(Left) Miriam Alarcón Avila (Photo by Tar Macias for Hola Iowa) (Center) Alicia Velázquez (Photo by Miriam Alarcón Avila for JEFAS Magazine) (Right) Adriana Rodríguez-Almanza (Photo by Wes de la Rosa for JEFAS Magazine) Alexandra Olsen
In 2002, when I was just 8 years old, my mother and I immigrated to the United States from my native Brazil and began learning a second language.
Everything I knew my whole life, from the lessons I learned in school to the interactions I had with friends and family, was in Portuguese.
Learning English was hard and when I first started, I often felt like “half of myself” when speaking English.
I remember my grandmother coming to visit us for Christmas the first year we moved to the United States. When she asked me what I wanted for a present, I asked her to bring as many of my favorite comic books as I could. I missed reading new things in my native language and seeing familiar words on the pages. When she came over and handed me a heavy pile, I spent weeks leafing through them, savoring every moment.
A year ago, Hola Iowa approached me with a request to translate articles from the Corridor Business Journal (CBJ) into Spanish, and I was immediately excited to share our business content for this purpose.
I have found that this publication gives its community of readers the same feelings I felt more than 20 years ago: a sense of empowerment, dignity, and connection to one’s culture.
That’s why I’m excited to continue and expand the collaboration between Corridor Business Journal and Hola Iowa. Starting in September, in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, CBJ will be publishing several entrepreneur profiles originally published by JEFAS Latinas in Business Magazine, a Hola Iowa publication.
This inspiring publication tells the stories of some of Iowa’s most successful Latina business owners and leaders — all shining examples of perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit.
As newsroom leaders, we believe the best way to increase diversity in our coverage is to be more visible in the communities we want to engage with. We hope that our ongoing collaboration with JEFAS magazine and Hola Iowa will help make us known to the Latino community in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor. We hear you and are proud to continue sharing your stories.
–Alexandra Olsen, CBJ Editor
Cristina Fernandez Morrow
JEFAS: Latinas in Business magazine profiles Latino entrepreneurs who are fearless trailblazers and change-makers. The Spanish word “jefas” translates directly to “bosses” in English, and these women are bosses! The magazine launched digitally on May 9th at the first Latino Business Excellence Summit in Des Moines. Organized by a team of Latino business owners, the event was created to bring together Latino entrepreneurs and aspiring minds. It was a huge success, selling out three times.
“I never dreamed I’d see something like this in Des Moines,” said Erika Macias, publisher and co-founder of JEFAS magazine. “Hundreds of Latina women coming together to support each other and grow. We knew we’d created something bigger than we ever imagined.”
The magazine became a social media sensation, being shared, quoted and reposted for weeks, and the buzz only grew when the print edition was released in June.
The Latinas featured come from all walks of life. We tell the story of a petite, soft-spoken Mexican-American who drives a giant tow truck like a go-kart through the streets of Central Iowa; a Puerto Rican cosmetic chemist who runs a global beauty brand in Storm Lake and created a reality TV competition for makeup artists in Cuba; and an indigenous Chicana who lives in Iowa City and creates one-of-a-kind jewelry from metals and stones hand-selected and cut by Native Americans. These are just a few of the brave JEFAS who are building their legacies despite many obstacles.
JEFAS Magazine was launched as a resource with a mission to not only highlight how Latinas contribute to Iowa’s economic landscape, but also to support Latina business owners by increasing their access to opportunities, representation and resources.
According to the 2020 State of Latino Entrepreneurship Report, Latinos account for 40% of all Latino-owned businesses, but less than 2% receive venture capital funding, leaving Latino entrepreneurs to turn to family and friends for financial support or go it alone. Blanca Plasencia, owner of El Fogon Mexican Restaurant in West Des Moines and the new Guacamole Patio & Cantina in Waukee, wrote about her experience using SBA programs and building personal relationships at banks to raise capital for her venture. These testimonials are important because business strategies for Latinos to overcome barriers are not often covered in traditional media.
That lack of visibility became the source of the talent that came together to create JEFAS Magazine. The entire team is from Latino communities across Iowa. When the writers, photographers, designers, and translators heard about the magazine, they wanted to be involved. Their shared experiences bring a unique perspective of spanning cultures and blending languages that shines throughout the pages of JEFAS Magazine and makes it truly incredible.
JEFAS: Latinas in Business magazine is available online and at Latino-owned businesses in Iowa, the Quad Cities, Chicago and Nebraska. To order a copy for your business, contact Erika Macias at (email protected).
– Cristina Fernández Morrow, Editor-in-Chief, JEFAS: Latinas in Business Magazine
