>> buenos d^as y bienvenidos. good morning. and welcome again to "tiempo." i'm joe torres. we thank you for joining us on this labor day weekend. "undocumented: a dominican boy's odyssey from a homeless shelter to the ivy league" -- it is, to say the very least, an inspiring autobiography of a latino determined to succeed. we will talk to the author in just a few minutes. but right now, an event dedicated to the hispanic community. expo latinoshow 2015 represents latinos from all over the world. the event comes to new york city later this week for two days of fashion, music, beauty, health, entertainment, lifestyle. to talk about this event and more, cesar florez and oscar caballero from

the latino show magazine, which heads up this event. welcome to you both. congratulations. number 5? >> number 5. >> yes. manhattan? manhattan, yes. >> why the big move? 'cause the show got so big, you needed more room. >> because it's always been the goal and the vision to actually be here at the center of new york, bring a multicultural audience everything that is latino and bridge that gap. >> we'll tell people where it is and when it is in just a few minutes, but the goal, the hope of this show is what? >> to bring, actually, light to many designers from america, other countries and just get exposed and actually connect with the public, and also even just anyone that's interested in fashion, the music of latin america. >> yes. and is it a networking opportunity, therefore? >> yes, it is networking opportunities in all the different industries of both music, fashion, business,

entertainment, health. we're gonna have exhibitors in addition to the different showcases of music and fashion. >> so is it geared more for the general public or more for businesses and designers -- or perhaps all of them? >> all of them pretty much. >> yeah. okay. >> it's an event that the family can go to, and, by the same token, small businesses and big businesses can go and join, and they will all benefit from it. >> if you've been doing it for a few years now, what have you learned from years past as you gear up for this next one? >> that it is something that people will go to and that there is an actual gain out of it. the networking opportunities and experiences that we have encountered throughout the years have been a positive one. >> have you heard that from years past from designers who attended the show and said, "listen, after the show, i met so and so, and we connected, and, all of a sudden, my fashion is in her shop"?

>> completely. it's also just the fact that their names have gotten out there even more, and, all of a sudden, you get recognized. you no longer say, "ooh, who is this person?," but the fact that you actually can drop the name... >> yes. >> ...and you know who this person is. >> yes. someone once told me "network or not work." >> exactly. >> you have to network and you have to meet people so that you can cross-promote and get your product in their place and vice versa. talk to me about the logistics of setting up an event like this. i mean, did i see correctly you've got 10,000 attendees? >> yes, that's what we are expecting. it is a pretty extensive process. >> endeavor. when does it start? >> it starts as soon as the show ends. >> [ laughs ] as soon as one ends, we start for the next one. >> exactly. and it's a matter of thinking as to how we want to make it better for the next time, what did we do right, what can be improved, and who do we want to bring next time that we didn't have and how do we want to make

it bigger, better? >> we've teased people enough. where is the show? when will it take place? >> it will take place on thursday and friday, september 10th and 11th at the new yorker on 34th street and 8th avenue. >> okay. is there a cost? >> it's open to a general public. there will be some shows where we'll have a small fee, but the public can enjoy all the amenities of the expo. >> when you say "shows" -- fashion shows? >> fashion shows, music -- you know, some dance. so it's really a global aspect. >> i saw some video at the top. i mean, there's a runway, correct, and different designers are parading their different fashions on the runway? >> yes, and if you go on our facebook page, you can see the lineup of designers and necessarily what's happening -- dance, music. >> today's sunday. the show's in a couple of days. if i'm watching this interview, and i still want to be part of the show, is it too late? >> it's not too late. you can go to our page. we will have the contact information there, and you can still be part of the whole show.

>> and what accommodations do you have to make to meet the needs of a designer who wants to be in the show? room? do you give them a corner, a location for them to gear up? process. >> with the designers, they pretty much just have to provide collection. so we provide the models, makeup artists, hairstylists, and the models, and depending on what their need is, and there's a model casting, and pretty much they just have to show their work. >> all right. sit tight because we've talked about the fashion, but there's also food, there's music. let's talk about that when we come back. sit tight. when we come back on "tiempo," more on latinoshow expo 2015. also, still ahead -- look at this. this is a new book. it's just out. it's called "undocumented: a dominican boy's odyssey from a homeless shelter to the ivy league." we'll talk to the author of this autobiography in

just a few minutes.

