Cambio De Colores Storytelling Festival: Member Success Stories

Author: Rocio Romero, HCC STL
Date Published: June 6, 2025

St. Louis, MO - ¡Vivimos Aquí! - We Live Here! - "Exploring the Past & Reimagining the Future of Our Changing Communities" was the theme for the 23rd Annual Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors) Conference. The conference was held from Wednesday, June 4th to Friday, June 6th at Saint Louis University. A few of our members filled the conference with extra color by leading workshops, sharing their stories, or being examples of immigrant success stories.

Ben Molina, President of the Hispanic Leaders Group of Greater St. Louis was one of the key presenters for the "Stronger Together: Building Lasting Change Through Collaborative Advocacy" workshop. The workshop focused on how to to amplify voices, pool resources, and create more effective strategies for advocacy. Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano and Esmeralda Aharon led the "Amplifying Voices, Building Bridges: Stories of Strength, Storytelling, and Solidarity" workshop. During this interactive discussion panel, they shared lessons learned and emphasized the power of amplifying one’s voice, as they shared from their #1 international best-selling anthology Calladitas Rising and the founding of Latinas Rising.

Elsa Avila, owner of Elsa's Cleaning Company shared her story along with Rocio Romero Gaona, HCC Marketing Assistant during the "Latina Entrepreneurs of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro STL" storytelling session. Elsa is a former participant of the Hispanic Business Success Program where she took her cleaning business to the next level and now hosts her own workshops to help other ladies in the cleaning industry. Her story is as powerful as her company as she shared in detail with the audience her migration story, and the perseverance to succeed in this country for her children. Rocio shared her experiences as a first-generation student and oldest daughter. Whether it be work, school, or policy advocacy that she's focused on, she is grateful to have such opportunities and be in those spaces.

We were delighted to hear that Mama Pacha by Leslie Hernandez, Havana's Cuisine by Tamara Landeiro, and Luzco Technologies by Lusnail Rondón Haberberger were used as examples for immigrant success stories by Gilberto Pinela, Director of the Office of New Americans in the Office of Mayor Cara Spencer. As a keynote speaker, Gilberto talked about the importance of the immigrant communities here in St. Louis, but statewide as well.

We are proud of all of our members who attended the Cambio Conference and shared their stories! Thank you for being a valued member of the Chamber and your contributions to the local economy and workforce of Greater St. Louis.