Community leaders
Stronger Together
Written by Kaylee Carpinteyro and Jennifer Piñeiro
In collaboration with Jonathan, Edna, Mateo, Jobany and Gammy
Photos by Mateo Toro
Negative perspectives about Reading are repeated inside and outside of the community. You see it in the news. Stories about crime and poverty rates dominating the media. There were even national headlines about Reading being the poorest city in America in 2011. Through these unfavorable stories, people on the outside created perceptions about the community being dangerous and unsafe for nonresidents. Building a barrier of fear and disconnect for those unfamiliar with the city of Reading.
Little by little, residents are chipping away at these negative perspectives and bringing positive changes to our city. Among them are four incredible community leaders, featured in this book, who each in their own way have worked tirelessly to make a difference in Reading: Gammy Nieves, Jobany Bedoya, Jonathan Tinoco, and Edna Garcia-Dipini. Also, committed to this community is Mateo Toro, who is this Our City Inside Out photographer. They work together and individually to form a new outlook for our community.
Gammy, Jobany, Edna, Jonathan, and Mateo all met at different times but felt an immediate connection to one another. They share different interests and different areas of expertise like dancing, photography and videography, finances, politics, and the arts. They often collaborate because they share a common goal: to show people outside of this community how wonderful it is to come together and experience life inside and out. There is strength in numbers, and they know working together is essential to reaching their objective. Through their work, they are showing everyone that Reading has so much to offer, not only to its residents but anyone willing to take a chance on a small city with a big heart. “It’s inclusive, not exclusive,” expressed Gammy.
Starting a non-profit organization called “Union Colombiana,” Jobany hosted a Colombian festival seven years ago to showcase his Colombian roots and expose Latin American culture to others, due to the predominantly Hispanic population in Reading. Here, Jobany crossed paths with Gammy and Mateo, and they quickly bonded over their Hispanic culture and desire to highlight the diversity within the community.
At the time, Gammy was doing something similar as the Food and Beverage Director for the Crown Plaza Hotel when he created, Caliente Night as a way to highlight different aspects of Latino culture. Every Thursday featured Latin music, professional salsa dancers, and cuisine from Puerto Rico and different Hispanic countries like Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico because although Latinos share striking similarities, we are all different in the best ways possible. Caliente became a huge success, and Gammy used proceeds from this event to help other organizations and nonprofits. Although Gammy no longer works for the Crowne Plaza, Caliente Night continues to be successful and brings a large crowd to the Crowne Plaza, furthering efforts to highlight Latinos in a positive atmosphere.
“I just wanted to get Colombian food,” Mateo said, which led him to Union Colombiana, where he also met Jobany for the first time. He and Jobany agreed few Colombians were living in the area, so he was excited to see his culture represented in a festival. They discussed their background, hope for the community and careers. They remained friends from this moment, and a few years later, Mateo decided to transition his video and photography career from part-time to full-time when he attended a Diversity Mixer event hosted by Jobany. “How can I help you out in any way? I see that you’re trying to do your own thing,” expressed Jobany. He soon guided Mateo, showing him the business side of video and photography. Jobany began informing Mateo about small events to film or photograph so he could get more experience. He knew it was a good way for Mateo to network and establish his brand. “He really wanted to support me,” said Mateo. And today, Mateo gets to return the favor by utilizing his creativity as the photographer for this project and use this opportunity to portray his respected associates and friends in the positive light they deserve.
Latinos often connect through food, music, and dancing, which is where Edna and Gammy met, at Dancing on the Streets events, hosted by Edna’s organization RIZE. Gammy was interviewing people as a part of the People Chronicles and interviewed Edna to get her perspective on how dancing allows people to be happy and free. They admired each other's work and continued to work together because they share the desire to showcase Hispanic culture in a positive light. As Edna stated, “A lot of the work we do intertwines with one another. And I'm always looking for partnerships because I feel the more, the merrier. And it's always the better opportunity when you partner with all the folks on the same wave, and that just address the same community and the same issues.”
Jonathan is more of a newcomer to the group, but his passion, work ethic, and desire to show the world what Hispanics can do has inspired the other community leaders. Jonathan noticed an absence of the Latino community and decided it was time to show our residents, their voice matters. However, this is just beginning for Jonathan. He wants to lend his voice wherever he can. The partners admired his candor and versatility not to be pigeonholed into one cause when he’s eager to help wherever he can. Jonathan wants to help the community overall because he was born and raised here. He doesn’t limit his focus to one cause or neighborhood. There’s so much work to be done everywhere. “As long as you’re you, you’ll find your place,” he states, and his place is here in his community.
We, this story’s writers, are Latinas born and raised in Reading, and we have always seen this as a positive. It never dawned on us that being from Reading and Latina could be viewed to some as negative. How could this be a bad thing? We have the both of best worlds. We’re American, and we’re Hispanic. We speak English and Spanish, and we celebrate our heritage within our households: we dance, we sing, we laugh, and we love. We’re taught to embrace our differences and use them to our advantage. We aren’t embarrassed about who we are and where we came from, because the perspective of a few doesn’t diminish who we are as people. And being raised in Reading is no different. We see culture and diversity and celebrate our differences, not hide from them.
Like these community leaders, our place is our city. We’ve experienced moments of negativity and positivity. However, our love for this city has never wavered. In fact, it has motivated us to fight hard for what we believe in, and not bow our heads to people who simply don’t want to understand who we are. We know who we are, and we’re majestic. We are passionate and proud, and being Latinas from Reading is our superpower. We, the writer’s of this story, the community leaders portrayed in Our City Inside Out, and many Latinos in Reading are dedicating their lives to creating a new narrative of positivity and hope for the future of Reading.