damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." damian: i'm damien trujillo, and today using ai. to revitalize the mission on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ damian: we begin today with a new feature here on "comunidad del valle." you're gonna notice that throughout the shows, both on nbc and telemundo, and from now up until the election, we're gonna have a barcode, and this is what you can do with the barcode. no more excuses. you will be able now to register to vote on "comunidad del valle." this qr code was sent to us by the secretary of state of california. here i translated over to spanish, but it's in many different languages. you can now register to vote right here on the show on "comunidad del valle." all you have to do is put your phone next to that qr code at the bottom of the screen that you will see throughout the show, and that will take you directly to the registr--the secretary of state's office where you will be able to register to vote. no more excuses. the turnout for latinos has been dismal in the elections, and so

it's now time to change that. well, we're gonna begin today with a special guest here on "comunidad del valle," it's called silicon valley clean energy. raul hernandez is with the agency, he joins us now on "comunidad del valle." welcome back to the show, raul. raul hernandez: thank you so much, damian. raul: great to be here. damian: thank you for being here. tell us about silicon valley clean energy. what do y'all do? raul: yeah, well, thank you for that question. we're what's known as a community choice energy provider. so we provide generation service, which means we procure or buy power on behalf of our customers, and we do it for a majority of the cities and towns located in the county of santa clara. pg&e is still a major factor, as you still receive your blue bill from them, as well as delivering gas service. but a great thing about community choice energy providers like us, like silicon valley clean energy, is that we're able to provide offers and services to our customers that help reduce emissions locally. for instance, the program that i'll be talking to you about today is called the futurefit homes rebate program, which is an incentive program for people to upgrade their appliances to

all-electric appliances. damian: we do have some video that shows kind of what we're talking about here. we have--you want--we should turn from gas stoves to electric stoves, but we've heard that it's been very successful in your first year, saving over $2 million. tell us about that. raul: yeah, so thankfully we've had a great first year, and our board recently approved an additional $3 million in funding for silicon valley clean energy customers to make all electric home upgrades. we know that switching appliances is a big investment, so these rebates are designed to make those upgrades more affordable. some of the key rebates that are included in our--in this program are $2,000 in rebates for replacing gas water heaters with heat pump models, and $2,500 for swapping out gas furnaces for heat pump hvac, and up to $750 for induction cooktops or ranges, plus the cookware to use the induction in itself. so we're offering quite a few rebates for our customers that obviously they're taking advantage of, and we're seeing a

positive response from it. damian: why the focus, raul, on electrical--or electric appliances? raul: that's a great question. so we know that gas-burning appliances contribute to poor air quality in our homes and in the community, but by making the switch to efficient electric options, we can cut fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses from these sources. it's one of the fastest ways that homeowners can reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact. so they're healthy, they're clean, and now with these rebates, they're more affordable for our customers. damian: all right, we're talking about silicon valley clean energy. you can log on to their website for more information. we're gonna talk about that in our next segment as well. but there is their website on the screen, you can--they can answer all your questions there. there's also that 800 number on the bottom of the screen. silicon valley clean energy. we'll be back and talk more about the importance of transitioning here on "comunidad del valle," stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: we're back on "comunidad del valle" this morning with raul hernandez of silicon valley clean energy. again, that qr code you're seeing at the bottom of the screen is so that you can register to vote. that qr code will be there from now until election day because latinos--we're done making excuse as to why we are not voting. this is your chance. no more excuses. put your phone next to that qr code and register to vote automatically in spanish and vietnamese and in english. raul, back to you. what kind of response have you gotten so far from your customers over at silicon valley clean energy? raul: so with this program, an extremely positive response. you know, many of our residents are eager to do their part in reducing emissions, but balancing that with affordability concerns can be an issue, but these rebates help to really address that. but over the last few months, we've had hundreds of applicants upgrade their furnaces and water heaters, and, you know, now customers will be able to go electric in the kitchen with induction cooktops.

