RACINE, Wis. — Hispanics are the second largest and fastest growing minority racial and ethnic population in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
The Racine Spanish Center caters to that growing population.
Samantha Altamirano is the director of community engagement at the center. She’s a first-generation daughter of an immigrant family of Mexican heritage.
Altamirano said she knows how obstacles can arise when English isn’t someone’s first language.
“I grew up being the family translator at age nine,” she said. “I became an advocate for my parents when I started to become more aware of the injustices that a lot of our immigrant families face here in our county and in our country.”
She said she wants to provide a way to help the Spanish-speaking community in Racine, where she was born and raised.
“It’s important to create space,” she said. “It’s important to have that representation.”
Samantha runs the Spanish Center of Racine with her husband Joshua Martinez.
The center offers translation services, helps with taxes and documents, helps connect people to other community resources and assists with finding employment.
All the resources are free or offered at a small cost. The center relies on donations to continue providing its services.
“We would see that there was still such a void that was not being fulfilled, a need that was not being addressed and it just really tugged at my heartstrings because I’m first generation,” said Altamirano.
Martinez said their goal is to foster intentional change. He’s also a Racine native.
The couple lived in Texas for nearly a decade but felt called to come back to Wisconsin.
They came with a plan to help their community.
“There’s a lot of resources offered here to the community, but how do you know what’s there for you if you can’t speak the language,” he said.
The two said they felt inspired to advocate for Latino families in southeastern Wisconsin.
They said their work is making a difference.
“When we help them and they leave, you can just see a weight has been lifted off of them,” said Martinez.
Altamirano said she’s happy to have created a safe place for so many people. She said the doors are open to whoever needs resources.
“While our target folks are our Spanish-speaking community, our doors are open to absolutely anyone and everyone from all walks of life,” said Altamirano.
They said they’ll work to continue being a voice for the Latino people in Racine and beyond, allowing them to realize their full potential and have a successful future.