CHICAGO, Il. — The nearly 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States contribute more than $800 billion to the American economy every year, and that number of businesses is only growing.

Hispanic Heritage Month is a time where these businesses see greater than usual support, but business owners said more support year-round could be crucial in helping this growing group of entrepreneurs succeed.

“My family actually has been in this neighborhood for over 50 years,” said Mike Moreno, a third-generation business owner in Chicago.

Moreno’s grandfather opened multiple grocery stores across the city, and his father opened the first Latino-owned liquor store in the state: Moreno's Liquors.

“I asked him, ‘Why don't you stay in the grocery business?’ And he said, ‘Simple, liquor doesn't spoil.’ So, he opened his first liquor store in 1977,” said Moreno.

Moreno is now carrying on his family’s tradition of entrepreneurship. He opened Osito’s Tap, a speakeasy cocktail bar and restaurant right next to his dad’s liquor store. Osito’s Tap opened in 2019, right before COVID-19 hit, but with support from the community, the bar has remained open and thrived.

“The whole premise of the bar itself was supposed to showcase that mix of that old world Chicago vibe with that modern Latin flair,” said Moreno, who uses the spirits his father curates in the liquor store to make unique signature cocktails.

Moreno’s success is just part of the growing number of Latino-owned businesses in the United States. Nearly 1 in 4 new businesses opening in the country now is a Latino-owned business.

Moreno said these spaces offer the entire community a place to share tradition.

“I was always very proud of, of where I came from and where my father had had been born and immigrated from. When you're supporting these businesses and you're coming in, you're able to take a piece of that home,” said Moreno.

Moreno hopes this month celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture only brings more people in, but he said the support can’t stop there.

“Hispanic Heritage Month is…it's amazing to kind of showcase and be kind of represented. But, at the same time, I'm a huge proponent for communitarianism, a huge proponent for shopping local and supporting local, because the small businesses is what keeps this community thriving,” said Moreno.

Year-round support is crucial from the community because these businesses do face more barriers to open. The Stanford 2021 State of Latino Entrepreneurship Report found Latinos are more likely to be required to provide collateral to secure funding even when they have credit similar to white applicants. Additionally, during the pandemic, Latino-owned businesses reported more challenges than white-owned businesses in accessing the Paycheck Protection Program.

However, when a Latino business does overcome these barriers, it brings success to the family behind it, upward mobility for employees and a richness to the community that cannot be replaced.

“When you think about it, the entire United States is built up from minorities. So, when you're going and you're supporting these businesses, you're supporting other people that are pushing and thriving for that American dream,” said Moreno.

Project CommUNITY is an ongoing initiative across Hearst Television to put a spotlight on diverse voices in our communities. The initiative is built around regular coverage of people who are working to make a difference and stories detailing the history of the battle for civil rights, inclusion and social change across America.

On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

In just one day, an entire community was left devastated.

In the days following the mass shooting, memorials were set up at the school and the town square.

People from near and far traveled to the sites to mourn. Some wrote cards, some lit candles, and others — brought music.

Anthony Medrano, a professional mariachi musician with Mariachi Campanas de America, organized a bus full of musicians from San Antonio, Texas, to play songs for the grieving community.

"Many of us are educators," Medrano, who's been playing mariachi music for close to 40 years, said. "We teach the children that look like the ones that were killed, and speak like the ones that were killed, and whose parents talk like the ones that were killed."

Performing in Uvalde

Medrano said his friend, artist Cruz Ortiz, went to Uvalde shortly after the shooting to process the tragedy. On his way back, Ortiz called Medrano asking if they could play mariachi music – anything to help comfort the heartbroken community.

With the help of a friend, Medrano secured a charter bus fit for 50 people. The bus was filled within hours.

Medrano instantly felt the weight of the devastation once he arrived at the town square's memorial site.

He saw 21 crosses, each etched with the names of the victims. The crosses were piled high with flowers, cards and toys.

"I have a five-year-old goddaughter that I spend a lot of time with," Medrano said. "And the toys that I saw at these memorials of these murdered children were the same toys that she has in her toy box."

Medrano said he broke down in front of a cross.

"I cried, I prayed, and I apologized," Medrano said. "I apologized to that soul for not being the answer to this problem. The problem of someone getting an assault weapon and going into the school and murdering children."

