Remesas y Sobremesa: Business, Commerce, and Culture: Exploring Latino and Immigrant Business Impact on NYC
When: December 9, 2024 @ 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Where: Performance Space
150 1st Ave. 4th floorNew York, NY, 10009
Organizer: Pedro Regalado
Participants: Ligia Guallpa, Co-Executive Director at Worker’s Justice Project, Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, Deputy Director at Street Vendor Project, Rosa Ayala, Executive Assistant at United Bodegas of America
RSVP HERE!
Join us for the inaugural event of the Remesas y Sobremesa Series, presented by Historias. The evening will feature a group discussion that explores the multifaceted influence of Latino and immigrant businesses on New York City’s economic, social, and cultural landscape. From their roles as drivers of economic growth to their impact as cultural anchors, these businesses have long created a “cultural scaffolding” that strengthens and sustains communities. The conversation will delve into the complexities of Latino entrepreneurship in NYC, where small businesses act as hubs of commerce, identity preservation, and resilience amidst evolving challenges.
The Remesas y Sobremesa series invites guests to gather around the table, where the warmth of food and shared meals meets thoughtful dialogue.
This program is done in partnership with Performance Space New York
BIOS:
Pedro Regalado
Pedro A. Regalado is Assistant Professor of History at Stanford University. He researches and teaches the history of race, immigration, planning, and capitalism in urban America. His first book, Nueva York: Making the Modern City, is a history of New York City’s Latinx community during the twentieth century, from the “pioneers” who arrived after World War I to the panoply of Latinx people who rebuilt the city in the wake of the 1975 fiscal crisis. Across a range of topics, from urban renewal to the rise of Latinx bankers, US military operations in Central America to drug workers who repurposed tenement buildings, Nueva York demonstrates how the democratic ideals of the city hinged, in large part, on the experiences of Latinx New Yorkers. Regalado’s work has been featured in The Journal of Urban History, Boston Review, The Washington Post, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Before joining Stanford's Department of History, Regalado was a junior fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. Born in the Dominican Republic, he was raised in New York City’s Washington Heights. He earned his BA in History from Loyola University Chicago his MA and PhD in American Studies from Yale University.
Ligia Guallpa, the daughter of a former day laborer and garment worker, is the Co-Executive Director of Workers Justice Project (WJP), a community-based building, workers’ rights organization that is winning better working conditions for low-wage immigrant workers. At WJP, Ms. Guallpa has spearheaded efforts to ensure safe and dignified jobs for NYC’s 2,000 day laborers, construction workers, and domestic workers. Through her leadership, WJP played a key role in the creation of two Brooklyn-based worker centers, a new union, Laborers’ Local 10 and alternative economic models to transform the culture of exploitation by enforcing higher wages and safety standards for construction and domestic workers who live and work in New York City. Ms. Guallpa’s work has been covered on Univision and in publications like The Nation, New York Daily News, and The New York Times.
Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez is SVP’s Deputy Director. She brings experience in policy development, restaurants, and community organizing for equitable economic justice. At SVP she has worked to pass city legislation to reform the street vendor industry, pass state legislation to create a $2.1 billion relief fund for excluded workers, and initiated a food relief program during the pandemic that employed vendors to make healthy, culturally sensitive meals for distribution across the five boroughs. She has previously held positions at NYC Small Business Services, Community Service Society, and Fundación Corona. Carina holds a Masters in International Affairs and Urban Social Policy from Columbia University, and was recognized in City & State’s Labor 40 under 40 in 2021
Dra. H.C. Rosa B. Ayala is a distinguished community leader and advocate for human rights, women’s empowerment, and sustainable cities. She is the Executive Assistant at United Bodegas of America (UBA) and serves as the Executive Vice President & CFO at La Gran Parada Dominicana del Bronx. Rosa is the founder of Dominican Heritage Month, an initiative that celebrates and preserves Dominican culture, fostering pride and unity among the diaspora. Born in La Vega Real, she has been deeply involved in community activism from a young age, supporting initiatives that uplift marginalized groups. Rosa’s dedication has earned her over 200 awards.
