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Editor’s note: This story is part six of an ongoing series about the growing Hispanic and Latino population in Luzerne County. We at The Highlander believe journalism is the key to education in our world, and we hope to convey the powerful stories of young Latino people within the county. These are the stories no one dares to write.
A row of funky spiked-heel strappy platforms lines the bottom of the store window of Wendy Creations on West Broad Street. The shoes have splashes of fuchsia, coral, jade and chartreuse, and they are ablaze with dynamic patterns like bold, diagonal stripes and spotted snakeskin.
Multi-faceted rhinestones strewn along the curved seam lines of short, silky dresses sparkle when the sunlight shines through the huge storefront window. Jeans are folded neatly on a table in the center of the shop, each pair a different brand, wash and size.
Handmade necklaces created from near-golf ball-sized turquoise stones and hand-carved beads with earthy patterns lie on an antique table.
Customers can see that the clothing offered at Wendy Castillo’s boutique is not standard mall fare – it’s unique chic.
Castillo has managed to grow two small businesses to take care of her family and offer one-of-a-kind fashion to the influx of Hispanic and Latino immigrants to the area. And she started them with only $300 in her pocket.
The foundation for a small business in Hazleton requires all the necessary materials carefully strung together, like making homemade jewelry. The best bracelets are made the way Amilcar Arroyo, editor of Hazleton’s free Spanish newspaper El Mensajero, started his and other small businesses – “from scratch.”
Arroyo started El Mensajero, which translates to “The Messenger,” at home in 2003. It began as a service for newcomers, offering advice on how to find jobs, rent and buy houses and start small businesses.
Arroyo used Microsoft Publisher and took the finished product to a local printer to distribute copies throughout Hazleton.
The eight-page publication doubled in size three years later, and he eventually moved into his current office at the West Broad Street building. Now the 60-odd-page paper is owned by The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company, which also owns The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre.
He knows what the stakes are for immigrants – he’s lived them. Before starting his newspaper, Arroyo worked in factories up and down the east coast after leaving Peru in 1986. His experience left him with little material goods, but it also drove him to pursue bigger goals.
Arroyo’s efforts to help and inform the Latino and Hispanic community have made him almost famous in Hazleton. Even Castillo, whose interview was translated for this article by Arroyo, knew who he was before ever meeting him.
“Her friend came to her and said, ‘There is this guy named ‘Amilcar,’” said Arroyo. Castillo came to Arroyo with an idea to start her own boutique called Wendy Creations, which would offer distinct fashions from New York such as dresses, jeans and shoes. Arroyo liked the idea, and he quickly worked to help organize and finance Castillo’s business.
“I had a sixth sense that she was a good person,” said Arroyo. “She seemed honest and I trusted her.”
Castillo’s business recently moved within the Broad Street Business Exchange building from a smaller space tucked away at the back of the old department store to a larger storefront across from the Luzerne County Community College Hazleton Center. She takes care of her five young boys in the morning, opens the store at noon with one or two children in tow, and closes around 7 p.m. to feed and tuck her kids in at night.
“You have to be very well-organized,” said Castillo. When she approached Arroyo about her business plan, she knew it would be hard. “But it wasn’t impossible,” she said.
She’s also a teacher – she offers a five-week seminar on jewelry crafting. She learned to make jewelry from gemstones in New York, where she lived after emigrating from Venezuela. Now she offers her craft to new immigrants in Hazleton. The program costs $100, and it includes the costs for materials used.
“People can learn [this craft], who don’t have their own income,” said Arroyo. “They can work from home and start their own business.”
While economic development officials maintain that they do not have statistics, Arroyo estimates there are 70 small Latino and Hispanic businesses in Hazleton. He should know -- he’s helped many of them get started. Arroyo aids entrepreneurs by making calls to City Hall for licensure inquiries, creating business plans for new ideas, filling out loan paperwork for finances and other startup business intricacies.
“Language is an issue,” said Arroyo. “These are honest, hardworking people.”
The effect these businesses have on the ever-changing community in Hazleton is apparent to Arroyo. He said the small startups contribute to the revitalization of the area. “It makes the community stronger,” he said. “It’s the creation of new jobs. It alleviates problems for the government” concerning job creation.
Arroyo said small business owners are usually responsible for providing their own economic resources, as they have no access to business loans. He helped Castillo receive loans to purchase the clothing and accessories in her store, and she uses her profits to make payments.
City officials and business leaders see the changes in the community, but are unsure of how they started. Lena Kotansky, an economic development officer for the city, admits that a lot of immigrants do not approach her for loans, and Arroyo is the one who usually contacts her. “I would say I’ve seen a lot of new [Latino and Hispanic-owned] businesses,” she said. “I can’t say they’ve come to us for loans.”
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