Planting Seeds of Belonging: Building Community Through Connection at Centro Latino

A Personal Journey That Fuels Community Work

I moved from Venezuela when I was a child, and I’ve now been in Canada with my family for close to 20 years. A big part of what drives me in my role as a Community Connector with Centro Latino is helping other Latinos build that same sense of home here as well. For me, that looks like creating spaces where people can meet others with similar interests, feel less alone, and stay connected to their culture. Language is a big part of that—everything I do is in Spanish, and being able to connect with people in my native language is honestly the most precious part of the job.

An ABCD Lens: Building on Strengths, Not Gaps

Through the Building Connected Communities Project, my role is really about noticing what people already bring with them—their interests, skills, and experiences—and helping create opportunities for those things to come together. The whole approach is based on building from what’s already strong in a community, rather than focusing on what’s missing. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do this year.

The Power of Simple Conversations

A lot of that started with simple conversations. For example, I met Katherine Urrutia at a Centro Latino “Collective Justice” event in October 2025. She had only been in Canada for three months, arriving from Chile with her son, and was waiting for the rest of her family to join her. Back home she’s a psychologist, professor, and author, and she’s really passionate about mental health.

We met for coffee after that first conversation and started talking about ideas. That’s how the Holiday Craft Workshop came together—“Wellbeing and Connection During the Holidays.” The focus was on how isolating the holidays can feel when you’re new to a country and away from family. We had 17 people attend. I brought ornaments for people to paint and started with a simple bingo activity to help people get to know each other.

Growing “Sembradoras de Felicidad”

Katherine wanted to keep creating those kinds of spaces, especially for women, so this year we started a monthly group called “Sembradoras de felicidad”, which roughly translates to “Women who plant seeds of happiness”. She facilitates each session, bringing in her background in psychology, and we pair conversations with hands-on activities. Last month we painted pots for everyone to take home and plant something in, and this month we’re working on collage self-portraits while talking about identity and self-love.

The Book Club: A Space for Expression and Connection

The book club has been another space where I’ve seen people really connect. This one has been running monthly since November 2025! We’ve hosted sessions at different cafes, community spaces and also the Central Library. During one session at Aroma Cafe, Pedro, one of the members who has been there from the start, shared two pieces of writing inspired by the book we had read. There was a woman there who hadn’t spoken at all during the discussion—she was the café owner’s mother, visiting for the month—but after hearing Pedro’s work, she asked to take a photo of it because it had moved her.

Jess joined the book club in January. She almost didn’t come at first because she found out about the club that same day and hadn’t read the book, but she showed up anyway and contributed to the discussion, talking about how important it is to maintain your mother tongue and engage with literature from your own culture. Since then, she’s naturally taken on more of a facilitator role—bringing thoughtful questions, sharing quotes, and helping guide the conversation. For our April book, which was about 450 pages, we scheduled three sessions, and she had already finished it by the first one!

Creating Safe Spaces for Vulnerability

At one of our meetings, which I hosted at SpanicArts, we had a moment that stuck with me. One of the discussion questions was, “What or who would you give your life for?” One of the members shared a very personal story from his past. The group really held space for him, and afterward he told me he felt comfortable opening up because the men in the group gave him that sense of support.

From Social Gatherings to Community Initiatives

I’ve also been building community through more casual, social activities. I hosted a pizza night at a local pub, and we had 10 people come out. Natalia, a Centro Latino volunteer, helped make that happen by filming and editing a short reel to promote the event on social media. That night, we talked about our experiences arriving in Canada, shared hobbies, and played board games.

Out of that group, most people were interested in starting a cooking group, so we created a WhatsApp chat to plan our first gathering. We ended up using the Village Commons Carya kitchen, and it turned into a really great mix—about half the group came from the pizza night, and the rest were new people or friends they brought along. We made tacos together. I picked up the ingredients ahead of time, and Ysati—who has been in Calgary for two years with her husband and one-year-old daughter—prepared the pork at home. On the day of, we worked together on sauces and toppings.

Strengthening Community Through Participation

Ysati has become a big part of the community. She’s really passionate about cooking and bringing people together. She’s now involved in both the cooking group and the book club, and even when she can’t attend book club in person, she joins online. People always enjoy seeing her daughter pop into the call.

Belonging Through Connection

Overall, the work I’ve been doing is about creating consistent, welcoming spaces where people can show up as they are, speak their language, and find connection. Whether it’s through a workshop, a book discussion, or cooking a meal together, it’s all part of helping people feel like they belong here.