Medrano and the group of mariachi musicians played a few songs to the community, such as "Amore Eterno," which talks about love and loss, and "Las Golondrinas," a traditional song of farewell.

"These songs aren't your everything's gonna be okay songs," Medrano said. "The lyrics to the songs express the true tragedy. I mean, they don't put a bandaid on it, they kind of rip the scab off so you can get that emotion, so you can expose it."

Seven-year-old Mariachi performer Matteo Lopez also sang a song called "México Lindo y Querido," which Medrano said was appropriate because the community in Uvalde predominantly has roots in Mexico.

"This was a time to play the music that our culture and our community can relate to," Medrano said.

In mariachi culture, musicians yell out "gritos," which is a scream or yell during a song. It can be used in celebration but also can express a guttural cry out loud during songs of grief and loss.

"That's the way we process, we have to cry out loud," Medrano said.

At the end of the performance, Medrano said the community thanked the group of musicians and understood why they performed.

"There was very much a healing session right there in front of the memorials," Medrano said.

'The Song of the People': The history of mariachi music

Mariachi music has deep roots in Mexican history. According to the Smithsonian Institute, the music's oldest rhythms date back to Mexico's colonial times (around 1519-1810) when people from Spain and African slaves and their descendants mixed with hundreds of American Indian cultures to create a new Mexican culture that varied depending on the vast region. The music was referred to as "mariachi" around the 1850s. The bands consist of trumpets, violins, a vihuela (five-string guitar), a guitarrón (six-string guitar) and sometimes a harp. Mariachi musicians wear beautiful suits known as los trajes de charros.

In its earliest days, mariachi bands started simple with two violins, a harp and a guitar instrument known as the vihuela. In the beginning, mariachi music was localized and known as "the song of the people," Medrano said. Songs were handed down from generation to generation. The first songs of mariachi music, known as "Sones," imitated life and nature.

For example, a song called "El Relámpago," meaning lightning, has quick and sharp notes that imitate the sound of thunder in a storm. Some of the first songs also imitated animals, such as birds and donkeys. The songs would always be lively and rhythmic, lending itself to dancing.

Mariachi music evolved through the years into more ballads and the music changed depending on the region in Mexico, such as the huapangos style of music. Medrano said musician Rubén Fuentes started refining mariachi music with the band Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán during the era. The music became more orchestral, Medrano said.

"There was a beautiful mix of the music," Medrano said. "The songwriting, the arranging and just the persona of Mexico, like Jorge Negrete, you know, very classic star, Lucha Villa, Lucha Reyes, Lola Beltrán, all this was a beautiful mixture that came together to create what we do today."

It's tradition for mariachi's to perform for every occasion in life – including funerals, as a way to celebrate life and heal those who are grieving.

"You see mariachis perform at festivals and fiestas, and it's all confetti and piñatas and having a good time," Medrano said. "But the other side of that is that we also are there for families and for loved ones, individuals who don't know how to process a tragedy, and we're asked to come and give comfort through music."

Medrano said performing at funerals is a humbling role.

"But we understand as a mariachi culture, that's part of what we do. We make you smile, and we try to hug your heart when you need it."

Helping Heal: What is music therapy?

Just as the mariachi musicians helped provide healing in Uvalde, music has been used as a form of therapy for a long time.

Robert Krout, professor emeritus of music therapy at Southern Methodist University, has been involved with music therapy and grief work for decades.

In a mass casualty event, those impacted are dealing with shock, grief, anger and other raw emotions all at the same time. This can make it overwhelming for people to talk out loud about what happened – which is where music can help express how they're feeling when words cannot.

Krout said music is processed by the entire brain – from cortical levels of being familiar with a song and linking it to a specific past event, to influencing our heartbeat by matching the beat to the song.

In music therapy, there is a neurological process called entrainment, where the brain and other rhythms in the body (such as heartbeat and pulse) match an external stimulus. For example, people exercise while listening to upbeat music, because they will naturally run to the beat of the song.

In music therapy, there is a client (the person being helped), the therapist (a professionally trained clinician), the music, and the music experience.

The music used in therapy can be active: playing a composed piece, improvising while playing, or moving to the music. The music can also be passive: listening and responding to the music.

Music therapists look at the client's needs, why they were referred to the therapist, their musical background and what aspect of music might benefit the client. Ultimately, music is used to help the client realize their own goals.

