7 Teenagers Get Hispanic Heritage Award

Some grew up in poor, violent neighborhoods like South-Central. Some were raised by one parent. All say their backgrounds forced them to strive for success.

They are seven high school seniors in the Los Angeles area given the Regional Hispanic Heritage Youth Award, considered one of the most prestigious Latino recognitions.

The students were selected for their character, academic accomplishments and community involvement. Each winner received $2,000 to go toward their education, a laptop computer and a $1,000 donation to a local group of their choice.

The teenagers were chosen from a pool of nearly 1,000 Los Angeles area applicants. A student was selected in each category: leadership, sports, arts, science and technology, journalism and literature, academics, and mathematics.

“The goal is to try to highlight role models for youths,” said Maria-Catalina Kennedy, senior director of programs for the national Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation. “It would be much easier for youths to relate to peers and help them see the potential within themselves.”

Winners Brenda Perez and Rodolfo Valadez used their upbringing in South-Central to advantage.

Perez along with her four younger sisters and parents left Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1989 to escape poverty only to move into another poor area, in Los Angeles. The money her parents earned in a garment factory paid rent for only a small apartment. Eleven years later, the seven-member family still shares a one-bedroom apartment.

Still, the senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School has maintained a 4.0 grade point average. She’s been accepted to UC Berkeley and wants to major in electrical engineering or computer science.

“These difficult experiences taught me to value life, hard work and my family,” Perez said.

Valadez, who wants to become an independent filmmaker, has worked on a film titled “Homesick,” chronicling the attraction and repulsion of gang life in his neighborhood.

Recently, he paid homage to his mother’s three-day trek through the hills with her 3-year-old son in tow from Durango, Mexico, to the United States. The documentary was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

“Her tears for her homeland have made me homesick and proud of my Mexican heritage,” Valadez said.

Another award winner, Yesenia Tarango, impressed a teacher with her commitment to education. Tarango “is not just another straight-A student,” said Steven Shideler, her English teacher at Phineas Banning High School in Wilmington.

Tarango’s day starts at 4:30 a.m when she and her mother begin delivering newspapers. Then from 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., she is in classes.

Tarango will major in international business at Pepperdine University.

For Yanira Leon, the Los Angeles bus strike did not stop her from attending classes at Manual Arts High School. She lives 10 miles from school. For a month, she rode three buses that took almost three hours each way to get to school.

“To me, academics are very important,” Leon said. “It’s crucial to a better life.” She dreams of becoming a journalist and will major in international business at Brown University.

Other winners are Ambar Martinez-Espinoza, who plans to major in English at UC Santa Barbara; Emanuel Pleitez, who plans to attend Stanford; and Alice Villatoro, who plans to major in psychology at USC.

The organization created the youth award five years ago, and this year has recognized 84 teenagers in 12 cities. In June, seven will be selected for national awards.

The Los Angeles students will be recognized at a ceremony tonight featuring Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa.