BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Myrna Rivera opened a leather-bound photo album and pointed to her father, Rafael Lopez, wearing a tuxedo with his fellow bandmates, members of Babalu y su Combo.
Lopez hosted the first Spanish radio show in the Lehigh Valley, and years later, a Spanish feature show on WFMZ-TV Channel 69.
His legacy, and contributions to the community, are part of an initiative, "Sembrando Nueva Raices en Bethlehem or "Planting New Roots in Bethlehem."
Twenty-five Latinos are remembered and honored in the project, which is spearheaded by Northampton Community College.
It is partly funded by a $5,500 grant from the PPL Foundation.
The "Raices" program will feature a timeline of "milestones" and a booklet with bios of the luminaries — Latino educators, doctors, Bethlehem Steel workers and advocates — locals who helped shaped the region from 1923 to 1995.
Toni Fernández, manager of community outreach at NCC, presented a sneak peek of the project at NCC's Fowler Family Southside Center on Third Street in Bethlehem.
Educating the public
A thousand copies of the "Raices" project are expected to be published in early 2025 and feature photos and bios of the local influencers, many of whom have died in the past 15 years.
With the help of the honorees' families, Fernández has collected photographs, newspaper articles and biographies for the past year.
The "Raices" book will be distributed to high schools and middle schools in the Lehigh Valley.
Recently, Fernández and Guillermo Lopez Jr., whose father co-founded the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society, visited a history class at Freedom High School as sort of a trial run of the Roots project. Lopez Sr. died in 1999.
"We were both pleasantly surprised at the students' reactions."Toni Fernández, manager of community outreach at NCC
"Guillermo [Lopez] presented stories about his experience at Bethlehem Steel," she said. "We were both pleasantly surprised at the students' reactions. There were interested and asked us questions.
"It seemed as if they were impressed and learned a lot."
Rivera created a similar glance at history for her immediate family and it had an impact on her nephew.
"It's a personal book and just like the experience with the school, my nephew read it," Rivera said.
"He had just graduated from college and was moving to a new town in North Carolina. He was a little scared and nervous.
"After reading the book and learning about [my father], he said, 'My grandfather, who had less in his pocket than I do, made it.'
"That inspired him and gave him the courage to keep going."
Today about 30% of Bethlehem's population — nearly 25,000 people — identify as Hispanic, according to U.S. Census figures. Allentown is nearly 55% Hispanic, or 65,000 people.
Major 'milestones'
The "Roots" began in 1923, when an estimated 900 Mexicans lived in the city and worked at Bethlehem Steel. In 1937, they founded the American Aztec Society to celebrate their culture.
In 1948, as Fernández pointed out, the first wave of people from Puerto Rico, largely from Patillas and Corozal, migrated to the Lehigh Valley.
They also were seeking work at the steel plant in Bethlehem, which closed its coke plant in 1998 and ceased operations in 2003.
The "Raices' timeline continues with opening of the Puerto Rican Beneficial Societyin 1959.
"By 1970, the Puerto Rican population becomes 95 percent of the Hispanic population on the Southside of Bethlehem," Fernández said.
"Many of the people belonged to the club. We begin to see that the club does incredible things and organizes cultural events throughout the year."
The Puerto Rican Society's founding members are: Rafael Lopez; Guillermo Lopez, Sr.; Ismael Garcia, Sr.; Miguel Marrero; and Juan Nalin Rodriguez.
Nalin Rodriguez's daughter, Doris Correll, expressed joy when she heard of the "Raices" project and gave Fernández photographs to use in the booklet.
"They were proud of their island, yet came here as citizens for the American dream."Doris Correll, daughter of Nalin Rodriguez
"My dad and his four friends financed the purchase of the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society by putting up their personal homes as collateral, and he served as its president for more than 10 years," Correll said.
"They were proud of their island, yet came here as citizens for the American dream. [He] sweated over the hot coke ovens of the Bethlehem Steel company and realized their dreams for us kids."
'We will always carry its culture'
Last summer, Correll, who is the director of field placements at Moravian University, took her family to visit her father's childhood farm in Corozal, Puerto Rico, just as her parents did when she was a child.
"Returning back to the island was an every-three-year event for us," she said. "It's beauty was and still is captivating to experience the richness of our culture, language and kindness of our people."
In 1968, with the help of Holy Infancy Church, the group opened Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley.
"Back then the parade was a huge success."Toni Fernández, manager of community outreach at NCC
Other milestones featured: Allentown's Casa Guadalupe, an organization that offers social services, opened in 1969.
In 1972, the region saw its first Spanish newspaper and Rafael Lopez started his own TV show, "Super Show," sponsored by Goya Foods.
That same year, Angel Perez Santiago and Tildesio "Teddy" Nieves, helped plan the first Puerto Rican cultural week and formed the Puerto Rican Cultural Committee.
The celebration included a parade and a procession for feast for St. John the Baptist, similar to La Noche de San Juan, which is held in June on La Isla del Encanto.
