Abstract

Maria Agosto explains how the Hispanic community on the Near West Side, specifically in the Metro West neighborhood, is affected by various social and economic issues, including impending gentrification, the lack of a strong Hispanic professional culture, and the inadequate awareness of helpful community programs and services. Much of Agosto's professional career has focused on the empowerment of young professionals. She suggests that the neighborhood will be strengthened through an investment in the community's youth.

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Interviewee

Agosto, Maria (interviewee)

Interviewer

Nemeth, Sarah (interviewer)

Project

Metro West

Date

7-31-2017

Document Type

Oral History

Duration

56 minutes

Transcript

Sarah Nemeth [00:00:01] Hi, my name is Sarah Nemeth. I’m here with Maria Agosto. Today is July 31, 2017. We’re at Metro West Development Organization offices. This is for the Cleveland Regional Oral History Project. And could you please state your name for the record?

Maria Agosto [00:00:16] My name is Maria Agosto.

Sarah Nemeth [00:00:18] And where were you born and when?

Maria Agosto [00:00:23] I was born at Metro Hospital, and I lived on West 90th and Denison for, like, the first 15 years of my life.

Sarah Nemeth [00:00:34] What was your neighborhood like?

Maria Agosto [00:00:39] I remember being a kid, and, like, it sounds terrible. Like, I remember, like, everybody was happy. Like, you know, I got to walk down the street and hang out with my friend who lived really far down the street, and then, like, a lot of our neighbors started moving away because they said the neighborhood was bad. And I remember, like, local things where we thought one lady was a witch in her house, so we avoided that house. And I went to Almira Elementary and things like that until, like I said, a lot of my friends moved away. But my dad, he’s a police officer for the water department, so he had to live in the city of Cleveland, so there wasn’t really an option to move out. And there was, like, you know, five kids, so he didn’t really have a lot to move around.

Sarah Nemeth [00:01:28] Do you have an ethnic background?

Maria Agosto [00:01:31] Yeah, I’m Puerto Rican.

Sarah Nemeth [00:01:33] Was there a large Puerto Rican enclave in the neighborhood you lived in?

Maria Agosto [00:01:37] No, there wasn’t. It was, mostly White people.

Sarah Nemeth [00:01:41] Okay, did- Was there one somewhere else, not moving in your neighborhood, but were you aware of?

Maria Agosto [00:01:51] So my grandpa, my grandma came here in, like, the late 1960s, and they moved to Clark Avenue. So then they had all their kids here. So there’s about- I have five aunts that live in this area and a couple uncles. So, like, that’s typically where everybody thought of, like, the Puerto Rican area. They thought of Lincoln West as being, like, that’s where all the kids speak Spanish, and everyone kind of knew it. So we visited my grandpa a lot. So. And then, as an adult, I moved over here. So I would still say that it’s pretty, pretty Hispanic.

Sarah Nemeth [00:02:26] It still is?

Maria Agosto [00:02:28] Yeah. I work at Lincoln West now, so I don’t, I see, like, a lot of the kids that do live in the neighborhood, although from what I understand and kind of what people have told me is that there’s a growing population of Puerto Ricans. Like, they go to Rhodes, so they’re moving a little closer to the Brooklyn area.

Sarah Nemeth [00:02:45] Okay. So there is some sort of natural migration happening of the enclave, the network of people?

Maria Agosto [00:02:52] Yeah, I would still say, like, it’s not everybody. You got some people that want to stay here because here’s where the services are offered in two different languages. Here’s where, you know, you can get food, you can get clothes, get copias, all those strange little things that you need for things.

Sarah Nemeth [00:03:13] What’s a copia?

Maria Agosto [00:03:14] So if you ever go like, like a baby shower or a wedding, they have, like, those little pins they pin to you. You see that they’re like lace usually, and they got like, a ribbon through them with the date on it. So you get those in the neighborhood.

Sarah Nemeth [00:03:28] Just because, I mean, why?

Maria Agosto [00:03:30] I don’t know. Like, I needed to get it for my sister’s baby shower recently, and I asked where you get them. And, like, it’s this store that you would never go in otherwise. And it’s the only place they knew how to get them.

Sarah Nemeth [00:03:42] Interesting. And they just hand them out?

