Just south of Mexico City in Cuernavaca, Mexico, Sergio Garcia Sr. tried to start his own business, settle down and start a family in America – closer to his wife’s family. Garcia Sr. packed up his life and moved to Memphis to start his own party supply business, Sergio’s Jumpers. In doing so, he raised his son to seek passion in his career choices.
Thanks to his parents, Sergio Garcia Jr., 17, found his inspiration in film and video that led him to win the Emerging Filmmakers competition in June with his feature on WMC Action News 5 sports director Jarvis Greer.
“…My father has had a huge impact on who I am and my love of film and video,” said Garcia, who studies film and video at the University of Memphis. “But I also want to give a big thank you to my mom who was there for me and supported me when my dad was here and he’s not here anymore.”
The film, along with his contributions to his family business with his mother, allowed Garcia to become known within the Latinx community in Memphis.
As a result, he came out on top among 840 votes for a Latin Soul award.
Garcia was among five community members honored during the 2022 Latin Soul Awards, a celebration to recognize members of the Latinx community, as well as their allies, for their achievements, leadership and support.
On Saturday, Garcia won a Future Latinx Leader Award. María Oceja also received the Future Latinx Leader Award. Other award winners included: Angel Estevez, Latinx Business Owner Award; Dr. Scott Morris, Friend of the Latinx Community Award; and Ivan Rivera, Latinx Community Leader Award.
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“I think being Latino, being Hispanic, is something to be proud of,” Garcia said. “It’s like pride in the chest. It’s like a great feeling to be up there representing your community.”
The awards ceremony, presented by Cazateatro Bilingual Theater Group, in association with The Grove at GPAC, was the third of its kind in Memphis, but the first in-person party. The first Latin Soul Awards were held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, attendees can greet, hug, take pictures and dance with each other – creating stronger bonds and embracing their Latin roots together.
Before the awards, attendees wined, dined, visited vendors such as Mili’s Flowers and Gifts, shopped for art and shopped for clothing and accessories at boutique tables. While with vendors or enjoying drinks and food, people were entertained by singer Marianna Figueredo Livingston as she sang various Latin music such as Selena’s hit “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom”.
All the fun led to the awards where the top five were honored.
“This is the mission of the Soul Awards during (Hispanic) Heritage Month, to recognize and celebrate us as Latinos,” said Dorimar Ferrer, executive director of Cazateatro. “Celebrate our allies, our community leaders and students — we (decided) our Memphis community (needed) an award.”
Ferrer wants the awards to be an opportunity for others to see the work being done for the Latinx community in Memphis.
“We know there are Latinos everywhere, but sometimes we don’t know who’s doing what… They’re doing amazing things in our community. So everybody (should) know,” Ferrer said.
Like Garcia’s father, Latinx Business Award nominee Greg Diaz started his own business, which became a well-known spot for fiery Mexican tacos in the Memphis area.
His business, TacoNGanas, started more than two years ago and now has 14 food trucks with two more on the way. Diaz also owns Uncle Goyo’s Mexican Restaurant in Germantown.
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Diaz said the nomination meant a lot to him and attending the awards was a way for him to support Cazateatro and their mission to bring cultures together.
“I’m very proud of (Cazateatro). They’re all about training and teaching our cultural values from our Mexican traditions and Latino traditions,” Diaz said. “They’re going to take the time to educate people about what we’re all about.”
While Diaz didn’t win the Latinx Business Award, he cheered on all the nominees, including Garcia, as he took the stage to accept his award.
Garcia said that with all the recognition he’s gained over the year, he believes it will connect him with more people and help him throughout his career. He also plans to follow in the footsteps of his entrepreneurial family and start his own videography and photography business in the next couple of months.
“I’ve been blessed to have so many opportunities in such a short amount of time,” Garcia said. “I’ll keep working to get better, but this definitely won’t be the last time you see me.”
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The awards are just the beginning for Cazateatro’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and the fall as they prepare for Fest Latin in Overton Square later this month and celebrate Día De Los Muertos with a parade and festival in October.
“We should be proud to be Latino and live here. We should be proud of our community… We make Memphis a better place,” Ferrer said. “We’re part of this community and this is to celebrate us — to celebrate every Latino in Memphis and Shelby County who is doing great things.”
Ray Padilla is the digital producer for The Trade Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Ray_Padilla_.
