Speaking for Two Cultures

Tilting her head, Rocio Flores glances around as if expecting to find the English adjective hovering just beyond her recall. Her fingers tap the table for a moment. She utters a word softly, testing it, then jumps back into the conversation.

Flores, 34, is used to lively dialogue in Spanish. In her native Mexico she was a writer, director, and producer of children’s radio programs. But since moving to Harbeson, Del., (pop. 598) in 1996, she’s worked to develop that same ease in English—an ease she needs to publish her bilingual newspaper, Hoy en Delaware (HOY). She chats about her husband, Jose Somalo, her love of Latino arts and culture, and her surprise at finding herself living in the United States. “I never expected to leave my beloved Mexico,” she says, amused at the curves life has thrown her.

But Flores enjoys challenges and opportunities. So when her husband accepted a supervisory position with Perdue Farms, she set out to put down roots in Delaware. She quickly discovered she isn’t alone—the First State’s Latino population has doubled in the last 10 years.

Immigrants from Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Mexico, and Cuba come seeking a better life. Many find work within southern Delaware’s chicken industry. Sussex County is one of the nation’s top broiler-producing regions, processing more than 240 million chickens annually.

Soon after moving, Flores founded HOY, the only monthly bilingual newspaper addressing the needs of Delaware’s burgeoning Latino community. Most of the content is presented in both Spanish and English. Within its 30-some pages (which fluctuates with advertising), columnists address political, social, and business issues affecting the community, balanced by lighter features, including local sports scores and photos of community events. A bilingual word puzzle invites readers to connect a word in Spanish with its English counterpart, and a large classified section advertises jobs.

“In moving to ‘the land of the opportunities,’ we thought that having our own business would give us a great opportunity for personal achievement, help us to integrate into the new community, and allow us to offer a service that will be a benefit for others,” she says.

But Flores operates from a larger mission.

“Media plays an important role in the growth of any community,” she says. “We are striving to bridge a gap of understanding between Spanish and English speakers across the state.”

In only seven years, HOY has achieved a statewide circulation of 8,000 and has been profitable for the last two. Flores never doubted its success. “We knew we had to earn the trust of the community,” she says. “It just takes time for a large geographic area to embrace and accept something new.”

In addition to being HOY’s primary writer, editor, photographer, advertising sales representative, and secretary, Flores also is president of El Centro Cultural, a volunteer organization that encourages cultural stability and artistic expression within Sussex County’s Latin American community. “We try to bring the Anglo community to Latino events, and integrate Latino artists into Anglo activities,” she says.

Her performers include musical groups from the Andes and Guatemala, dance groups from Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and a percussion group from El Salvador. El Centro Cultural also sponsors Festival Hispano, a celebration of music, dance, poetry, and storytelling scheduled for Aug. 24 in nearby Millsboro.

“Rocio (Flores) has been a major force in cultural development among the Latino community,” says Susan Salkin of the Delaware Division of the Arts. “She knew instinctively that the arts could be a great vehicle for helping people get to know one another, for breaking down barriers, for celebrating, and for developing local leadership in her community.”

Flores is pleased her efforts are making a difference.

“It’s my heart’s duty to try to make the lives of those in the Latino community full of happiness, beauty, and harmony,” she says. “It was a big change for me to come here, but I’m fulfilled. I can’t take Mexico City out of my heart, but this is my home now.”

Sheri Rehwoldt is a freelance writer in Wilmington, Del.

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