CLEVELAND — Jasmin Santana was born in Cleveland and raised by her Puerto Rican mother, who brought Caribbean culture to their home.

Now, Santana is giving back to her community, as the first Latina to serve on Cleveland City Council.

What You Need To Know

  • Jasmin Santana is the first Latina to serve on Cleveland City Council as one of 17 councilmembers
  • Santana serves Ward 14, which includes Cleveland neighborhoods with a high concentration of Latino and Hispanic populations

  • Raised by her Puerto Rican mother in the city's west side, Santana is now giving back to her community by serving residents of all backgrounds

“Oh my God, I am so Boricua. I am 100% Boricua. The music, the food, you know, the the the love for family," said Santana.

As one of 17 council members, Santana serves Ward 14, which covers the Stockyards, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods. The near west side is home to nearly two-thirds of the Greater Cleveland’s Puerto Rican population, according to Case Western Reserve University researchers. Santana said she grew up in this area and is now helping residents of all backgrounds.

“We have white, we have Black, very diverse. We have refugees,” she said. “So I service all, but a special emphasis in the Latino community.”

In her day-to-day life, Santana is directing meetings, initiating boots-on-the-ground projects, fighting for affordable housing and helping to launch CentroVilla25, a Hispanic business center located in the heart of the Clark-Fulton neighborhood.

“We were able to allocate $1.5 million to help that project move to the finish line,” Santana said.

One of these initiatives brought constituent Eunice Cabrera and Santana together, with Cabrera suggesting they host a resource fair at their church.

“She really supported us, so we hosted the fair,” Cabrera said. "We have over 30 vendors, 30 community organizations.”

Since then, Cabrera has frequently collaborated with Santana.

“I think something that we share in common is that we really love our gente Latina,” she said. “We really, we really, really love our community and we are always thinking about what we can do to help.”

The pair said they’re making significant strides in uniting and supporting the Hispanic and Latino community, there’s still a lot of work to do.

“I feel like now we're being seen not as much as I would want to be seen or included, but we're definitely moving the needle,” Santana said.

In the end, making a different starts with equal representation at the conference table, Santana said.

“Diversity makes a huge difference,” Santana said. “Being Latina, sitting at the table has made [a] significant difference in serving my residents and building equity within the Latino families.”