Interviewed by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez. Barbara Tabach also participates in the questioning. Valorie J Vega was born in raised in Los Angeles County. Her father, Fred Vega, was one of the first firefighters hired in the Los Angeles County area. Vega was one of three children, and remembers spending her childhood surrounded by family. In college, Vega began studying biology only to realize that she was better suited studying Spanish. Upon completion of her undergrad, Vega went on to earn a Master's in Spanish interpretation. As a result of her studies, Vega was able to secure a job in the Court Interpreter program in Las Vegas, moving here in 1978. Her position in the interpreter program, led her to pursue a degree in law which in turn led to a successful career as a lawyer and a judge.

Randy Garcia is the founder and CEO of the investment management-consulting firm, The Investment Counsel Company. Born in Los Angeles on Feb. 21, 1954, Garcia’s family moved to Las Vegas in 1957. The son of a World War II vet and a homemaker, Garcia’s ancestral roots come from Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He grew up in Las Vegas during segregation and expansion. He remembers a time when much of city included dirt lots and casinos that no longer stand. A champion in serving under privileged youth and communities across southern Nevada, Garcia lives by the philosophy, “give until it hurts.” Garcia uses his success as a wealth manager to promote, foster, and cultivate positive change for the Latinx community in Las Vegas. His story and dedication to his community is a pinnacle of hope and benevolence for current and future generations. Garcia became the first in his family to attend and graduate college. He graduated from UNLV in 1977 with honors, where he majored in business administratio

It is February 20th, 1995, the world’s eyes are set on El Estadio Azteca, Mexico’s largest sports stadium. Inside the facility, in front of an estimated 130,000 people, Mexican legend, Julio César Chávez, is defending his WBC super-light weight title against the American, Greg Haugen. In front of his countrymen, Chávez is punishing Haugen, who disrespected him years earlier in Las Vegas. During the 5th round, Haugen is barely able to stand on his feet, as the record breaking crowd calls for him to be knocked out. Chávez continues to land a barrage of punches, until finally the third man in the ring that night decides to step in to put an end to it. The stadium erupts with cheers for El León de Culiacán. The history books remembers this fight as the largest outdoor fight in the history of the sport. Casual boxing fans will always remember Chávez and Haugen battling it out in the heart of Mexico, but a third man stood in the ring that night: Joe Cortez. Cortez was born to Puerto Rican parents in Spanish Harlem, New York City. Boxing was always a part of this Hall of Fame referee’s life. Cortez won multiple Golden Glove tournaments as an amateur boxer and had a successful, but short career as a professional boxer. Outside of boxing, Cortez also found success as military man, deli owner, hotel manager, and director of an ophthalmologist outreach program. Eventually, he would find himself back in the boxing ring, this time as a referee. His career as a referee took Cortez to the top of the boxing world. When he retired in 2012, Cortez officiated 176 World Championship Fights. In 2011, Cortez was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame alongside, Mike Tyson, Julio César Chávez, Kostya Tszyu, Ignacio Beristain, and Sylvester Stallone.

Interviewed by Barbara Tabach. Born in Mexico, Francisco was a child when his father received permission to immigrate to the US with his younger children. Upon graduating from high school in California, he moved to Las Vegas where one of his sisters lived. It was 1994 and jobs were plentiful; he would find his way through several positions. Then in early 2000 he was hired to be a dishwasher, on the graveyard, at the recently opened Paris Hotel. It was a Culinary Union job; by 2002 he was a shop steward and finding better positions at Paris. He continues to work at the Paris Hotel as a fry cook. In 2008, he was a citizen and proudly voted in his first presidential election.

Interviewed by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez. Nery Martinez was born in El Salvador, he describes his childhood as one filled with war and violence. When Martinez was five years old, the small country of El Salvador erupted in civil war. Martinez describes the panic that he saw growing up, never being certain when violence could occurred. The 12 year war took up the entirety of Martinez's childhood. After the war, the country was left in runes, seeing little hope for recovery, Martinez left El Salvador for Las Vegas where his brothers had fled earlier during the war. In Las Vegas, Martinez was able to find work in the service industry, at the same time attending English classes at night. Martinez is currently working as a bartender within the Culinary Union. Interview conducted in Spanish.

Interviewed by Claytee White. Rodrigo Vazquez also participated in the questioning. Guadalupe Redmond lived a wonderful life in Mexico while growing up. When Guadalupe was 17, her mother decided to immigrate the family to Las Vegas, Nevada, Guadalupe did not want to move but reluctantly did so. She taught herself English by watching TV. Then she decided she wanted to work and became a guest room attendant working downtown and on the Strip - Sundance (Fitzgerald's, now the D), Stratosphere, Aladdin, Planet Hollywood, Riviera, Hacienda - to name a few. As she moved about, she began to understand the importance of the Culinary Union Local 226. She is now an organizer who in 1989 participated in a 10-month Work and Walk strategy that was successful.

Interviewed by Marcela Rodriguez-Campo. Laurents Bañuelos-Benites, Maribel Calderón, and Barbara Tabach also participate in the questioning. Moises "Mo" Denis is a Cuban American born in Brooklyn, New York. He served as the first Latino Majority Leader in the Nevada State Senate and has been involved in public service for over 30 years. As a leader in the Church of Latter Day Saints and his involvement with supporting Latinx initiatives, Mo has been able to increase the representation of Latinos in politics and support educational reform. While early on his family moved around a lot, they finally settled in Las Vegas and have continued to grow their family. Mo is a Rancho High School alum and went on to graduate from Brigham Young University as a music major. He first started his career by opening a music store, but later began working in the tech industry. Eventually, through his involvement in the PTA, Mo was appointed to serve on the Clark County Library Board. There he was involve