this is something that we didn't have last year. it also helps that the technology is getting a lot better as well for these electric appliances, and they're more reliable as well. so we're thrilled that the customers are embracing this transition to go electric. and, you know, there's even customers that have upgraded to heat pumps that have taken advantage of special rates that we offer as well, like a rate that we're calling e-elec that can help save on their monthly bills when they pair their usage with the right times. so yeah, it's a--it's been a good combination between, you know, people actually making these upgrades and, you know, seeing the positive outcomes from them. damian: raul, you have children, i have children, and we--the old saying, "we want to leave the earth better for them, the planet, than we found it." this is kind of a way of putting our money where our mouth is, right? this is a way to help do our part in saving the planet. raul: correct, correct. with earth day on april 20, i mean, this is earth month for us, so there's a lot of, you know, a lot of us that tried to make that contribution in whatever way we can, and we're

seeing it, like i said, through these appliances that are just healthier, safer, and more affordable with rebates that we offer. damian: yeah, and we showed the 800 number and the website on the screen, is that the best way to get--for folks to get information? raul: yeah, that's correct. so if you're considering going electric or just want to learn more or maybe you're ready to claim your rebate, we encourage you to visit the website here: svce.info/ffh-nbc, and then right there, you can find all the rebate amounts and just eligibility. the number that we have online, though, is a new program that we're offering to our customers called the go electric advisor, which is a way for customers to get free personalized help to go electric. so if you're not sure whether your home is ready to make that transition or maybe you wanna learn about other federal, state, and local rebates, you go call that number or even the website right here, which is separate from the rebate website, which is svce.info/gea, which is the go electric advisor, there you'll have experts helping you along your

journey to go electric. so it's something that's free, and people, you know, should take advantage of it, especially if they're not sure where to get started on their journey to go electric. damian: all right. raul hernandez with silicon valley clean energy. any final thoughts, raul, before we let you go? raul: yeah, so one of the most important things that i want to leave you guys with is just to remember that this service and these rebates are for silicon valley clean energy customers. so it's very important to make sure you are within our service territory. you could see that within your pg&e bill as well under generation service, that's when you'll see us as silicon valley clean energy, and that's how you'll know you're part of our service territories so you could take advantage of these rebates and of the go electric advisor as well so you can get started on your future projects. damian: all right, thank you so much, raul hernandez with silicon valley clean energy. good information. thanks for being on the show. raul: thank you. damian: again, i'll show you that information if you wanna-- if you have a few questions and you wanna see how you can get this done, there is the 800 number and the website for more information. up next on "comunidad del valle," revitalizing local

businesses in the mission using artificial intelligence, stay with us.

damian: we're back here on "comunidad del valle," and just a reminder, you will see a qr code at the bottom of the screen here on the show which--so that you can all register to vote. no more excuses, it's time to do that. well, there is an effort now to revitalize local businesses in the mission district. it's using ai. joaquin cuenca is a ceo of a company called freepik, which is doing this. mr. cuenca, welcome to the show. joaquin cuenca: thank you, damian. joaquin: very happy to be here. damian: thank you for being here. we're gonna show a video of what you did in spain because you did some wonderful work there in spain, but tell us about freepik. joaquin: so freepik is a company that specializes in helping designers--graphic designers, marketers, create great designs faster. we have been in business for the past 13 years doing that, and we wanted to help some local designers, pair them up with

businesses that needed some help to revitalize their shop, and help them just work together to create something that was better, and make the neighborhood a little bit more beautiful. damian: yeah, and how do people use your tools, and who uses them? joaquin: yeah, so half of our users are graphic designers, and then you get users in marketing, educators. people are all over the world. we have close to 100 million users coming to our website. so when you go to freepik, you will find a huge collection of images, photos, illustrations, icons, all kinds of images that you can use for all kinds of projects, web projects. also print banners, anything in general that needs images, that's how we started giving images to people, giving content. and lately we have created a suite of ai

tools that you can use to create and edit new images. damian: that's fascinating. so artificial intelligence--so, what part does that play? does that play a big role in the work that you're doing? joaquin: it does because when we started, we could only give people images--let's say stock images. what we call stock images, images are the same for everyone. so you came to freepik and you needed to use maybe the same image that was okay for somebody in a different country, but there are many use cases that need images that are bespoke to the user. so for example, if you want to create a new business and you need a logo, well, you needed to hire a designer to create a logo for you, a bespoke logo. if you want to make an illustration of your kids, for example, you needed to hire somebody just to do this illustration. and what usually happens is that you don't do that, okay? so there's a whole suite of images that people were not

creating, so in a way we were limiting the creativity of people because of the difficulty to create those images. and with the new ai tools that we have, now it becomes very easy for everyone to create any image that they can dream of. damian: oh, that's fascinating. now, your offices--you originated in spain. we can tell by the picture behind you you're at las vegas right now, probably at a convention, but you've opened up an office in san francisco. joaquin: we did, we did. we opened an office in san francisco in september this year. damian: and so, tell us, what is your vision for the mission? some businesses are going to benefit from your product. joaquin: yes, actually, just like we did in malaga, we-- some businesses that agreed to renew their look, the look of their business, together with some local designers, and we gave them access to all the content and all the tools that we have on the freepik platform, and we asked them to renew

