hello, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today, mariachi alma de mexico, plus latinos who developed a new app called quesee on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with the important topic of latinos and healthcare. with me here on "comunidad del valle" with kaiser permanente are dr. juan guerra and dr. bellinda magallanes. welcome to the show. now, we're here because, i mean, when the affordable care act came into effect, i mean, this brought a huge influx of new latino patients. talk about maybe about that aspect, and maybe some challenges that that poses to the medical staff. juan guerra: sure, with the beginnings of the affordable care act, the newly insured have been composed anywhere up to 40% by latinos.

so then this puts the onus on the healthcare system to provide culturally and linguistically sensitive methods to engage patients, which has been shown to give the optimal healthcare outcomes and to embrace prevention, something that we strive for at kaiser permanente. damian: so, there are a couple of questions here. where were all these latinos? how were they covered who are now coming out? and it's probably a good thing that they're coming out. bellinda magallanes: yeah, so they either didn't have any coverage of any sort, or they were receiving their care just sort of intermittently, especially through our community health centers. so, many times in a day, i will have new patients who haven't seen a physician regularly for 10, 15, or even more than 20 years. damian: wow, is that because they're using some pomadas at home and some other hierbas? bellinda: so, sometimes there's the remedios of the family. other times, it's urgent care and actually emergency room care often. so, this idea of a primary care physician who they identify with as their family doctor or their family's physician is somewhat

of a new one to many of our patients. damian: and it can be daunting going through the whole--i mean, i'm lucky here that my company, i just check the box and renew my medical coverage for the following year, but when you're starting for the first time, it can be a daunting task to see where do i go, what do i pick, and what can i afford. juan: absolutely, one of the challenges for the newly insured is, how do you go about defining the best plan for yourself? can you even engage the computer to being with? and then how do you gauge what a good healthcare system is about, or good coverage is about? more and more, you're finding these centers where information regarding each healthcare provider in terms of quality outcomes will be identified, and patients can select the best match for them. damian: and it sounds like the outreach effort by kaiser permanente is at the forefront when it comes to recruiting latinos to get coverage and educating them on that coverage. bellinda: sure, and i think the idea is that our latino community have coverage wherever they may be. but as--you know, as physicians and as kaiser permanente

medical group, we are committed to providing care to our latino community that's both bilingually and biculturally sensitive. so, for example, we have gone out to community churches through care beyond our walls, where we actually will have, you know, health education classes regarding diabetes, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. and if patients want to be able to learn more about how they can sign up for kaiser permanente coverage, they can. but again, the idea is that we look for those diagnoses and health disparities within our community, and how do we best close that gap. damian: how is it--do you see that it makes a difference when a latina mother comes to the doctor maybe for the first or second time, and sees a recognizable face on the other side? juan: absolutely, and in oakland, we have our salud in español clinic. there's nothing like walking into a room when there's a latino family.

i almost have to, you know, look which is the patient. but just the warmth of the family and how we access our healthcare as family is important to take into account. there's not a day that goes by without getting a blessing from a family. [speaking foreign language] it's just part of the trust that needs to be developed and evolved when you're able to relate linguistically and culturally. damian: and do you think providers have to be sensitive when it comes to this new influx of those who are being covered because of that? i mean, it might be their first or second time delving into something like this. juan: i think it's important. it helps with the developing of the trust that i mentioned, and the buy-in from the patient, and the respect that needs to be part of that patient-physician interaction, especially, like they say [speaking foreign language] damian: you mentioned about recognizing your own kind,

if you will, at the doctor's office. and it's vital for you, i would imagine, to start recruiting young latinos and latinas to become doctors in the future. bellinda: yes, definitely. it is extremely vital. i know when i was moving through my own education, it was sometimes difficult to find those mentors and examples of how i could move through my career of medicine. so, it's actually always a passion of mine, in addition to my day to day clinical work with my patients, to bring up those in my community behind me who are interested in medicine. damian: you were kind of sharing that thought, dr. juan. juan: yeah, i sure was. and in fact, at kaiser permanente, we've got several programs that are in their infancy, but growing, to attract latino residents through our la salud permanente latino health elective. and also latino medical students who are already out there seeking to come and practice in california, and be part of our healthcare system. damian: all right, well, if you're not covered at this time, it's vitally important that you kind of log on and get more information. there is the web address for kaiser permanente. and also log onto the pew hispanic group there at that