Krout said his clients, who are experiencing grief, frequently have relationships with certain songs – whether it be special to them or special to their lost loved one.

Playing familiar songs can be a good start to therapy, as the lyrics can be discussed and reflected upon.

Krout also said songwriting is therapeutic – whether having the client write a song to commemorate the loved one who died or having a gravely ill client write a song to express their wishes to their loved one as a keepsake for when they die.

'We don't want this to be repeated'

After the trip to Uvalde, Medrano and his friends wanted to commemorate the victims.

"We didn't want anybody to forget what happened," Medrano said.

So, they made a corrido, which is a written report in song lyrics of what happened.

They named it "El Corrido de Los Angeles de Uvalde." Medrano said the lyrics do not sugarcoat the tragic details of the shooting.

"It talks about the 90 minutes that they were waiting for help, that they were calling 9-1-1," Medrano said. "Nobody rushed in to save them, to save some at least. It talked about the assault weapon. We talked about the hurt, talked about the families fighting to try to get inside to save their own children by they were held back."

Listen to the full version of El Corrido de Los Angeles de Uvalde in the player below.

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Medrano said he hopes the song will bring awareness and, hopefully, policy change to prevent more tragic mass shootings.

"We don't want anybody to forget this part of the history because we don't want this to be repeated," Medrano said. "And if we can remember it and recall it and report it, even through music, that maybe we can make a change."

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This video is the third of a four-part series by Clarified featured during Hispanic Heritage Month to educate viewers on the contributions, experiences and heroes of the Hispanic community.

When you think of Mexican food, perhaps, tacos and burritos come to mind.

But there's a specific type of dish that is such a delicacy and it comes from Michoacán, Mexico.

In Milwaukee, you'll find murals, parks and carnitas Don Lucho.

It's been around for 10 years.

"Everything is fresh here we're all like family, even the workers," the manager said.

"I brought this from Mexico. They showed me when I was about 10 years old," owner Jose Luis Mejia said.

Mejia goes by the name "Don Lucho."

He's from Michoacán.

"It's the state most recognized for carnitas," Meija said.

He created a special recipe for tasty carnitas or pork tacos.

"There are different seasonings but you have to make sure it's authentic," Meija said. "The flame has to be just right, then you stir and keep adding meat."

The process is long. The meat cooks for about 2 hours.

Then it's chopped and ready to serve.

"It's like an art," Meija said.

Customers have options, too: Carnitas or cuero — the skin.

Meija said in Mexico it was too difficult to start a business so he came to the United States, received immigration amnesty and opened his shop.

"The flavor that we give us authentic, the flavor. It's really doing something unique," the manager said.

On any given weekend, Meija said he sells about 2,600 pounds of carnitas.

"I am very humble, but it makes me happy when I see a crowd of people gathered at my restaurant," he said.

Meija said his customers are not only from Milwaukee but surrounding areas as well.

Watch the video above for the full story.

Hispanic Americans have built a legacy of activism and change in the central coast community. One program making a big impact is the Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy in Watsonville, California.

Gina Castañeda will flat out tell you, soccer saved her life. Even though a childhood of neglect and abuse, Castañeda learned the game, a sport deeply embedded in the Hispanic culture.

By her early teens, the high school team was her lifeline.

“By the time I got to high school, I was homeless and living on the streets,” Castañeda said. ”And people really didn't know me at that point. And then I just was this amazing freshman that got on the field and people were like, 'where did you come from?' And what they didn't know about me is that I was full of hurt and pain and like eating out of garbage cans and just really, really struggling in life. I kept working in school to get my grades up so that I could play on the team. And the team really became my family.”

Soccer helped her steer clear of the gangs that swallowed her brothers and so many of her friends. She became a probation officer, working with other kids in trouble.

“Soccer saved my life and I knew that I could use soccer to save their lives,” Castañeda said.

With that, the Aztecas Youth Soccer Academy was born. Run through the Santa Cruz County Probation Department, it is an intervention program for high-risk kids.

Castañeda remembers the first day she saw two rival gang members working together on the field.

“And I had the biggest smile on my face because I knew at that point what we had done. And it was the beginning as to what Aztecas is today,” Castañeda said.

Now, 13 years later Aztecas is still breaking those cycles and connecting with kids on the edge.