those businesses. it's for the benefit of the community--of the local community and for the business-- and for the benefit of the owners of those businesses. and it helps us understand how our platform can create more value to designers that do real work. so, for example, something that happened in malaga is that we had a graphic designer doing one of those redesigns, but she needed to put--to hang on the walls, images of fish, of shrimps, of--because it was a restaurant that worked with this--with fishes. and she is not an illustrator, so for her it was really difficult to draw something that was visually appealing. and with the ai tools that we have on the platform, she was able to create all the drawings that were needed to fulfill the job. so, in a way, help us understand how our tools are being used in

real life, and it also help us a little bit our neighborhoods to become a little bit more beautiful. damian: oh, that's great. how revolutionary do you think your work is, your product is? joaquin: well, of course, you can--you know, you always feel very, very proud of what you do--at least you should feel proud of what you do, we are very proud. but at the same time, humbly, we believe that we are just scratching the surface. we have not yet done even 1% of what we want to do. so we work on graphic design, we work with--in general, computer graphics is something that has been through multiple revolutions in the past 20 years. it's a very dynamic field because it appeals all of us, right? we all want to create graphics. it's part of what we do as humans.

it's part of how we express ourselves, and we always keep finding new ways to express our creativity. damian: wow. any final thoughts? mr. cuenca, this is fascinating work that you're doing to revolutionize this product and improve the image of some facades in san francisco. joaquin: well, to me--you know, there is today a debate over whether ai tools are a good thing or not. the way we see it is we see humans in an environment taking decisions on how we can improve the environment for ourselves and, you know, for our local communities. and to us, ai tools are a way to empower us to create something better. so, here in the company, we are very pro anything that can help us express better our ideas. damian: oh, well, it's fascinating. thank you so much for the work that you're doing, and some businesses in san francisco in la mission are gonna be benefiting by the creativity that your company offers.

thank you so much for being on the show. joaquin: thank you, damian. thank you. damian: all right, let's--we're gonna share that information on the screen. if you want more to listen or watch more about this company out of spain, now coming into san francisco, it's called freepik. there is their website for more information. up next, here on "comunidad del valle," the san francisco international arts festival this year. stay with us. - my childhood was tough. i didn't grow up in a warm, supportive home, so the trauma i went through

led to something called toxic stress. but it's gonna be different for my son. i'm giving him the protection he needs to defend against it. by taking time to play, even on long days. - by offering extra patience, even when it's running short. - and giving him the assurance that he's safe here. learn more at first5california.com. damian: and just a reminder that the qr code will appear throughout the rest of these shows until election day in november. there, you can register to vote. no more excuses. well, the san francisco international arts festival is back, and with us on this show is federico ardila. he is with the musical group neblinas del pacifico. welcome to the show, federico. federico ardila: damian, thank you so much for the invitation. federico: it's a great honor to be here. damian: thank you for being here. well, now the name of your group, neblinas del pacifico, which means the fog of the pacific, it sounds like your band would be playing some yacht rock, some christopher cross,

some air supply, but, no, it's all marimba. it's all good, up-and-fun dancing music. federico: that's right, damian. so the kind of music that we play is afro-colombian marimba music from the pacific coast of colombia and ecuador. it's all made with this very beautiful handmade instruments that are all made from the trees in the jungles in the pacific coast of colombia. and it's very much a music that is tied to nature in all of his conceptions and the way that the instruments are constructed and the way that the chants are meant to be kind of singing across the river or over the ocean. and so, the name of our band is kind of a tribute to the fact that we're by the pacific, and we wanted to have a reference to the nature around us, which of course, in the bay area is just fog and more fog, so. damian: well, i love it. i love the name, and i love the type of music, and i love even more the fact that it's--you're using nature to play your music.

