is called dual citizenship.

But we also have very, very interesting programs, community and cultural affairs programs.

We have the community programs in areas such as health, education, financial education.

So we do a lot of that and also what is called the protection and legal services that we offer.

So those are the three pillars of what we do.

And I always make sure that people know, as I said, that we're more than an office for passports.

Sure.

- I'd love you to expand a little on how you help entrepreneurs of Mexican American descent.

'Cause as people know from watching the show, New Jersey, the gross domestic product of Hispanics is a 100 billion a year.

So the engine is being fueled by Hispanic citizens, by Hispanic businesses.

And I know Mexican Americans, especially like in Passaic, that area, there's a huge conglomerate of all these Mexican distributors that import products from Mexico.

So tell me a little bit how you connect them with like chambers of commerce, et cetera.

- Right, well first of all, I'm so proud of the Mexican community here and I'm so proud to see this entrepreneurial aspect of my community.

I've lived in many, many places in the United States, and I have never seen this drive.

And these, you know, they're always looking for expanding their businesses.

They're not happy just with one.

I mean, look where we are.

We're in La Fortaleza, which is a wonderful restaurant that has many locations.

And Arturo Ortega, it's always, you know, always having a new opening.

So I see that and I feel very proud.

And I also have seen from day one, women, women also opening businesses.

Mexican women pretty much are running a good show in terms of the businesses.

It's not only restaurants, jewelry, jewelry stores, flower stores.

With women I see a sorority, I see that they're trying to help each other out.

And I see for example, the Chamber of Commerce, the statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which has a very long name.

That is really, really close to business people.

It's a wonderful ecosystem and one that I'm very proud to see.

- So you mentioned how Latinas and Mexican women are really getting involved in entrepreneurship at amazing numbers greater than Latino men.

Tell me what makes you proud about that and if you any cool examples here in New Jersey?

- What makes me proud of representing Mexican women here, it's their resilience and how driven they are to succeed.

And how when they open a business, sometimes they have also to take care of their homes and sometimes they open their business with their family and they're doing so much at once, but they follow, you know, they follow their heart, they follow their goals.

And I think those are role models that they start from scratch.

They start from zero and you see them now and they're just thriving.

And obviously I think New Jersey, it also gives the resources for businesses to thrive.

Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce provides programs also.

And I think women, Mexican women have taken advantage of those things around them to really build their businesses.

So I'm very proud.

- I like to talk about facts and figures.

Do you know what the amount of economic activity between New Jersey and Mexico is?

- Yes.

Yes.

- I thought they were in the... Are they the top three?

- We're top three.

- Okay.

- $11 billion.

$11 billion.

- $11 billion.

- Right, between Mexico and New Jersey.

- Amazing.

- Yes.

The trade.

- So you spoke a lot about the services that the council offers.

What are Mexican Americans here in this region not taking advantage of?

What should they be reaching out more often to take advantage of all the free services at the end of the day that you provide?

- Well, one of the free services, and I touched on that, is the dual citizenship that's free to register and to get your birth certificate.

And I think Mexican Americans that were born here, but have not taken the step, they're missing out into getting their citizenship as Mexicans.

And why are they missing out?

Because they have opportunities in two countries.

So they're able to study if they would like to, they could study in Mexico, they could buy property as Mexicans in Mexico.

They could work in Mexico.

So it opens doors.

So I think people should know about that.

And the beauty of also having Mexican citizenship with your American citizenship is that you can also pass it to the next generations.

So I think that's wonderful to have those opportunities.

What I see is also Mexican Americans very attracted obviously to culture, to their roots.

And so I've made an effort to bring also art to the consulate.

And we've been very lucky because we've made collaborations with two schools, with School of Arts, the Mason Gross School of The Arts from Rutgers University and also Middlesex College.

So we've brought the work of students and some of them are Mexican American students.

So we display it at the consulate and we invite everyone that visits us to really take advantage of what we have on the walls.

And we have some permanent exhibits too.

And for those who have not visited the consulate, which is a beautiful place.

It used to be a bank.

It used to be a bank, 1908 used to be the Bank of New Jersey.

And it has some beautiful vaults, three.

- Wow.

- And two of them, we use them to have art inside of the vault, so it's very cool.

And whenever I have a chance to, you know, invite people, give them a tour, I do so very proudly.

Because with the consulate, as I mentioned, the consulate didn't exist.

So it's basically because there was a need.

So anybody, Mexican Americans, Americans, anybody that wants to visit should feel welcome at our office.

- So with degrees from UNAM, which is a University in Mexico and Cambridge, you really have this very impressive educational background that you bring with you.

Tell me how that background, that education has really superpowered your career.

- Thank you, well, I studied at UNAM, I started international relations and my whole college experience was really aimed to join in the foreign service.

And I knew that I need to have more to offer because it's very competitive to join the foreign service in Mexico City and understand in the United States too.

So that's when I thought about doing a master's degree in international relations too.

So it definitely helped me into, you know, passing the exams that I needed to pass in order to join the foreign service.

And it also gave me a broader look of the world.

So living in another country.

Also, you know, practicing my English, it really helped out in terms of being able to really to join the foreign service.

And I went to do my master's degree on a scholarship.

So that's the way I could do that.

I could take that step.

So I'm a person that likes to learn.

I'm very curious and I love to interact with people and I feel like I learn a lot from people.

So it's always the school, you know, what you learn from the books, but also the interactions you have with persons around you.

And that's what I love about my job.

- Thank you Mariana.

Thank you for all you do for New Jersey.

I hope people appreciate the hard work and the values that the Mexican Americans add to the Mosaic, which is New Jersey.

- Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you for the invitation.

- Thanks for joining us to celebrate the Leaders and stories behind New Jersey's $100 billion Latino GDP, Driving change, shaping culture, and building the future beyond the state.

You can catch "Que Pasa," on pbs.org and connect with us on Social, tag us, share your thoughts and keep the conversation going.

For full interviews and exclusive content, check us out and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

And don't forget, que pasa.

- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa," New Jersey with Carlos Medina, has been provided by, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The Engineer's labor Employer Cooperative 825.

Hackensack Meridian Health PSE&G.

ROI-NJ Business Magazine.

(upbeat music) Thanks to the statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, find out more about our familia at sshcnj.org.

This has been a production of the Modesto Educational Foundation.