That caring extends beyond the soccer field, the kids are also required to attend tutoring sessions and life skills classes.

Watch the full story in the video above.

When it comes to mariachi music, there is a meaning behind every Mariachi traje.

"We share a lot of special moments with people, in their weddings and their birthdays," said Mundo Marquez, a local mariachi musician.

Marquez has been playing mariachi for 10 years. But making a career as a mariachi musician wasn't the plan.

"Playing mariachi just drew me in. It kept taking care of me, you know. In every sense... mentally and physically," Marquez said.

Meanwhile, for Pedro Sepulveda, a 77-year-old trumpet player, his desire to be mariachi started early.

"I remember hearing a trumpet that hit my heart right away my soul," Sepulveda said.

Once he got his first trumpet, he started going out to gigs at 11 years old.

In mariachi, there's typically six different instruments. Two of them are uniquely used in mariachi music.

"People always ask what the name of that instrument is. It’s not something that you see everywhere. I play the rhythm section, so it's vihuela and guitarron," Marquez said.

In mariachi, the "Grito" is well known.

"It's natural. It's something that you can explain it's something that you feel, and when you feel something, you're the only one that's feeling it," Sepulveda said.

Getting to call yourself a mariachi is "part of our culture. It's part of our Mexican culture," Sepulveda said.

"To me, it’s the biggest privilege to be able to represent that. It’s a blessing. It’s super special," Marquez said.

For Sepulveda, mariachi has come full circle, playing with several generations.

"I really put myself as the great grandfather of all the musicians here in New Mexico you know from my era," Sepulveda said.

"I've learned songs with Pete," Marquez said. "We'll just walk in and Pete always likes to lead us into that. He will go have you heard this song it goes something like this."

"We just start doing it, and then he says, 'OK, let's go back and just try it again,'" he added.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque is an annual event that brings together musicians from all over the nation. It started in 1991.

Noberta Fresquez and a colleague put together the very first conference. They had "60 students and that has grown too close to 1,000 today, you know, with dancers and mariachi musicians."

Fresquez has always had a passion for mariachi music creating this program was another way of promoting it.

"I never realized the impact that it would have," she said. "It was just a labor of love that I knew there were enough people that would love it as well."

The conference set out to teach students the history of the music.

Oftentimes long-time mariachi Jonathan Clark will share with young students the stories of mariachi and his documentation of the music.

To pass on the stories, the Albuquerque mariachi conference began to celebrate pioneers.

"It wasn't until we started bringing in pioneers and educating basically and sharing that information of the musicians it had gone unrecognized," Fresquez said.

For Clark, it's an honor to share the stories of the heroes of mariachi music.

"It's a real privilege. You know, I feel it's my destiny and without me knowing, I think this was what I was put on the Earth, on this Earth to do and was what I was meant to do," Clark said.

With over 30 years of organizing the conference, Fresquez is retiring next year, but that doesn't mean spectacular will retire with her.

It will be organized by the Atrisco Heritage Foundation.

"I'm just so comfortable in knowing that it's there, it's going to continue. And we're grateful for the community support. It's definitely a community-based program," Fresquez said.

Watch the video above for the full story.

A California artist with a personal connection to his creations will soon have his work featured in an exhibition celebrating Mexican culture at the California Museum.Leer en españolFor years now, John Salvador Huerta has been taking part in the Day of the Dead celebration — and to which he's dedicated his life's art. The exhibition his art will be included in is titled "Día de Los Muertos 2021: Espíritus Creativos de California," which observes the Mexican tradition of honoring loved ones who have already passed. He said the popularity of this tradition has risen recently."People are becoming more aware of the tradition of it — the beauty of it, especially with the movie 'Coco' coming out," Huerta said.Huerta has been painting for decades and mixing some Latino and Hispanic culture into it. For him, painting means more than simply creating art."Each piece that I do gives me a sense of releasing that grief," Huerta said.He got his big break after designing the art on some of California's lottery scratch-off tickets in 2016 and 2017. That project opened other doors and gave him the opportunity to make art for a living. With his own shop in Sacramento, he was able to narrow the focus of his art can on the traditions dearest to his heart.Painting after painting, art piece after another, he hopes to let people see the beauty of the Day of the Dead celebration and understand its meaning, celebration and tribute."I'm always constantly reminded of my grandmother telling me, 'Mijo, you can do it,' and so look, I did it."Through every piece, Huerta says he's paying tribute to his caretakers, whom he attributes as the reason behind his success."That's the beauty right there: to not forget. And I have an ofrenda in my house year-round, not just put up for Día de Los Muertos. It's my sisters, my tِíos who have passed, my grandmother. I just put little things that they enjoyed in life. You know, when they were alive. My sister loved drawing and I always have a pencil or paintbrush right there by her picture," he said.With a passionate heart, he has one mission: To spread the Hispanic and Latino culture, the art and to teach the youngest ones about it.His art, he hopes will last even after he stops creating it."I will continue painting until I guess, the day I die," Huerta said.