Maria Agosto [00:03:44] No, you gotta buy them. Like, you place an order and you tell them how many you want, and they get one for, like, the mom or the birthday person, you know, the wedding people.

Sarah Nemeth [00:03:53] Right. Okay. Are there any, like, important restaurants in the area that you can think of?

Maria Agosto [00:04:04] This one’s tougher because I’m a vegetarian, which goes against the will of my people, because if it’s not in pork, they’re not happy. But. So I eat different things than maybe everybody else eats. But if you wanted to get Puerto Rican food, there’s always the bakery, which is the yellow building. It used to be the yellow building that you had to kind of know how to order in Spanish if you really wanted great service. But now they have the newer building, which is, like, where it used, like, behind where it used to be. Um, so you can get rice, pernil, salad, empanadillas. You can get, like, little grocery things, like the seasonings there. I think they sell sofrito. So there’s them, and they’re kind of like a buffet, not a buffet. It’s like takeout style where, like, the food’s already ready and you walk up and you kind of point to what you want, and then you get a serving of it. So I don’t know what that’s called.

Sarah Nemeth [00:05:00] I think. I don’t know if you’re not getting it yourself, that would be a buffet, but I don’t know what it’s called if they do it, but you get to see it.

Maria Agosto [00:05:07] Yeah. Okay. So I’ll get snacks there and food there. There’s also a place called Sabor Miami, but they’re definitely on the cusp. They’re over on Broadview, okay, so she’s got- It’s really awesome food. It’s like I think she takes inspiration from a lot of places, but it’s like turmeric lattes and turmeric ice lattes which- I’m a big turmeric fan right now. But she knows, like, all her customers and she’s super friendly. So because she knows I’m vegetarian, she’ll, like, make me different things. But she does, like, wraps. She has cubanos, frijoles, rancheros. She’s got those frijole rancheros. And then she has like, kind of cool stuff like kiwi lime pancakes. So, you eat a lot with her. And so then there’s Moncho’s. So Moncho’s is still a little bit more like a bar, but they have really great food. So they’re over off Denison by like some chicken place. So usually where I go, other than that, because of the vegetarianism, I eat a lot of Middle Eastern food.

Sarah Nemeth [00:06:21] Right.

Maria Agosto [00:06:22] So, those are my favorite Spanish places, though.

Sarah Nemeth [00:06:25] Okay, well, I’ve been to one, so.

Maria Agosto [00:06:29] Which one? The bakery?

Sarah Nemeth [00:06:30] Momocho’s.

Maria Agosto [00:06:31] Ah, not the one by, there’s like one that sounds like it by Johnny Mango. Not them.

Sarah Nemeth [00:06:40] No. It’s like, it’s really, really small in there and really tight. And it’s, you can hardly, anyone can hardly sit in there. I forget what it’s by.

Maria Agosto [00:06:50] This one’s big though.

Sarah Nemeth [00:06:51] Oh, maybe that was one that sounded like it, I don’t know. It was on the side street. Well, it’s on the main street, but you have to park basically on a side street.

Maria Agosto [00:06:59] Yeah, there’s a lot of parking on side street, but they have a lot.

Sarah Nemeth [00:07:03] Maybe I went to the one that sounds like it that’s not actually it.

Maria Agosto [00:07:06] That one’s like over in Ohio City. It’s like across the street from a fancy like beer and wine place. [SN: Yes, that’s the one.] I think that one’s, um. Maybe that one’s Momocho. I’m thinking of Moncho. No, Little Moncho’s. I think it’s on Denison where Denison and Fulton - is it Denison and Fulton? - Yeah. So Denison Fulton. And there’s like a gas station across street. It’s like Happy’s Chicken or something. And, and then like two doors down. It’s got a black sign and white lettering, but they have mofonguitos and they’re ten bucks, and they got like crab guacamole. It’s like crabmeat guacamole.

Sarah Nemeth [00:07:50] Yeah. You can get all the different types of guacamole. Like there is- Was there a tuna one there too?

Maria Agosto [00:07:56] I’ve only seen this one. It’s like you walk in and they got like, big paintings that are, like, the size of this mat. And, like, someone paints in them, you can tell they’re, like, LeBron’s face. It’s like, I think Cesar Chavez’s face. It’s, like, really, like, big faces. I think there’s a soccer player. They’re always watching soccer in there too.