website because they have some good information on latinos and healthcare. any final thoughts from both of you? juan: my start in medicine began with serving as an interpreter for my abuelita. and for the listeners, or viewers here today, if that's--you're being stimulated by that, keep going. damian: all right, goes a long way. any final thoughts? bellinda: yeah, hang onto the passion. it may be a bumpy road along the way, but certainly if you have the ganas, you can make it. and ask us and anybody who's gone before you to support you in any way that we can. damian: thank you so much for all the info and all your help in the community, thank you. and up next here on "comunidad del valle," the developers of the new app quesee. stay with us.

why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. with me on "comunidad del valle" are the cofounders of the app, steven lucero and roman leal. welcome to the show. now, first of all, talk about the name. quesee, what does that mean? we did download your website there. what does that mean? roman leal: right, so quesee, you know, really was a factor

of many things. first is our target audience is the latino community, so we wanted it to be spanglish to speak to both-- damian: you're on the right show, man. roman: exactly, right? secondly, it's really--you know, it literally translated into, what do you see? right, quesee. and on our app, it really depends on where you are in your lifecycle, whether you're a high school student looking to how to, you know, break into college; you're a college student thinking about, you know, what internship i can get and what profession i should be thinking about; or you're a professional thinking about how to get to the next level. so, it was what do you see? and then lastly, you know, in our culture, we have a famous saying, sí se puede. and this is a more affirmative, claro que sí se puede. damian: all right, well that's great. this is your tenth startup, steve? steve lucero: this is my tenth startup. damian: what made you say, "this is one that i have to dive into"? steve: it was really the need. the hispanic community has a tremendous need. and if we need to do it ourselves, we do it. damian: and that's kind of, like, the mentality behind startups, right, is something--you have a vision

and you have a plan, nobody else is doing it, and your--i would imagine your mentality is, "why not me? let's do it now." steve: we want to disrupt how our young hispanic in this country are learning, getting their first job, investing, improving the quality of their life. we want to lead that. damian: that's a big leap to dive into something like this. what was maybe the pushback that you got, if you got any, in developing something like this? roman: you know, not a lot of pushback so far. in fact, you know, we started this process with really--you know, we're all very passionate about tapping into the full economic potential of the latino community. right, we see the numbers, both good and bad, right? we see the population numbers in terms of, you know, representing 17% of the country today, and expected to be 1 in 3 americans being latino by 2050. it's a great potential opportunity. then when you look at the numbers in terms of, well, how many of us are actually graduating from college?

how many of us are becoming managers in professional roles? how many of us are prepared for retirement? those numbers are really bad. and so, we looked for, you know, how do you create a platform that both leverages the opportunity, but also addresses the challenges? and there hasn't been a lot of pushback to that. in fact, there's been a lot of--we've been able to sign a great deal of partnerships because they believe in that vision. damian: so, your target audience is all of the above, i guess, correct? or what's your target audience, age range maybe? who are you looking at? roman: our focus initially would be millennials, so the age range, call it 18, we'll go a little bit lower to 16, up to about 34, 35. so, you know, that bucket really encompasses high school, college, and young professionals. and so, that's the reason why we picked those three major topics of educational development, professional development, and financial management, because it really matters to that millennial bucket. you know, but you know, on a more general level, you know, we know that many latinos in the united states are the first in

our families to do a number of things: go to college, you know, pick up a profession, whether it's legal or health or tech. and so, we know there's a big void in our community. it's the how-to, right? how do i--how do i do it? how do i become a lawyer? how do i become a doctor? and we want this app to be that for the latino community. steve: and also allow those millennials to share that information, those solutions with their friends, their family, make it very much a community-based process. damian: so, talk about your other startups and how successful they've been, because it sounds like you're onto something here and i want to latch onto the next one. steve: most of them have been in mexico and argentina, actually, all in mobile. so, this is an extension of what i've been doing for 20 years. damian: what's the key? i mean, there might be--you were talking about millennials. there might be some millennials out there who are thinking, "hey, you know, why not me? why not me start my own startup?" what is the key here? what do they have to have, and what can they expect?

