Canada’s Hispanic-Latin American population has been surging, however, most of these newcomers have historically concentrated in just a few hubs, particularly urban areas such as Toronto and Montréal. Recently adjusted data from Statistics Canada shows that there are now more than 1.1 million people in Canada who identify as Latin American, nearly twice the number reported in the 2021 Census. That’s rapidly changing, with places such as Halifax, Nova Scotia, attracting more and more members of the Latin American community, especially driven by initiatives such as the AIP (Atlantic Immigration Program) and the PNP (Provincial Nominee Program), among other factors. It is a phenomenon that Magali Dam-Mazzi, who first moved to Toronto in 1989 and is now a University Teaching Fellow at the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, has witnessed first-hand. “The Latin community in large cities like Toronto is immense. There are many groups to which one can belong,” Dam-Mazzi says. “From 2016 onwards, Halifax has been changing due to different immigration programs that were established and changed. As a result, the Latin community has grown substantially in Nova Scotia.” Her thoughts are echoed by Ruth Pérez Calderón, a chemist by training who now works as a technical officer and quality coordinator for the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). “Especially in the last three years, a lot of students and families moved to Halifax,” said Pérez Calderón, who landed in Halifax from Peru in 2006, when the Latin American community in the city was still fairly small. Back in 2012, Pérez Calderón and Dam-Mazzi were instrumental in bringing the Latispánica Cultural Association to life. Based in Halifax, it is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization that brings together the Hispanic community in Nova Scotia through dance festivals, cultural events, and more. It all started when Pérez Calderón, who is Latispánica’s head choreographer, decided to pursue her passion for Latin dancing. “I knew of small groups that sometimes got together and practiced traditional dances, and that was the way I met other people who liked dancing, especially our Latin folklore.” At one of those gatherings, she asked some of her acquaintances if they knew of more people who hailed from Latin America, and one of them gave her a number. She decided to call. On the other end of the line was Dam-Mazzi, who, like Pérez Calderón, is also from Peru. The two agreed to meet for breakfast, but little did they know that the impact of their conversation would still reverberate now, over a decade later. A crucial facet of Latispánica’s work has been fostering a sense of belonging — becoming a touchpoint for newcomers who, upon landing, look for people who already went through the sometimes challenging process of adapting to a new country. “Groups like Latispánica are immensely helpful because they are the first thing an immigrant looks for — people like themselves who can share, laugh, eat their own food, feel proud of their roots, speak their language, value their traditions, and celebrate their culture,” Dam-Mazzi said. Denisse Molina, who landed in Canada from Ecuador and spent her first few years as an undergraduate student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS, can attest to this. “I moved to Halifax in 2020, and was amazed by the larger Latin community in the city,” says Molina, who initially joined Latispánica as a volunteer and now acts as its president. Molina was attracted to Latispánica due to its philanthropy. The organization has successfully raised funds to help people in need both in Latin America and Halifax through several events, including an annual gala and dance festivals that celebrate popular Latin American rhythms such as Zumba and regional cumbias like Colombia’s La pollera colorá. Their latest donation, which came from a silent auction where Latin American handicrafts were sold, went to Pukavy, a site in Paraguay under the custody of Chalice, an international charity. “I saw that one of their goals was to help children in Latin America, which aligned with my personal goals,” said Molina, who, since assuming leadership, has spearheaded a new generation of volunteers that helped the organization transition through a complicated period, in which fresh faces were lacking. Since its first event, which took place at Dalhousie University on July 28th, 2011, in commemoration of Peru’s independence, Latispánica’s lineup of offerings has been vast, including cooking classes, poetry workshops, and a series of webinars — in conjunction with RBC — to provide financial insights for newcomers regarding important matters such as taxes.