I grew up in Southwood Mobile Home park, a housing community located off 5th Street on the outskirts of the City of Charlottesville. By 2007, it was the largest Latino neighborhood in central Virginia. It was a mix of Mexicans, Salvadorians and Hondurans, who took up residency with people from many places.
In 2007, it was purchased by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville in a bold effort to save and support residents from the threat of displacement posed by encroaching developers, as well as a severely failing infrastructure that posed significant health and safety risks. At the time, the neighborhood had more than 1,500 residents, according to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s news reports.
Nearly 20 years later, Southwood has made monumental strides in transforming the land into an inclusive, mixed-income neighborhood; Habitat’s goal was to provide at least 500 affordable homes for many of the original residents. Truly a national model for resident-led development, it continues to expand, with an anticipated completion of 2037 and a total cost of more than $500 million. And the influx of support and financial investment hasn’t stopped. Habitat for Humanity was the recipient of a $29.1 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in December 2024.
Growing up, my memories of Southwood are rooted in a more impoverished and destitute experience. I knew we were poor. It was obvious in the environment we inhabited and evident in how my parents worked paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet. My sister and I had free and reduced lunch. Our clothes were secondhand and sometimes donated. During our Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, the schools would deliver us toy gifts and canned food with non-perishables. There were many Latino immigrant families like ours, hard-working but always struggling to find sustainable employment. My mother cleaned houses for the wealthy, my father was a lumberyard worker.
For many of the neighborhood youth, the thought of pursuing higher education was an unrealistic endeavor. Very rarely did you hear about someone from Southwood getting accepted into an institution of higher learning. But my sister, who is a year older than I, was the first in our family to attend a four-year university, eventually earning her undergraduate degree and MBA from Liberty University. I followed suit, attending James Madison University on a full-ride scholarship as a Centennial Scholar.
This was all made possible through organizations such as Head Start and the Boys and Girls Club, which played a vital role in cultivating a love of learning and instilling in us a deep desire to break free from the chains of poverty. The number of teen members at the Boys and Girls Club in Southwood was in the single digits when I was growing up — there were nine of us. Today, overall there are hundreds of members; the club is staffed with headquarters in a renovated building where a dingy corner store once stood. Kids go on trips to Kings Dominion and the Richmond Zoo. Tutoring and help with schoolwork are provided. The community uses the space for a large back-to-school festival in which backpacks and school supplies are given out. There was no city bus in Southwood growing up, but now CAT Bus Route 3 provides reliable transportation to key areas of Charlottesville for many Latino immigrants who cannot afford their own cars.
It is a stark contrast to my upbringing, where many in the community were trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty and its devastating outgrowth of addiction, domestic abuse, and the pressure to join gangs and engage in criminal activities.
To witness the incredible transformation of Southwood from 2007 to today, I feel an enormous sense of pride, jubilancy, and relief that the Latino community I was raised in, once threatened by profit-driven developers and certain displacement, now has resources, support and enhanced opportunities to climb the socioeconomic ladder.
And the growth and lasting presence of Latino immigrants does not stop in Southwood. There are numerous Latino-owned businesses that have opened and achieved lasting prosperity in the greater Charlottesville area. You can buy delicious Salvadorian pupusas at Mi Casita Restaurant. Try mouth-watering Mexican tamales at Super Amanecer. Enjoy a refreshing paleta ice cream from La Flor Michoacana, with its dizzying array of bold flavors and tasty fruits. Buy the freshest choice cut meats from El Tio Variedades, or authentic handmade coffee mugs from La Guadalupana Latino Market. Take home some exotic Latin American fruit from Amigo Mercado Latino. Need a stylish hairdo or color highlights? Head over to Ana’s Salon, owned by an entrepreneurial and established Salvadorian immigrant. For a fresh fade or beard trim, House of Cuts Barber Studio offers premier services by Fernando Garay, a prestigious barber and son of immigrants from Colombia and Puerto Rico. Find C’ville Bachata Social’s dancing classes at businesses all over the region, roll the dice on karaoke at Mejicali. And if all of those don’t sound enticing, you can never go wrong with the numerous Latino-owned taco and food trucks found throughout the city.