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>> welcome back to "tiempo." expo latinoshow 2015 comes to manhattan later this week. we've been talking about it. it features participants from more than 10 countries. two days of fashion, music, beauty, entertainment, lifestyle. cesar florez, oscar caballero from the latino show magazine, they are the ones who have worked so hard to put this event together. let's give credit where credit's due. five years ago, this show is the brainchild of who? >> alvaro altamirano. >> and who is alvaro? >> he is the president of the company, alvaro altamirano entertainment, under which falls latino show magazine and the expo. >> did he have an epiphany? what led him to decide, "we need this. the latino community needs this"? >> he's always had the idea -- he's worked with events since a very young age, and once he got here to new york, he always envisioned exposing all the culture, all the talent

that we have in our country, in particular, and bringing it to the world -- especially in new york, which is the melting pot of such a culture. >> your country in particular would be? >> y? >> nicaragua. >> y nicaragua. but you have representatives and people from? >> from brazil, dominican republic, puerto rico, and new york. >> yes, of course. give me some of the companies or some of the artists or some of the fashion designers who people will see. >> sure. we have manuel palferez from the dominican republic. >> yeah. >> adrian alicea. we have, actually, also sonja morgan now from "the housewives of new york city." so it's becoming pretty much international show. >> you guys told me during the break to bring your dancing shoes. >> most definitely. >> why so? >> yes, there is a music showcase, and there's a lineup with a lot of different artists like giselle gastell, magic juan. >> right. >> so it's gonna be very entertaining.

it's gonna be full of energy and full of flavor -- latin style for the world. >> mm-hmm. salsa? merengue? >> a little bit of everything. we have deejays, as well. >> you'll have deejays, as well. there's also a business aspect to this, correct? >> yes. >> in what sense? >> there are two big companies coming from colombia who are offering the opportunity to purchase your own home, buy property, and there will be discussion panels as to how you can go about it and how to facilitate that for people who are living here and how you don't have to be from there. >> so it's advice or counsel, if you will. >> yes, you have both advice, and you have the opportunity to do so, as well. >> okay. we're wrapping up. i want to put up the full screen one more time so that people can see it. there's still time to attend the event. here it is. it's coming up september 10th and 11th... starts at 11:00 in the morning, runs just about all day, right?

it will go to about 9:00 at night. you said the last fashion show is at 8:00? >> 8:00. >> 8:00. >> it's on thursday. >> continued success, guys. this is great, and next year even bigger, even better for sure. >> yes, sir. that's the goal. >> thank you, guys, very much. >> thank you for having us, joe. >> coming up next on "tiempo," a book out now -- "undocumented: a dominican boy's odyssey from a homeless shelter to the ivy league." we will talk to the author

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>> first-time book author dan-el padilla peralta

arrived here in new york from the dominican republic as a child, and he faced many obstacles as an undocumented immigrant, but he overcame them all to attend an ivy league school. well, he now teaches at columbia university here in new york city as a postdoctoral fellow in humanities. you see the book cover there. at the young age of 30, he's published his first book, he tells me -- this one about his upbringing, his education, his life experience. it is called "undocumented: a dominican boy's odyssey from a homeless shelter to the ivy league." dan-el padilla peralta joins us to talk about his book. congratulations. >> oh, thank you so much. >> the book hit store shelves when? >> july 28th. >> july 28th. how are sales? >> i do not ask these questions of my publisher. >> you don't. >> i prefer to keep it all unknown. >> you just sort of sit back, and whatever happens happens. >> indeed. >> congratulations on your story. we're gonna get into some of the details, but take me to that moment, that epiphany -- the word i used earlier --

when it came to you, that it said, "you know what? i should write a book about my life, my history, where it's taken me so far"? when did that happen? >> it happened 2006. i was a senior at princeton at the time, and a wall street journal article had come out about my life, and people started asking, "well, why don't you write a book about it?" and you said, "okay. sounds good." >> at first i thought, "no. i'm not sure i want to write a book," but then i slowly came around to the idea that writing this book would enable my story to be shared with many other undocumented immigrants who might have gone through what i was going through. >> you've mentioned princeton. let's walk people through the 30-second version of where you've been. you arrived here in new york at what age? >> 4. >> with mom? >> with my mom, who was pregnant, and with my dad. >> okay. dad was not with you long, correct? >> my parents were together for the first few years of our time in the states, and then he returned to the dominican republic. >> when you arrived, you and mom were living where? >> we arrived and spent some time in astoria. then we lived in washington heights. we lived in the bronx. we lived in queens.