Sarah Nemeth [00:08:16] So there’s two, but there’s not, they’re not the same thing, but they sound alike.

Maria Agosto [00:08:19] But one is owned by White people, by the guy that owns El Barrio, I think, or El Carnicero. Like, those three are all owned by someone else. It’s not Hispanic.

Sarah Nemeth [00:08:29] Oh, okay.

Maria Agosto [00:08:30] They’re faux Hispanic.

Sarah Nemeth [00:08:31] So there’s the little one and then there’s the huge one where you walk in, there’s a giant bar, and it wraps. Is that-?

Maria Agosto [00:08:38] It does wrap. Yes. And, like, there’s, like, little bottle caps, and then it’s covered over with, like, glaze or something.

Sarah Nemeth [00:08:45] Okay, so I’ve been to both of those.

Maria Agosto [00:08:47] Okay. I’m thinking the second one. Mm hmm.

Sarah Nemeth [00:08:50] Okay.

Maria Agosto [00:08:51] Yeah. I had a lot of margaritas there.

Maria Agosto [00:08:53] Their margaritas are awesome. I sometimes complain about, like, when I go to, like, Mexican spots, the margaritas suck, like, what is this? But theirs are awesome. Those are awesome.

Sarah Nemeth [00:09:06] What did your mother do?

Maria Agosto [00:09:07] Ooh, I’m not really close to my mom.

Sarah Nemeth [00:09:09] Okay. So your dad was a cop?

Maria Agosto [00:09:14] Mm hmm.

Sarah Nemeth [00:09:14] And you had four siblings, and were you close to the rest of your family that were still here, like, your grandparents-?

Maria Agosto [00:09:25] Yeah, I see my grandma yesterday. So I still, like, we all live within, like, a five mile radius of each other. I got an aunt lives on Denison. Aunt lives in Storer. I got my grandma lives on, like, 46th and Storer. Then I live on Daisy. I got another aunt that lives on Archwood. Another one lives on the Arch- It’s like, that side street where it connects to, like- No, Mapledale. Mapledale, side street, Archwood. So that middle street. So, like, we all kind of live here.

Sarah Nemeth [00:09:54] Okay. I don’t know if your grandparents ever mentioned to you because they came around in the [sixties]. Did they ever talk about when they arrived-?

Maria Agosto [00:10:03] What it was like?

Sarah Nemeth [00:10:04] Yeah.

Maria Agosto [00:10:07] It’s harder to get pieces out of ’em. I know. I pieced together my dad was young. He was in the Guardian Angels. They rode around on the rapid stations and, like, were this volunteer police force kinda. I don’t think they get, like, batons. They don’t get, like, you know, anything dangerous. But he would talk about how there was, like, more racial tensions between, like, the African American community and the Hispanic community. So I’ve heard of that. But it wasn’t something he talked about often. But I know that that was a big reason, like, even though Metro, Tri-C Metro has always been closer, but, like, our family, like, everybody always went to Metro, or to the West one. Tri-C West. It’s in Parma. So even though it’s far, it’s a total pain in the butt to get to. People go there because they didn’t feel safe crossing that bridge downtown. So it is. And, like, it’s a weird thing that I think has trickled down, because even now at Lincoln West, a lot of kids don’t go to Metro. And, like, that’s one thing if, like, you’re graduated, but if we talk to them about, like, college credit plus where you could do college and college or college and high school in a day, they would have to make that commute. And that commute is, it’s a bit of, it’s a lot, you know, especially trying to go to school half the day. It could take, you know, 45 minutes.

Sarah Nemeth [00:11:32] Yeah. Going to school and possibly working, spending time.

Maria Agosto [00:11:36] Yeah.

Sarah Nemeth [00:11:37] When your job’s closer and having to go-

Maria Agosto [00:11:39] It is.