For more than 30 years, this dance studio has been teaching students of all ages the culture of Mexican Ballet Folklórico dance.

The sound of music and heels clicking is a small part of what goes into traditional Mexican Ballet Folklórico.

Director at Baila Baila! Dance Company Israela Garcia said, “A lot of these students find something that they really love and they, it's a connection that they don't expect to have. And once they have it it's just natural.”

Garcia has taught folklórico for 32 years.

Although it was not in her life plans to run a dance studio she's happy it's made a positive impact.

Garcia said, “I saw the changes it made in children's lives and how it added so much to their life as far as a connection to their culture. And something that they could be proud of, something that helped them that helps them concentrate on that was something other than getting in trouble. Help them in their schoolwork.”

Students start dancing as young as 2 years old and some of the oldest students in their 80s.

Julie Weaver dances in the intermediate class at Baila! Baila! She said, “It's a unique style of dancing and it's new to me because I never did the heel work and it's challenging.”

For dancers, discipline and practice also come with lessons.

“Dancing is storytelling to me so every dance has a history behind it has a story behind it and I think that's really important to learn,” Garcia said.

Garcia says it's not all about turns, waltzes and costumes.

She said, “It just really brings the families a lot closer together. It's something that I'm glad I can provide to the students because it's something that they're missing and they didn't even know it.”

With every step, is a message.

“Joy. That's the first thing that comes to mind is joy. The joy of actually doing and dancing and performing for others and the joy of being able to see it,” Garcia said.

Watch the video above for the full story.

One Kansas City community leader mobilized Latinos to vote and run for office. Paul Rojas was also the first Latino elected to state office in Missouri.

His last name, Rojas, is proudly displayed around his home on Kansas City's westside. But his first name was given to him in school.

"My real name is Raul. I guess the nuns took the little foot off the R and made it Paul, a P, but that was not uncommon," Rojas said.

His father came to the United States from Mexico. The musician found work in packing houses.

"My brother used to say, 'You know Paul, whenever you go to a strange town, if you want to find the Mexican community, follow the railroad tracks,'" Rojas said.

Rojas grew up during World War II.

"I distinctly remember in school, when Rena Marino comes in and she was crying. They had just gotten notice of her dad. They sunk the ship," he said.

He joined the Navy as a teenager, serving during the Korean War.

"You have one son and you have one star. However, many sons were serving, that's how many stars were on your window. There was not a window in this Westside that didn't have one of these with a number of stars," Rojas said. "We have gone unnoticed for what we have given to this country. And all of us like myself, I'm very proud to be American citizens."

He became politically active, working to increase Hispanic representation.

"We formed a political organization. We, like in the Black community, we were controlled people politically. So, we changed that. It wasn't easy. There were threats made," Rojas said.

Rojas was the first Latino elected to the Missouri Statehouse in 1972. While doors opened for change, he received questions.

"Some people would ask me where you're from. You know, in the state Capitol, 'Where are you from?' Where am I supposed to be from, you know?" he said.

Despite progress, he said that discrimination persists.

"There is an organized movement to paint us as not worthy of holding such positions because they label us as being non-American this and being criminal elements, many of the things that are not true," Rojas said.

At 87 years old, he continues to be involved with the historic Guadalupe Centers organization, providing education and services to the Hispanic community in Kansas City.

He also speaks out against gentrification.

"The bulldozer that's going to run me out of here hasn't been built yet," Rojas said.

He said that young people give him hope for the future.

"Be proud of your heritage and be proud of who you are, and we are all made in God's image plain and simple," Rojas said.

Last year, Rojas was appointed by the Kansas City mayor to the city planning commission, which approves most major development project proposals.

Watch the video above for the full story.