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Latino Community Coalition to recognize five women in alley activation project

Families nominated their loved ones this summer, and the coalition was so moved by the twelve nominees that five women were chosen instead of just one.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Latino Community Coalition is one step closer in their plan to recognize Latina women downtown Grand Rapids. 

Project HERencia initiated an alley activation project. They plan to name an alley after five women who have passed away and made an impact on the community.

The alley, off Grandville Avenue and Oakes Street, will be called 'Herencia' and will be dedicated to each of the women. 

'Herencia' means 'heritage' in Spanish, and the coalition says this project is important to increase the Latino community's presence in Grand Rapids. 

"It's our way of honoring the monarchs in the family, the first women to settle here in Grand Rapids that are no longer with us, but her kids and grand kids and families are still established here and are active community members," coalition member Veronica Quintino-Aranda says.

Families nominated their loved ones this summer, and the coalition was so moved by the twelve nominees that five women were chosen instead of just one.

"A surprise to me was all twelve families are close to my heart, and the twelve women nominated were women that I knew in life, that I hugged," Quintino-Aranda says. "Both them and their families are close to my heart."

She says she's gone through a roller coaster of emotions as they recorded interviews with the family members of these women. 

"A lot of these Latinas passed away just this year due to COVID-19, and others passed away a couple years back, so each family member is dealing with the grieving process, so it's important for me to walk alongside them and remember these great stories that are coming back to the surface," Quintino-Aranda says.

"It's actually been really, really inspiring," coalition member Eleanor Moreno says. 

The coalition is discussing exactly how to activate this alleyway, including a mural, a plaque or tile art, but the main purpose is to give the Latino community exposure downtown.

"I think this alleyway too is so connected to the Grandville corridor [which is] 75 percent Latinx, and the decision of choosing this alley is very important to us, to that connectivity to the community that hasn't had much in downtown aside from festivals," Moreno says.  

For now, the coalition is expected to introduce these Puerto Rican and Mexican immigrant women to the community. 

"They're all powerful women in their own way," Quintino-Aranda says. "They all were women that did not only look out for themselves, but their neighbors. They did great things in the community."

The coalition will be releasing the families' interview videos in both English and Spanish on their social media, as well as the names of the women chosen in October. 

The artwork for the alleyway is coming in the next couple of months. The Latino Community Coalition is looking forward to a ribbon cutting event for the entire community to take part.

 

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