Sarah Nemeth [00:11:40] It’s a lot for-

Maria Agosto [00:11:42] But see, so they talked about how is it even more Hispanic on, like, Clark Avenue? It tends to be Puerto Rican focused, even though there are other communities in the area, too. Like, there is El Salvadorians and Guatemalans. I’ve met some Colombians, but it was always like, Puerto Ricans were the largest sect of people. Didn’t talk too much about it. My grandpa owned the house on Clark, and he would rent- So it was three houses on a property. It’s like, I think it’s like three parcels, but there’s two in the front and there’s one in the back and two in the front were, like, duplexes. And then the back house was a standalone house. My grandpa lived in the standalone house. Well, he would rent to people as they just came to the country or came to the mainland, you know, so they didn’t really speak any English. So he would just, you know, help them get set up, help them find a job, things like that. Yeah. I got to go to Puerto Rico recently, and I got to, like, meet my family that was still back there. So, like, even though my grandpa passed away, I got to meet, like, his sister and my grandma’s brothers and sisters, and so it’s kind of cool.

Sarah Nemeth [00:12:52] Did they tell you why they, why your grandparents left and they stayed?

Maria Agosto [00:12:57] Oh! Unfortunately, my Spanish is not what it should be, so they only really speak Spanish in Puerto Rico. They use more English in Rome than there is in Puerto Rico, which is crazy.

Sarah Nemeth [00:13:10] Yeah. I’ve been to Rome. It’s interesting.

Maria Agosto [00:13:14] Like, you can get around, you know? [crosstalk] Like. Yeah, but, like, not in Puerto Rico. And the roads are, like, crazy. But, let’s see, I know that they came over on the promise of a job, and then I know that’s why they came. My grandpa retired from Sherwin-Williams, so that’s where he stayed.

Sarah Nemeth [00:13:33] Okay.

Maria Agosto [00:13:37] Let’s see. That’s all I really know.

Sarah Nemeth [00:13:41] All right. What was kind of, I guess the landmark that kept the community together? Was it a church? Was it a, maybe an organization that people could still talk- I know you lived- Everyone lived close, but, like, what’s something-

Maria Agosto [00:14:02] That kind of drawn us to the spot? Kind of. It was my grandpa, but, like, organization wise, he went to St. Michael, but I had never been to St. Michael, and even, like, my aunts and stuff go to churches in Lakewood, Seventh Day Adventists. So. Hmm. Something central for everybody. That’s tough. I mean, I think what really helped them out was that, especially when they were on Clark, was that rent was low, the bilingualism was everywhere, and you could walk to a lot of places because, like, there’s a ton of pedestrians in this area. People walk everywhere. So because there was a grocery store close, there was, you know, restaurants close. I think that’s all I’ve got. I don’t think there was any single thing that uni- got them all here. I do know that, like, living very close to each other was always very paramount, though, because, like, my dad moved to Chagrin Falls after they changed that law, the constitution, the state constitution, to allow police to move out of the city, and he moved to Chagrin Falls, and it’s like he died. Like, nobody knew what happened to this man. [laughs] So it’s tough. See if I can think of something else. And there’s always, like, this heavy reliance on each other where, like, when you needed sitters or, like, people needed help with things, people even trade, like, smaller things. Like, if you have groceries and I don’t have groceries, I’ll let you borrow something. Like, if you’re making something, you know, like, so there’s that. And then, like, my grandparents, my grandpa drove but my grandma never drove. So, like, there was always this need to be close to her, too, because she needed to get places. And then, I don’t know if it’s true, but my dad told me we were little, that the Taino Indians would like that, like, when explorers would come through like that by the islands, they would see these, like, lone people in, like, long canoes. It’s one person in canoes. And he told me that they would do that so they could visit their family in other places, but that it was, like, very important to them as well because they had, you know, even though it was big pain in the butt and you were all by yourself, you’d still make this trek and still make this journey. So I still think that this, like, idea of visiting each other and, like, that’s what you do on your days. That’s what you’re supposed to do. And, like, if you don’t do it, like, you get- You get stuff from all the family about, like, why haven’t you seen grandma in, like, a week? So I think it was just each other being here.

Sarah Nemeth [00:16:40] Okay.

Maria Agosto [00:16:40] And particularly our grandparents.

Sarah Nemeth [00:16:45] All right. There was a- Just from what I know, I know there’s this strong presence of Puerto Ricans and other Hispanic families in the 1960s and the 1970s in the Hough area. Do you know anything about that?

Maria Agosto [00:17:01] No.

Sarah Nemeth [00:17:01] Okay.