we jumped all over the place. >> but you were in a homeless shelter -- i mean, i guess >> yes. we spent a year in two homeless shelters after my dad left. we were evicted from our apartment in queens, and we entered the shelter system. >> how is undocumented dan-el getting his education at this point in his life? >> i was getting my education from the public school system. i had been going to schools wherever we happened to be at the time -- went to a public school in the bronx, several in queens, one in chinatown. >> at some point -- and tell me how you got there -- you ended up at collegiate, a very prestigious and elite private school here in manhattan. i think it's the oldest in the country. how did that happen? >> at the second shelter, i met a volunteer who was a photographer by training, and he took me under his wing, and he told my mom that it was imperative that he and she work together to get me the best education they could. >> and you got into -- on a scholarship -- to collegiate for grades 7 through 12? >> that's right. >> you want to share with me about that experience during your time at collegiate? was it difficult? was it challenging? what were some of the obstacles

you had to overcome? >> it was disorienting at first because my classmates were, for the most part, much better off than i was, and so getting adjusted to that, figuring out what my place was among my classmates was the hardest challenge, but academically, i loved it. i had nothing quite like it in my life. >> you'd never change that looking back, right? >> i absolutely would not. >> it's safe to say that a seed in you was planted there? >> yes. >> a seed for education, for learning, for what? >> a seed for education, a seed for the study of literature. i had several fantastic teachers there who taught me the importance of reading and of reading deeply, and i also had a phenomenal latin and greek teacher at collegiate who inspired in me a love of classics. >> and that's continued, has it not? because after collegiate, you were off to where? >> i went off to princeton where i got my b.a. in classics, and then after that, i went to oxford where i got a master's in classics. >> oh, my. >> and then stanford where i got a phd in classics. >> dan-el, do you look back and scratch your head? i mean, you spit it out as if it could happen to anyone, but

it's happened to you, and those are three of the finest institutions on god's green earth, and you were there to take part in them and to soak up. do you pinch yourself sometimes and say, "man, is this really my life?" >> oh, i have dreams where i wake up back in the shelter system, so i'm very conscious of the fact that i was a beneficiary of tremendous good luck. obviously it helped that i was able to push through the doors that were opened for me, but in the end, so much of it was just being at the right place in the right time with the right mentors who were able to support me. >> how much did your undocumented status get in the way or hamper the goals that you were trying to achieve? >> it certainly, at several stages in my life, posed serious complications. the first was in high school when i realized that i wanted to apply to princeton. i wasn't sure if princeton would accept me, and i wasn't sure if i would get any financial aid, because being undocumented, i wasn't eligible for federal financial aid, and the obstacles continued to present themselves while i was in college. >> so the name of the book is "undocumented."

is that still your status as we sit here today? >> it is no longer my status. i'm in a bit of a complicated status at the moment. i did my phd at stanford under a student visa, and i now have a work authorization stemming from that student visa. >> and something else pretty big has happened in your life. >> yes. in march i got married to my longtime girlfriend. >> congratulations. so, things are going well. >> things are going very well. >> and you're teaching right now at columbia. >> that's right. >> all right. we're gonna take a break. when we come back, i want to ask you about the book -- how long it took you to put it together, what to include -- perhaps what not to include in the book. >> [ laughs ] >> sit tight. the inspiring story of dan-el padilla peralta. more stories, more insight when we come right back

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>> welcome back to "tiempo." what a privilege this morning to talk to the author of a new book, dan-el padilla peralta, who just published his autobiography, "undocumented: a dominican boy's odyssey from a homeless shelter to the ivy league." i've got my copy right here. what do you hope readers of your book will take away? >> i hope for two things. the first is to be inspired by the power of education. my life was made possible because of education, because of the humanities, in particular. the second thing i want them to take away, especially in these times when immigration is really at the top of the political dialogue, is that there are so many contributions undocumented immigrants make to american society at the local, regional, and at the national level, and to dismiss those contributions makes no sense. >> yes.

you're the example, are you not, of one potential huge contribution as you educate other students now at columbia. let's run with that. there's one or two particular candidates -- mr. donald trump in particular -- who made his immigration policy crystal-clear. would the opportunities that were made available to you or that you made available to yourself have been possible had someone like mr. trump's immigration plans been in place? >> those opportunities would not have been possible, and what's so peculiar about this current debate that we're having that's been engineered by trump is that had i been born, say, 5 or 10 years before i was actually born, and we had arrived at the states, we would have benefited from reagan's plan, which provided what republicans now are loathe to accept as an amnesty. so this tells you something about how much the political climate has changed. i wouldn't have had those opportunities, and yet there were republicans in the '80s and early '90s who supported those opportunities. >> dan-el, i don't want to oversimplify it. certainly it's a story of