steve: first and foremost, outside of any--whatever the idea is, find the best partner or partners you possibly can. without a great team, you're not going to go very far. and then just be prepared to work a lot, and long hours. and be smart about it. know what you're doing. but it comes back to you and your team, your partners. damian: the marketing part, where does that fit in? what do you have to do to make sure that people find out about quesee? roman: so, we have a website, which is quesee.co. and there, we have some information on who we are, what our vision and mission is, and how you register for our app. but all our information and guidance will actually be on a mobile app. we're fully available on android. we'll be fully available on ios shortly. and our official national launch is actually this saturday. we'll be in los angeles, part of the latino college expo. and we'll give a lot more information about the type of information and guidance you can find on our app. but those are the ways to get to us, download the actual app or go on our website. damian: steve, how excited are you about this opportunity

and what the potential is? steve: we can really change lives with this. this is less of a business right now and more how do we make an impact long-term? this is not a short-term play for us. so, it's beyond exciting. it's commitment and passion, as roman said. roman: absolutely, and i wanted to say, you know, something that, you know, steve mentioned, which was the team. you know, actually what brought me, you know, into this team is the passion that we have for what we're doing, which is, you know, helping latinos realize their economic potential. you know, we all are the first in our families. you know, the quesee founding team, the first in their families to have done whatever, you know, we've done, up to even running our own startup. so, we've been in a place where we didn't have the information and guidance that we needed to go to the next level. and we know how tough that is. it puts you at a tremendous disadvantage. but we've also been in a place where we can see what the right information and guidance does. and it changes your life, just changes your life. and that's what we're trying to do with this app. damian: all right, well, you can log on. there is the web address for more information, quesee.co.

log on and see what that's all about. thank you so much for what you're doing, good luck. roman: gracias, thank you. damian: all right, and up next here on "comunidad del valle," mariachi alma de mexico. stay with us.

with us on "comunidad del valle" are two of those members, tony moreno and angel amezquita. welcome to the show. now, i saw an interview with vicente fernandez just a couple of days ago, and they asked him, "how do you prepare your voice when you're singing?" and his was, you know, just don't overdo it. i mean, there's not a magic trick to it. what's your key, whether it's playing an instrument or preparing your voice? angel amezquita: well, it's mainly start by relaxing. you know, you're there to represent--you know, you're representing the culture, and have some passion. and people, it's more important of what you're going to present than of yourself. so, if you put that weight off of yourself and then relax, you start doing your warmup and don't overdo it. damian: what's the age range, tony, of your mariachi?

anthony moreno: well, we have two different groups. we have a mariachi infantil alma de mexico, which those kids are about from elementary school up to, like, middle school. then we have our mariachi juvenil group, and they are from middle school up to high school, and even some in college. damian: and what's that experience like to see that transition when they go from barely learning how to kind of string the guitar to going full bore in a concert? anthony: well, i think for me, it's very rewarding since i work with the kids, teaching them how to play their instrunt, and those simple techniques that you've been talking about. and for me, it's rewarding seeing them growing, you know, from 5 years old. they transition along the groups. like, many of our musicians are heading off to college in, like, a couple of years. and for me, being a college student myself and finding importance in that, it's very rewarding to see the kids striving and, you know, achieving great things. damian: what's your relationship with mariachi sol de mexico? i saw it in one of your videos there. angel: last year, we hired sol de mexico in our 10-year anniversary concert. and we participated in all of his--many of his workshops

in la, the jose hernandez summer institute. and this year, our mariachi juvenil group took second place. damian: very cool, all right. and you have a concert coming up. it's another festive holiday concert coming up on the 19th. tell us about that. anthony: well, as part of our academy, we have a tradition that, every year during the holiday season, we hold a set of christmas concerts. and we raise--like a toy drive, we raise toys, funds, and resources for local families in need. what we do is that we partner up with the salvation army. all the funds that we get, the toys, and resources, we donate it to them, who then distribute within their communities. and this year being our eighth year, in the city of san jose, we're going to be hosting mariachi los camperos de nati cano. we'll be able to perform in san jose for the first time in 5 years now. damian: i was going to ask you about that because, sadly, we lost nati cano not too long ago. it's good to see that the los camperos are still going full bore with that. what's that like to be able to bring them back?

