JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s been more than 20 years, but Yanira “Yaya” Cardona still remembers her first day as a senior at Sandalwood High School like it was yesterday.
“I got detention,” she said.
But she wasn’t sent to detention because she didn’t do her homework or because she violated the dress code.
“I got detention because nobody walked me to my class. I was lost and the teacher sent me to the dean, and the dean gave me detention. And I call my mom crying, and my mom came with her Spanish and was like, ‘How are you going to do that to her?’” Cardona recalled.
Cardona had just moved from her home in Puerto Rico after her dad’s Navy base closed and received an order to move to Jacksonville.
“It was a shock to come from an island where we celebrate everything,” Cardona said. “[In the United States] you got to do everything by the book.”
But it didn’t take long for the culture shock and fear to transform into excitement and love for the area and of course, the people in the 904.
“When you find a community or your community, regardless of what it is, you start to feel more at home,” Cardona said.
Understanding the importance of community and its role in a person’s life, Cardona took the initiative to become a welcoming and helping hand for the Hispanic community, which is the fastest-growing population in Duval County.
“I’m not one to complain about life. If I am complaining about something, I’m gonna do something about it. And I saw that nobody was really here catering to the Hispanic community,” Cardona said.
From creating the first and only Latin festival in Jacksonville, “Viva la Fiesta,” to connecting the Hispanic community with important resources, Cardona took it upon herself to be the much-needed link between the Hispanic community and organizations, resources and officials.
That work and dedication did not go unnoticed.
All those years of commitment to the Hispanic community led her to a job she never thought she would have: Jacksonville’s first Hispanic Outreach Coordinator.
“I still get goosebumps when I think about that phone call because, yeah, I would have never thought in my whole life I would be working in politics or in government. But when I think of it, like all the work that I’ve been doing in helping my community, it just, it’s right. And this was the right path,” Cardona said.
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Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan appointed Cardona for the role in March 2024 — a role that she takes very seriously.
“It’s been a great experience to be able to help the community, help different nonprofits with the resources that they need and connect them with different organizations that they didn’t know about, connect them with grants that they didn’t know about,” Cardona said.
One of Cardona’s main goals is to help Hispanic entrepreneurs open small businesses — a process she knows can be difficult to understand and navigate, especially if there is a language barrier.
“It feels good to be able to help those who don’t know English kind of hold their hand and be like, ‘Hey, I’m here. Let’s do this together. You don’t know how to fill out this form? I’ll help you,’” Cardona said.
Cardona has been working closely with the Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business Program to host free monthly forums in Spanish to provide resources, support and networking opportunities to the Hispanic business community.
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According to Cardona, before launching these forums, less than 1% of Hispanic businesses were registered with the city.
“They’re missing out on the contracts with the city. They’re missing out on grants with the city,” Cardona said.
Now, Hispanic businesses registered with the city have exceeded that 1% mark, according to Cardona.
But helping small businesses is just one of many initiatives Cardona has been working on to help the Hispanic community thrive.
Other projects currently in the works include expanding community outreach for the healthcare plan Get Covered Jax, and a Hispanic guide that will include resources and organizations available for the community.
“I want to see a city where it is united, a city where we’re all thriving. I want to be able to see a Hispanic restaurant in every block, a grocery store in every district. I want to be able to really enjoy our culture and celebrate the diverse, the beautiful, diverse city that we’re becoming. Not just Hispanic, but with every minority culture that we’re having here, Filipino, the Bosnian community, it’s just beautiful to be able to see us united,” Cardona said.
Cardona has been breaking barriers for the Hispanic community in Jacksonville for nearly two decades, and she is not stopping any time soon.
In fact, this is just the beginning.