And perhaps no other indicator of the growth of the Latino community has been as pronounced as the annual Cville Sabroso Festival, which will be celebrating its 14th year on Saturday, Sept. 19. In Sept. 2025, the Charlottesville City Council formally recognized the role the festival plays in the community with an official proclamation — the first time the city honored the festival was for its landmark first year. Founded in 2012 by the nonprofit organization Sin Barreras, the festival is a celebration of Latino culture and heritage that offers an array of food, music, and dance performances, artisan crafts and community resources. The first festival was at the Incarnation Catholic Church; it was later held at McGuffey Art Center, Booker T. Washington Park, IX Park and, for the last two years, the pavilion on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The popularity and surge of public support for Cville Sabroso over the years has been remarkable to witness.
My own journey with Sin Barreras reflects the deep civic connection Cville Sabroso inspires across our region. I first started as a volunteer helping out in any capacity needed to keep the festival running smoothly. This year, I am proud to serve on the festival’s Sponsorship Committee, working directly alongside local businesses, civic leaders and community partners. From long-standing local supporters who have anchored our efforts for years to enthusiastic new partners eager to invest in our mission, building these bridges ensures that Cville Sabroso remains a free, thriving hub of culture for every family in central Virginia.
Sadly, however, across the United States, a climate of fear fueled by immigration raids is forcing the cancellation of Hispanic heritage festivals and other public events celebrating cultural pride. Event organizers report that the perceived threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids is creating an environment of deep fear and apprehension. During our run-through of Cville Sabroso’s itinerary last year, we were informed that we simply could not promise a safe, celebratory space for immigrant attendees. We couldn’t say ICE would not show up.
Across the nation, the climate for large-scale cultural events has grown increasingly complex. In major metro areas like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and New York City, many signature Hispanic heritage festivals and public gatherings were tragically canceled or scaled back, weighed down by an pervasive environment of fear surrounding ICE enforcement.
Yet, against that backdrop, Charlottesville chose a different path — and Cville Sabroso stood tall as a beacon of joy, resilience and unity.
While our leadership team faced the candid reality that we could not unconditionally guarantee federal agents wouldn’t show up, Cville Sabroso refused to let fear eclipse our purpose. We gathered anyway. We danced, shared our traditions, lifted up local vendors, and claimed our space on the Downtown Mall with unyielding pride.
In doing so, Cville Sabroso did more than just host a successful festival — it provided a national blueprint for what it truly means to honor and preserve Latin American identity. It proved that even when national circumstances attempt to quiet our heritage, a community rooted in courage and solidarity can create an undeniable hub of cultural appreciation.
The positive impact on our city, our families and our local economy is a testament to what happens when we refuse to retreat. Cville Sabroso isn’t just an annual event; it is a declaration that our stories, our contributions and our culture belong at the very heart of Charlottesville.
Throughout my upbringing, I’ve seen the incredible transformation of Southwood and the rise of a thriving Latino community in Charlottesville. Today, we face new battles. Increasingly hostile rhetoric has led to a climate of fear, threatening to dismantle the very progress my community has worked so hard to achieve. We see it in the drop in foot traffic at local businesses, the fear-fueled absences at cultural festivals, and the devastating cuts to programs that once lifted families like mine out of poverty. Head Start, which fueled my love for reading, has seen proposals to significantly cut its federal funding. Language immersion programs have been eliminated. ICE agents have entered our courthouses unannounced to apprehend immigrants, many with no criminal convictions or history of violence. These aren’t just statistics; they are direct assaults on the spirit of a community that has found its home and its voice here.
Yet, I remain steadfast in my hope. I believe in a future where Charlottesville lives up to its promise as a city of inclusion and opportunity for all. I envision a Charlottesville that isn’t just a beacon of hope for local immigrants, but a model for the entire nation. It will be a place where the cultural richness of the Latino community is not just tolerated, but celebrated and woven into the very fabric of the city. A place where the success of a single person, whether a business owner, a student, or a new homeowner, is seen as a victory for everyone.
The path forward will not be easy, but the groundwork has been laid. The stories of Southwood, of thriving businesses and vibrant festivals, are not just isolated victories; they are the foundation of a new Charlottesville. It is a city that understands its past and has the courage to build a better future. I have faith that Charlottesville will continue to choose courage, and in doing so, will become a city where every person, regardless of their origin, can live without fear and with the certainty of a brighter tomorrow.