Maria Agosto [00:17:02] If they did, I’m sure it was because there was some kind of factory that was hiring. People I know in Lorain they got a lot, too. [crosstalk] A lot of Puerto Ricans. I’ve never been, but I know that, like, it’s got, they got to really strong community.

Sarah Nemeth [00:17:15] Oh, yes. It is very strong. But it makes it interesting, makes it fun when there’s diversity.

Maria Agosto [00:17:22] It does.

Sarah Nemeth [00:17:23] And not just bland.

Maria Agosto [00:17:24] I know, I know.

Sarah Nemeth [00:17:26] Which could be an issue in some places when there’s impending gentrification, which is a question that I have.

Maria Agosto [00:17:33] Oh, totally pending. Like, and like, even so, I’ve kept my ear to the ground in part because I work at Lincoln West, because my family lives here, and they’re not active in the community way because, I don’t know, they aren’t. But I went to school for, like, my public admin, so I know, like, neighborhood building in the process and, like, gentrification and what it does. So I’ve been very active in paying attention to what’s happening in the neighborhood. And I know there’s a strong, like, la via push, but there’s also. So my brother has this shop, like a car shop, on Storer. Is that St. Michael, that street?

Sarah Nemeth [00:18:12] The bigger one is Storer. That runs parallel to- [inaudible]

Maria Agosto [00:18:22] Because I know that if you take that street that all the terrible things happened on, and at the end of that street, there’s a white shop, that may be Storer. Well, anyway, he lives- He’s very close to, like, the Tremonty area, and he’s in between Tremont and here. But so he gets, he gets, like, pretty messed with pretty regularly about, like, you know, keeping the place up, make sure so many cars, there’s not any noise past a certain time. So even in the time he’s been there, which is like a year and a half maybe, you can see that that street is very becoming different considering they’re opening, like, clothing shops. And, I don’t know, things like that. And, like- Mm hmm. And they’re like, I have nothing against retail. Like, I love retail clothing specifically, but, like, I can also see when it’s, like, very high end. Like, when it’s like, I mean, I’ll occasionally buy, like, a $25 t-shirt, but, like, they’re rare and they better, like, be a CLE t-shirt to be that expensive. So, like, it’s a very high end, expensive commodities that are popping up over there. And that’s not really reflective on what that community can afford. But I think of it is it’s a land grab. They’re trying to see where they can start to move this buffer. And even I think that that area is now called, like, Tremont West. It’s not Tremont and it’s not Metro West. It’s this fun little area. And now that, like, Metro’s got their own, like, CDC kicking off pretty much, it’s interesting to see what they’re gonna try to grab for. ’Cause why else would they have a CDC?

Sarah Nemeth [00:20:04] Yeah, I mean, just this seems like the next place to kind of pop [MA: Mm hmm, it does.], and it does, Detroit Shoreway just- It’s happening.

Maria Agosto [00:20:13] But they’ve been, like, really good. I do respect Detroit Shoreway because they’ve tried to include the people. They’ve tried to not price people out. Whereas I think Ohio City has been very, like, they don’t care. Like, as long as they can get the money they want for the property and they’re gonna make it look as fancy as possible, they don’t care. And they’re also, like, they’re right before that bridge on West 25th or, you know, on the other side of it’s Nestle and that. And, like, they’re full. Like, it’s already surprising to me how dense that population, like, those cities and the houses are becoming there. There’s, like, almost no green- There’s green space in the sense that there’s trees and there’s parks, but there’s not, like, open fields. Like, remember, because that’s where I lived prior to this. Like, there was, like, where they had destroyed a house, but, like, there’s just a field now and, like, kids played over there and things like that happen. But even now, like, all that’s sold up and people are trying to flip their houses fast.

Sarah Nemeth [00:21:08] So all the vacant lots that were green spaces, that were community spots?

Maria Agosto [00:21:13] Even on 47th, like, we had a community garden. But, you know, an investor came and was like, hey, I want to buy this property. And, like, we didn’t own that land. Like, there was nothing to stop someone from buying it. So I, because I did move out I don’t know entirely what happened or if he bought it, but I do know, like, like, it kind of came down to this moment. We’re like, oh, we don’t. We don’t own this, even though we fixed it. And, you know, there’s 20 gardens in here with a whole sprinkler system. Like, this isn’t ours. We can’t, we can’t stop anybody from buying it. So my point there is that they’re running out of space and they have to expand somewhere. So the question in my mind is going to be, is there going to be an intentional community here, or are they going to start to push it apart and peel it apart for different other communities?