we're gonna be showing some video. it's of other performers. it is an international arts festival. it's gonna be teatro danza music and whatnot. talk about the privilege and the honor of being a participant in this international arts festival. federico: yeah, it's--we feel so honored to be able to perform in this festival because we have been attending this festival for so many years. we've been based in the mission, some of us, for about 20 years, and we've just been, over the years, seeing all these amazing acts. and in fact, actually, our marimba de chonta was the the first one in the west coast we believe, and that actually landed in the bay area because a group from colombia, grupo bahia, and the maestro hugo candelario, who is one of the amazing--most amazing musicians in this kind of music. he--they gave a performance and he actually brought the marimba, and we ended up inheriting that marimba, so in that sense, this festival has been a really important part of our history. and it's such a blessing to be able to be a part of it this

year and to be one of many bands--i mean, this has been one of the festivals that has been really uplifting music and culture in our beautiful city. it's celebrating cultures of many different parts of the world, many different latino cultures as well, both with international guests and with just so much talent that there is in the bay area, so it's a real blessing for us to participate in it as well this year. damian: yeah, now we're looking at some of those international performers, they're on the screen right now. but the--your specific performance, neblinas del pacifico, it's not gonna be-- well, there might be a theater seating, but you want people to get up and dance and sing with you and party with you? federico: you never know what's gonna happen at a nerina show, so, the one thing that we feel really strongly about is that in the tradition that we're coming from, there's no real distinction between all the performers are there and the audience are there--it's not like that at all. this music is truly a community practice.

and i think that in these moments, in these years when we have just faced so much isolation over the last few years, it's just--what we find ourselves really needing is a place to come together, to dance together, to sing together. i don't know what it is about this kind of music, but at every single performance we always see somebody crying, it's a very emotional music. in some ways. it's a very spiritual music that has roots over the course of many, many hundreds of years. and so, you know, it's a very large sound, with lots of drums and lots of harmonies and things. and at the same--it's a very intimate performance where, like, the music is right in the middle of the audience. and we're really gonna invite the audience to dance along, to sing along, and just to celebrate together and to be together. damian: yeah, tell us about that. where exactly is your performance, neblinas del pacifico? federico: so this year we're going to be performing in the festival on may 4 at 8 p.m. in the community music center. they have a beautiful new building at 544 capp street that they just renovated in cap and 20th street in the mission.

and one thing worth saying is that our performance last year sold out well before the show happened, so we really would encourage people to get your tickets, because we would really love to see you there. damian: all right. and finally, you mentioned this a little bit, but how big of a privilege and an honor and spiritual is it to be playing with those natural instruments, the ones that come from mother earth? federico: you know, it's-- again, i feel like in these modern times we--there's been so much disconnection from what really matters, from the earth, from the people around us, and this is something that our maestros and our maestras in the pacifico colombiano are always so insistent that this music is really a part of community, it's a part of community resistance, it's a part of really helping each other. one story that i find really beautiful is that the-- traditionally, the marimbas are tuned kind of--each marimba is supposed to build their own marimba and tune it, and the way you're supposed to do it is you're supposed to walk out to the river and hear the sound of the river and tune the first

note of the marimba to the river. and so, i mean, it's just a music and a practice that is just completely tied to our earth, and i think in this day and age, it's just so important that we just remember again what it is to just live in community with our earth with the people around us. damian: oh, that fusion is beautiful. thank you for explaining it that way. federico adrila, thank you so much from neblinas del pacifico performing at the international arts festival of san francisco. thank you. federico: thank you so much. we really hope to see you there singing and dancing with us. damian: we'll be--we'll give it a shot. again, they'll be performing on one of the days, but it's going on for a few days--actually about a couple of weeks in san francisco, the international arts festival in san francisco. we're gonna show you that information once again on the screen. may 1 through 12, it's gonna be--again, music, danza theater, and much, much, more art. the san francisco international arts festival. well, if you want to get a hold of us here on "comunidad del valle," you can follow me on instagram.

my handle is @newsdamiantrujillo. there is also my email address on the screen. we thank you once again for being apart of our sunday on "comunidad del valle." we're gonna leave you with a little bit of some old rendition with los compadres. we'll see you next week. [speaking foreign language] ♪♪♪ [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language]

[singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language]

[singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language]

if you feel like things don't add up right now... you're not alone. rent is up, and every family outing costs an arm and a leg. well, we want to help. so when prices go up, we find new ways to go low. and now, we've lowered the price on hundreds of your favorite products. designing something beautiful is easy. designing something beautiful with great quality for a low price? that's a different story. it's why we're here. that's a promise. not a promo. le. it's why we're here. [cheering] [music playing] narrator: when thinking of miami, there are some cliches that come to mind-- spring break, art deco, and parties till the break of dawn.