Ten years ago today, the first stories appeared on HispanicNashville.com. A decade already - wow.
Some of the stories from the first few days are still reverberating today. One was, "Conexion Americas wins Best New Entrepreneurial Venture in Nashville Scene's Best of Nashville 2003 Awards." The next day: "Attorney Ana Escobar ranks second in Nashville Bar Association rating of candidates for Davidson County General Sessions Judge." There was even a story about possible minority contracting opportunities in conjunction with the Nashville Sounds' latest downtown stadium proposal.
Today, a decade later, Conexion Americas' commercial kitchen Mesa Komal is winning its own entrepreneurial honors in the 2013 edition of Best of Nashville; Ana Escobar, now Metro Clerk, is about to join the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts as its deputy director; and the Sounds are still planning a new stadium downtown.
Also over the last ten years, the state has gone from letting all Tennessee immigrants buy car insurance, to restricting access based on immigration status, to issuing a certificate that made it broadly possible again to buy insurance, to eliminating the certificate, and then allowing insurance again - but only for young people with work permits. Ah, politics.
Speaking of which, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition also celebrates its 10th anniversary this year - this Saturday, in fact. Details here. (TIRRC's founding led to the first grassroots, statewide voice on the drivers license issue.)
HispanicNashville.com looks forward to telling more of Nashville's stories in the decade to come. There are new interviews in the pipeline, contributing authors joining the fun (anyone can apply), and a Music City still writing its Latin "record."