Sarah Nemeth [00:22:05] I never thought about it that way. I mean, I always knew that the people usually have to leave that were the essence of the space. When gentrification comes in and the buyers come in and they’re moving, they keep pushing it back. [MA: Right.] But how- What happens when it runs out? I mean, this is kind of like in a little bubble right now.

Maria Agosto [00:22:25] Yes. And like the urban planner in us, you know, or me. I don’t know. I assume you’re doing urban planning of some sort with this kind of project.

Sarah Nemeth [00:22:34] Well, I mean, it’s a person’s relation to space, but I’m a history graduate student so this is history.

Maria Agosto [00:22:41] Well, so, like, you may be familiar with is that the closer we are to downtown, the more centralized all the transit is. The RTA, the 22, the 21, the 28, the 26. Like the very big bus lines that run like every 10, 15 minutes at times. Those are- The closer to downtown you are, the better it is, the better the service. But as we start getting further and further out, there’s less. There’s less bus routes, essentially, which means less access to work, less access to hospitals and things of that nature. So Stockyards - Clark-Fulton - Brooklyn Metro West has like, really cool- What’s this guy want? What a stalker. [laughs] Just kidding. That’s Tony. He’s a good guy. But this area has good bus coverage. But let’s say that that ripping apart slowly happens and those people have to move. Well, naturally, in my opinion, they’re gonna start moving further to the Brooklyn area because that’s the next closest community. It still has a high school. It still, you know, has the Hispanic population, you know, already kind of there and established, is that the buses aren’t as prevalent there and then for sure past there, like, it’s even worse. Like you’re going from like five lines down to two lines. So it becomes a very big deal about when you talk about services like that. So random side rant tangent.

Sarah Nemeth [00:24:08] No, I, well, just in Detroit Shoreway, like, the people that live on Madison, they’re down to one line and it doesn’t come close enough to that section. That’s the section that needs it the most because they’re the least mobile.

Maria Agosto [00:24:23] Yeah.

Sarah Nemeth [00:24:24] And they don’t have a grocery store anymore but one neighborhood grocery store-

Maria Agosto [00:24:28] Is it the Dave’s one?

Sarah Nemeth [00:24:29] It’s Alexander’s. It’s like a corner grocery store. [crosstalk] It’s super small. And they have to go all the way down to Dave’s, and there’s even further-

Maria Agosto [00:24:39] If you’ve gone to Dave’s too, like, it’s expensive. Like, I love Dave’s because they have a cool variety of stuff. Like, it is not cheap by any means.

Sarah Nemeth [00:24:48] It’s not at all. It’s one of those, they jack it up because it’s a mommy pop.

Maria Agosto [00:24:52] Yeah.

Sarah Nemeth [00:24:52] And yeah, it’s unfortunate. That’s scary for, I mean, it’s all good and stuff to reinvest in these neighborhoods, but displacing the people and the essence of what made it so cool is not cool.

Maria Agosto [00:25:05] No, it’s not. And like, and then also, like, it drives me crazy because you see, like, we were talking about this yesterday, my husband and I, is like, we were on Lorain and Fulton right there. So they kicked, I don’t know if kicked, Unique left and then Fifth Third Bank left. And I think- So the opinion is that because Lorain was redeveloping, they thought they could get people that could pay better for those properties, but now they’re empty. And, like, those were, like, long standing players in the community. Fifth Third Bank had been there for a while. It’s the bank I used. And then Unique Thrift Stores, you know, Unique Thrift Store, which is awesome. And they’ve won like, like ton of cool little thrift store awards. But like, it’s a huge property and they wanted more money for it, so. No, you can see it though. The tiny mom and pop places get pushed out quick because they don’t have the money in. My one speculation theory is that they don’t have the money to upgrade it to be really cool looking. So there used to be a furniture place, used to be two furniture places. One was on, like, I don’t know. They’re big. I think it’s like on 41st across from Spanish American Committee. There was a furniture place there. They weren’t great furniture. I think they took, like, vouchers and stuff. And there was another furniture place over by the plaza right before, what’s the tall thing, farmers’ marketplace?