inspiration, certainly a story of determination. can everyone do what you've done? do you need a particular mind-set? do you need a particular drive? do you need a particular dna and wiring to do and accomplish what you've been able to do? >> i find questions about "can" to be very hard to answer. i think the question that has always been on my mind is are we enabling the kinds of opportunities that would enable someone in my position or similarly situated to fulfill his or her dreams? >> answer that question. >> and the answer to that is, not given the current state of our immigration laws. >> no. so something has to change so that the opportunities that are out there can pave a way to success. >> exactly. >> what drives you? what is deep inside you that keeps pushing you forward to achieve collegiate, princeton, oxford, stanford? >> i want to be, in the words of w. e. b. du bois, a coworker in the kingdom of culture. i see myself as contributing to the teaching and to the education of many, not just

my own students, and this really is what animates me is the belief that i can contribute something to a conversation that's taking place not only now, but one that has had many people coming before and intervening in it. >> and is that your message to youth -- not only through your book and through the readers who read your book, but to the students who you teach at columbia? >> that's right. that is exactly my message -- the importance of participating in this conversation that in some way, very tangible way, extends beyond any one of us and encompasses our societies and the past societies that have shaped our own. >> do your students know the path that you've taken to get to where you are today? >> no, i try not tell them. i really try to avoid talking about my life. >> okay, well, let me lighten it up a little bit because -- >> but now they know. >> i've got two college students myself, and i know the excuses that they can come up with to not get things done, sometimes legitimate -- background, education, you know my story, where i've been. i'm sure you've heard some sob stories.

have you had to put people in their place saying, "you know, you think you got it tough, [laughs] listen to what i've been through"? >> well, the study of literature's taught me a lot of empathy, but i was also the beneficiary of teachers who were not above calling me on what we might generously call b.s., and they were very stern. they would -- even in some cases knowing that i was undergoing what i might have been undergoing, they would say, "you can still do this work. you shouldn't allow yourself or give yourself these excuses that will hinder you from becoming what you can be." >> but i would assume there are moments of sincerity with students where they come to you and say, "prof, you know, the odds are stacked against me. i've got a lot on my plate," and perhaps you, in a moment of empathy, can say, "i know what you're talking about. i've been there, and i'm here to tell you that you can do it." have you had those moments? >> i've had those moments. i've had conversations with students who have come and spoken with me in very frank terms about some of the constraints they face in their lives, and i can't help but understand those constraints.

i lived through those constraints in many cases. >> the book -- available where? >> it's available at your local independent bookstore, at barnes & noble, on amazon. it is available through penguin random house. >> we've got 30 seconds left. you know, i've often heard that for dreamers, you achieve one dream, you set another one. what's next for dan-el? >> the dream is to continue being a contributor in the kingdom of culture. i have another book project lined up, and this one is on roman religion, which is my field of specialization in classics, and so i'm supposed to be finishing that book this coming fall. we'll see if i make good on that promise, and then more books will come. >> thank you for your story. thank you for your inspiration. please sign the book before you head out. >> of course. >> sit tight. before we go, we have an update for you on the financial crisis in puerto rico. new york governor andrew cuomo announced plans to lead a delegation to the island, and we will be joining him during that trip -- alongside him, i should say. the governor will meet with local officials to discuss the puerto rican government's

ongoing economic challenges and healthcare crisis. puerto rico's governor, alejandro garc^a padilla, invited the group, and we will, of course, bring you special reports from the island. lastly, how about a look at the "tiempo" community calendar for this week? today in manhattan -- do you need a good laugh? you can go see a one-man show by saulo garc^a, a latino comedian. the production is called... that gets underway at 2:30. it's a comedy about life of immigrants who decided to say in the u.s. also continuing today in manhattan, the 15th anniversary new york international salsa congress dance and music festival. it's a mouthful, but it's a good time. it's going on now at the wyndham new york hotel located at 481 8th avenue. the event has latin dance workshops, live performances, plus more. it runs through monday morning. also next saturday, the puerto rican social & cultural festival arrives in connecticut.

the festival takes place on high street between broad street and lafayette in new britain. it starts right around noon and runs through 8:00 p.m. bring your dancing shoes to that one, as well. much^simas gracias. we thank you for spending part of your sunday, this holiday sunday morning with us. if you missed any part of our show, you can watch it at abc7ny on the web, on your tablet, or even on your smartphone. that wraps up another edition of "tiempo." how quickly the time goes. i'm joe torres. we thank you so much for watching. enjoy the rest of your