"Back then the parade was a huge success," Fernandez said. "The Puerto Rican Cultural Committee were tasked with demonstrating the beauty of all that is Puerto Rican.
"As to say, 'We love Bethlehem, that's why we're here, but we also love our island, and we will always carry its culture, traditions, wherever we go.'
"And that still rings true today."
The celebration is no longer in existence and is now known as the ¡Sabor! Latin Festival, which will celebrate its 14th year in June 2025.
¡Sabor! at SteelStacks in Bethlehem also features a Puerto Rican flag-raising its first day and saint procession led by Holy Infancy.
Maestros, activistas
Here's the complete list of the 25 teachers, activists and educators who are honored in the "Raices" project.
They are credited with helping to pave the way for a new generation of leaders to advocate for Latinos in the Lehigh Valley.
- Sergia Pereira Montz was a founding member and president of the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley, and taught Spanish classes at Liberty High School and Moravian Preparatory School. She died in 2012.
- Frank Martinez, who died in 1990, was a worker at Bethlehem Steel and president of the American Aztec Society.
- Iris M. Sanchez, an educator, worked with Bethlehem Area School District to bridge immersion programs for Spanish-speaking students.
- Lupe Pearce founded the Hispanic American Organization in 1976 to help Allentown's growing Latino community become more economically self-sufficient.
- Julio Guridy is the executive director of the Allentown Housing Authority and former president of Allentown City Council.
- Ismael Garcia Sr., was a foreman in the coke works at Bethlehem Steel. He advocated for steelworkers' rights and co-founded the Puerto Rico Beneficial Society and the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley.
- Anita Amigo, a Bethlehem school teacher, founded a Lehigh Valley branch of Hogar Crea in 1981, after learning about the organization in Puerto Rico.
- Juan Nalin Rodriguez was a machine operator for Bethlehem Steel and owner of the Rodriguez Tavern. He also was a founding member of the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society and served as its president for 10 years. He died in 2017.
- Delia Rivera Diaz was an editor and and producer at PBS39 and served with state Sen. Lisa Boscola as an advocate for the Latino community. For her community advocacy, Diaz was awarded the first Lehigh Valley Latin Alliance Leadership Award, and the Northampton Community College Dream Weaver Award. She died in 2021.
- Victoria "Lala" Leach, of Chile, became a U.S. citizen in 1979. After an experience in the hospital, where she was asked to help with English translation, she became an advocate for patient's rights. She later wrote the first Spanish-to-English translation manual used for St. Luke's University Health Network. She died in 2017.
- Blanca Class Smith, who died in 2018, was a civil rights advocate and counselor and among the first women to sit on St. Luke's Board of Trustees. She also founded the Council for Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley.
- Rafael Lopez co-founded the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society and host of the first Spanish-speaking radio show, "Programa Latino," on WKAB in Allentown. He was a member of the Babulu y su Combo band, and host of "Super Show" in Spanish in 1976. Lopez, who also owned a dry-cleaning business on Third Street, died in 2008.
- Guillermo Lopez Sr. co-founded the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society and worked at Bethlehem Steel, advocating for worker's rights. He was a member of United Steelworkers Union 2600. He died in 1999. His son, Guillermo Lopez Jr., also worked at the steel mill for 27 years. He's vice chairman of the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley.
- Amado Trinidad worked for Bethlehem Steel in the coke works as a pushman. He advocated for workers and was a member of the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society.
- Monsignor Robert Biszek, of Holy Infancy Church, 312 E. Fourth St., was instrumental in helping the Latino community find affordable housing and employment. Biszek, Sam McGovern and Jesus Ramos founded Casa Guadalupe, where McGovern became the first lay director and founder of the Social Action Committee. He was program director and financial director, from 1969-74. McGovern died in 2015. Ramos, who was also instrumental in founding Hogar Crea, died in 2016.
- Alejandrino "Alex" Trujillo Sr. owned and operated Supermercado Mi Tierra (formerly Price-Rite Market) in Bethlehem for 55 years. He also was founder of the Cursillo de Cristiandad, a leader of the Holy Name Society of Jesus, the Spanish Council, and a founder of the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society. He died in 2020.
- Dr. Silvana Jiménez helped establish one of the first medical clinics at St. Luke's where services were provided in Spanish.
- Miguel Marrero helped create the Hispanic Center and was a member of the Puerto Rican Beneficial Society.
- Ellie Vasquez owned the second Spanish grocery store, La Favorita, a market serving Latin foods and groceries in 1970. It's at 1053 E. Third St.
- Angel Perez Santiago and Teodosio "Teddy" Nieves helped plan the annual celebration of the cultural heritage of Puerto Rico and formed the Puerto Rican Cultural Committee.
- Nancy Matos Gonzalez was Pennsylvania's first Latina district judge and served on the Southside of Bethlehem for 30 years. She retired in 2022 and currently acts a mentor in the community.
