Faces and voices of Colorado Latinos

"I've been following this spiritual road for 31 years. I'm doing it for future generations, like a custodian holding the door open. And when they do pick this up, it makes me very happy and very proud. All the years we've been doing this, it's going to be OK. It's going to continue on." — Carlos Castañeda, 54, right (with Donna Vigil-Castañeda, 48), co-director, Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca

"I already went for five world titles. Won two and am trying for another. I've been training for 11 years, maybe a day off here or there. I also have two nieces who turned pro. I've helped them since they were 8 years old. Brittany just won a junior title and is up for a world title. Hopefully she'll be next to get a world title. Then we'll be the first auntie and niece to win world titles in Colorado."— Terri Cruz, a.k.a. Lil Loca, two-time world champion female boxer

1 of 5

"I've been following this spiritual road for 31 years. I'm doing it for future generations, like a custodian holding the door open. And when they do pick this up, it makes me very happy and very proud. All the years we've been doing this, it's going to be OK. It's going to continue on." <I>— Carlos Castañeda, 54, right (with Donna Vigil-Castañeda, 48), co-director, Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca</I>

Expand

By The Denver Post | newsroom@denverpost.com | The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: September 26, 2011 at 4:48 PM MDT | UPDATED: May 2, 2016 at 12:01 PM MDT

Getting your player ready...

What does it mean to be Latino?

For Vietnam veteran Manuel Valenzuela, it’s pride in being Hispanic and having served the United States in war. For Aztec dance group director Carlos Castañeda, it’s a commitment to keeping tradition alive through culture. For volleyball player Dora Velázquez, it means proving herself every day and fighting to get ahead.

As their experiences demonstrate, being Latino means something different to just about every one of the more than 1 million Latinos in Colorado. And it makes the topic a rich one to explore during National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15.

The month marks the anniversary of the independence of five Latin American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua — on Sept. 15, 1821. Mexico and Chile mark their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.

Viva Colorado, The Denver Post’s bilingual weekly, is sharing the diversity of what it means to be Latino today through portraits and quotations from leaders, dreamers, creators and players in the Latino community. Today we excerpt a portion of the interviews conducted by Viva editor and publisher Rowena Alegría. Follow the series over the next three weeks at .

Latino facts at a glance

People of Latino origin are the largest minority group in the United States, numbering 50.5 million in 2010.

Latinos are 16.3 percent of the nation’s total population. There are about 1 million Latinos in Colorado, 20 percent of the state’s population.

The median income in U.S. Latino households is $37,759, compared with $54,620 for white, non-Latino households.

The poverty rate among Latinos was 26.6 percent in 2010, and 13 percent for whites.

Sixty-seven percent of Latino children lived with two parents in 2010.

Latino-owned businesses generated $345.2 billion in 2007, up 55.5 percent from 2002.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and Pew Hispanic Center

��ap