BEST COMMUNITY LEADER AWARD
Award given to talented individuals whom, over the years, have earned the recognition of the Mexican community to eventually become its leaders and spokespersons. They are the tireless catalysts that bring people together for the sake of creating bridges between Mexicans, Latinos and Canadians.
PAOLA LEVY
Paola Levy is originally from Mexico, she works as an Employment Counsellor at WorkBC. She is highly involved and well known in the Latin community and has always strived to showcase the talent and professionalism that Latinos can offer to British Columbia. She has been actively volunteering since 2001 at the following organizations: The Mexican Community supporting Latinos with settlement, housing advocacy, visas and immigration issues, El Milenio Newspaper volunteering as a reporter, the Institute of Mexicans Abroad in Western Canada, Latincouver, LCPN Latin-Canadian Professional Network, Carnaval del Sol and Red Global MX chapter British Columbia as Operations Director in 2018, and several volunteer positions since its inception.
ESTHER GUTIERREZ
Esther is the founder of the well known “Sección Latina“, a printed and online magazine written in Spanish for the Latin community initially established in 2002. Esther has worked in collaboration with Small Business BC, hosting monthly seminars in order to support new entrepreneurs and small business looking to run and growing up their businesses. Esther is well known in the community, and since the early 2000s she has been actively participating in different organizations supporting a wide range of activities, programs and events related to the Latin community.
VICTOR MARTINEZ AJA
Victor Martínez Aja was born in Mexico City and has lived in Vancouver, BC for the past twenty years. His passion for the arts and experience as a cultural promoter has led Victor to collaborate with various non-profit organizations and film festivals, including The Vancouver International Film Festival, DOXA, Out on Screen and The Jewish Film Festival. In 2003 he founded the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival Society, and assumed the role of its Executive Director until 2010. Currently, he is the founding president of the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre Society (VLACC) a non-profit organization whose mission is to contribute to the education and cultural legacy of all Canadians by exploring and sharing a deeper understanding of Latin American arts and culture.