it'll be kind of nostalgic because i remember when nati was here with them. angel: yeah, well, it's a very exciting process for us because we're great fans of mariachi los camperos, and their art and the culture, and how they revived that folk music in the united states. so, having the honor of hosting an event where they can perform and, you know, fill the theatre with joy, that's more than just, you know, christmas. it's like--for us, it's part of history. damian: what's it like to put on that traje, the charro, and at the very end tie the big monos around your neck? what's that feeling like for you? anthony: well, for me, i find it as not only an honor, but a responsibility because you're not only representing yourself when you're on stage. you're representing a whole culture, the whole culture of mexico. and then for me, you know, i find it very important that you go in with your bow well tied, your suit nice in shape, nice and clean, your botonadura is nice and cleaned up. so, it's very rewarding because you're representing a huge culture, but it's a good responsibility as well that is

very important to uphold and respect. damian: i have a clip on moños. should i not have said that, or is that okay? is that accepted? not if i want to be on the same stage with you guys, right? so, what can we expect on the 19th? i mean, what are you going to enlighten us with? anthony: well, then we're going to feature the two youth groups that i mentioned, our mariachi infantil alma mexico and mariachi juvenil alma mexico. they're going to be featuring there. and then we have a local artist by the name of leon picazo, who he's a vocalist who will also be sharing the stage with us. and then, to close out the show, the legendary mariachi los camperos. not only that, there's going to be great food, a lot of fun, and a lot of joy. damian: you get something out of seeing the caballitos, the younger kids kind of getting into it, knowing that--i mean, it's been around for more than a century, mariachi music. knowing that, you know, those caballitos are going to be the ones carrying on that tradition that you're helping to pass on. angel: yeah, what's really great about our program is that we only--not only reach the bay area.

we have had musicians and students come from even greenfield. damian: no way. angel: yeah. damian: [speaking foreign language] angel: [speaking foreign language] he's a harp player, and he shows a lot of passion when he sings and he plays. so, when we started just in our local town, gilroy, and we're expanding to hollister, watsonville, san jose, people from greenfield are coming. we have people from merced that come and perform with the group. so, we help in outreaching. and our purpose is to expand the culture, but at the same time respectfully. damian: de eso se trata. all right, well, it's a big christmas concert happening on december 19th at the point church in san jose. you can log onto that website for more information, mariachi alma de mexico and los camperos de nati cano. good luck and thank you for keeping that culture alive. we'll give you a small taste of what you can expect up next on "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

in your comunidad on que pasa.

[music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] damian: and our saludos to those celebrating a special day. felicidades. [music]

damian: and here's our address for next week's saludos. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. also, pick up el observador newspaper, and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. you can also watch us on telemundo channel 48 every saturday at 5:30 p.m. for the next couple of weeks, it'll be at 6 o'clock, telemundo channel 48, su "comunidad del valle." we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday with us. we leave you now with a taste of mariachi alma de mexico. buenos días. [music] [music]

[music] [music] male: here we go. [music] [music] [music] ♪ somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, ♪ ♪ there's a land that i heard of once in a lullaby. ♪ ♪ somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue. ♪

♪ and the dreams that you dare to dream, ♪ ♪ they do come true. ♪ someday, i'll wish upon a star and wake up ♪ ♪ where the clouds are far behind, behind me. ♪ ♪ where troubles melt like lemon drops away above ♪ ♪ the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me. ♪ ♪ somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue. ♪ ♪ and the dreams that you dare to dream, ♪ ♪ they do come true.

♪ someday, i'll wish upon a star and wake up ♪ ♪ where the clouds are far behind, behind me. ♪ ♪ where troubles melt like lemon drops away above ♪ ♪ the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me. ♪ ♪ somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly. ♪ ♪ birds fly over the rainbow. ♪ why then, oh why can't i? [music] [music] [music]

[music] [music] [music] [music] male: here we go. [music]

why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop.

>> announcer: welcome to the honda "nbc sportsdesk." >> hi, everybody. coming up in just a moment, live coverage of the dew tour in breckenridge, colorado. first let's get you up to speed on other sports news, starting with the golden state warriors, in pursuit of the longest win streak in nba history after a win in boston on friday.