Sarah Nemeth [00:26:32] The West Side Market.

Maria Agosto [00:26:33] The West Side Market. Yeah. So. But, like, both of them were gone. Like, within a year, they were just gone. And they’d been there for, like, forever, because you could tell when you walked in that place it’s like, that place is old [laughs], but, like, they would never have the money to, like, upgrade. And now things that are there are really cute, and they have nice signage, and, you know, I’m sure they have a happy hour of some sort.

Sarah Nemeth [00:26:54] Well, yeah, and I mean, they can’t pay the rent, as they- They were just probably just making it before. And it’s unfortunate.

Maria Agosto [00:27:04] It is, because, like, they have a right to be there. I know they’re not as pretty. I know it’s not. You know? But, like, they have a right. They been in the community when it was terrible or rough, and, you know, they’ve helped people, and they deserve better than this, just like, well, this building’s kind of nice, and you guys should be better, so.

Sarah Nemeth [00:27:27] Sorry.

Maria Agosto [00:27:28] Yeah. So here’s the new rent, and if you can’t make it, you can leave, pretty much.

Sarah Nemeth [00:27:34] Maybe we can change directions. I saw that you’re on the board of the Young Latino Network.

Maria Agosto [00:27:41] Ooh, I’m the president.

Sarah Nemeth [00:27:43] Could you explain what that is?

Maria Agosto [00:27:45] Oh, sure. We’re a young professional organization. We were started in 2002. I heard there was, like, a little bit of time before that, but I know we were officially certified as a 501c3 in 2002. So we, as a young professional organization, we work with young Latino college graduates are usually our target to give them opportunities to become civically engaged and opportunities to develop themselves as leaders. Typically, this means that there’s a lot of fundraising. I have to go. I gotta go, like, to the companies around town and say, hey, you know, we got these awesome leaders, and they want to participate in awesome leadership programs in Cleveland, and we need help to do that. So every year, you know, we go to our sponsors, and they give us money, and then we use that money to reinvest in the people that are members. And we do, like, typical Young Latino Network stuff like networking, speed networking. I feel like I’ve networked in every variety at this point. It’s like, table by table by table. I also, like, I’m a big advocate for volunteering, so things like that. So we work with, like, the Breast Amigas. So they do. They’ll do, like, pop-up health clinics. I know they’re coming this September to La Sagrada church, but they’re from Metro, the hospital. And they do free breast exams, which the Spanish word for that is. Wait, damn it, I forgot. Oh, well, I was supposed to, like, have it, and pelvis is pelvis, and free pelvis exams, and then, like, there’s this whole slew of people. So they’ll do, like, diabetic testing. They’ll do blood pressure testing. I know. Like, they, like, looked at my sinuses and stuff, and, like, it’s free. You walk up, you can try it. There’s snacks. It’s to try to encourage being, like, healthier in life. And we partner with them because we provide kind of, you know, translators. Okay, so that was a big one. And I know that I was talking to Luz, who runs it, and she was saying there’s so many people that come to the west side locations that they have to prep all the tests the night before, because it’s just, like- And they’re there for a while. I think it’s like, nine to twelve, maybe eight to twelve. [crosstalk] Yeah, the whole time. It’s crazy. I know. Like, the east side location, which, you know, typically, you don’t associate Hispanics with the east side, we had 275 people, and it is open to everybody, but, like, 270 people in that little, tiny timeframe to try to do these tests to get a little healthier. That’s always a big one. So we volunteer, volunteered with them. We work with the board of elections to register people. What else we do? Lots of stuff.

Sarah Nemeth [00:30:33] Okay. Do you know how it started?

Maria Agosto [00:30:38] I feel like the idea of it as starting was that it became important to have- So Hispanics don’t- How do you word this? Not everyone goes to college. So when you do go to college and you’re one of the first in your family to go, and then you’ve graduated, which is a wonderful, awesome occasion, now you’re looking for a job, and you’re gonna go from a safer, more collaborative environment into the workforce, which is, in my opinion, a little more- I don’t know, it was surprising. I remember my first staff meeting, and, like, nobody talking. And I

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