[upbeat Latin jazz music] ♪ ♪ - Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, known for cutting-edge tech research and so many huge oak trees, it's like being in the Knicks' locker room.

We're here at the North Carolina Museum of History, where some of the uncomfortable aspects of local history are displayed to remind us where we've been and how far we've come.

The city of Raleigh is named for the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, who never set foot in North America.

But I'll tell you who did.

Hernando de Soto came here from Spain in 1540.

That's right.

We've been here for a long-ass time.

Starting in the 1970s, the number of Latinos here skyrocketed.

And now some amazing people have ties to this area, like Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose.

And if Walter Raleigh, who was never here, can have a statue, why not her?

Now, there's a lot to love about Raleigh and the surrounding area, and Latin people here have been giving their all to show the Old South what the Nuevo South could look like.

Now, let's go meet some of these incredible gente making their mark on Raleigh and its surroundings.

Oh, and I have it on good authority that I'm going to eat some delicious arepas.

Do you know what those are?

Well, you're going to find out.

[upbeat Latin jazz music] ♪ ♪ - [trills] ♪ ♪ [upbeat Latin jazz music] - I can't wait to check out the scene in Raleigh, where the Latino population has more than tripled since 2000.

Dale!

First up, we got little food, followed by little futbol.

And since I don't like to eat or embarrass myself alone, I've invited someone special to join me.

You probably know him best as... - Dani Rojas!

Rojas!

Dani Rojas!

Futbol is life!

- Ooh.

- That's right.

It's Cristo Fernandez, AKA fan favorite Dani Rojas on the series "Ted Lasso."

What's up, my brother?

- [speaking Spanish] - Súper, súper, súper.

All right.

- All right, let's do this.

- Cristo is the perfect partner for this leg of the journey.

And I hope he came hungry, 'cause we about to get our grub on.

- I'm starving.

I got the dopest spot.

- Really?

- This arepería.

- Arepas?

- Oh, my God, it's so dope.

North Carolina is synonymous with barbecue, biscuits, and gravy.

All delicious, by the way.

But if the Old South is going to become El Nuevo South, then Southern cookin' is going to have to change too.

Yo, don't come for me.

Each wave of migration is reflected in the restaurants that pepper the city, so when the Venezuelan wave arrived in North Carolina, increasing by 62% in just three years... - Welcome, guys.

How are you doing?

- Marcel Jara and Arepa Culture were ready to meet the need for some comfort food.

So how did you get here?

- So Pedro is from Venezuela, I'm from Costa Rica.

He's actually my stepdad.

- How long have you guys had the taco--the taco truck?

I'm thinking tacos.

[laughter] - You're always thinking tacos.

- I'm Mexican, so.

- Yeah, so the arepa is the new taco.

So we-- - Oh.

Are you OK with that?

[laughter] - So we started back in 2014.

There are some recipes that Pedro brought from Venezuela.

- Oh, wow.

That sounds exciting.

- I've been living here for a while, about 40 years.

And every time I had a friend or family over, Sundays, arepa day, right?

People would go crazy about it.

When we came here to Raleigh, people were ready for it, so we did it.

- Arepa Sundays suddenly seemed like an idea worth sharing with the larger community.

Pedro and his wife, Hannia, recruited Marcel and his high school sweetheart, Alexa, and the family tradition became the family business.

So which is better, the Colombian arepa or the Venezuelan arepa?

- They're totally different.

- Yeah.

[laughter] - So here's the deal-- arepas are a staple of Venezuelan and Colombian cuisines, and they are traditionally just three ingredients: water, salt, and cornmeal.

Largely unchanged since pre-Colombian times, the arepa is one of the few foods to outlast colonization.

The name arepa is thought to be derived from erepa, the Cumangoto word for cornbread, and it's a testament to the enduring legacy of Indigenous culinary heritage.

By the way, Venezuelans stuff their toppings inside while Colombians throw 'em up on top.

Which is better?

Well, as a Colombian, I have to recuse myself.

- There are some recipes that Pedro brought, you know, from his mom, and then there's also some twists that we kind of added for that, you know, American consumer.

- OK.

- You have our sweet barbecue with a pico de gallo.

- Now you're talking.

[laughter] - In order to entice their neighbors, Pedro and Marcel created a barbecue pork arepa.

After all, Southern cooking is already a mix of European, Indigenous, and African ingredients.

Why not throw in a little sabor Latino?

And guess what.

It worked.

Locals of all backgrounds just can't get enough.

But it wasn't without its challenges.

- Did you find difficulty here in Raleigh?

I mean, we are in "the South."

- You know, I came here when I was five straight from Costa Rica.

One of the stories that, you know, always sticks to me, and we had pretty much just landed-- I think we were only, like, a week or two here.

And we were going to, you know, one of the popular joints in the area.

And then my mom, she came, and she was trying to order her meal.

The people in the line were just laughing and joking at the way she, you know, was pronouncing everything.

We ended up getting our food, but we both had tears in our eyes not only missing our family, our culture, but feeling a little bit humiliated.

- Right.

And then you flipped it, man.

You took a negative, and look at you now, bringing your culture, making it stand out in a place that you felt rejected by, somewhat.

- And it's to the point where it's not only acceptance, but it's appreciation.

- And Arepa Culture is thriving.

They even opened up a brick- and-mortar restaurant in 2021.

And that's not all.

Marcel and his family are paying it forward, providing jobs to recent immigrants and helping them integrate.

- Now it's my responsibility to take the opportunity that I had to live here my entire life-- - Yeah, and looking for a better life.

- And helping other people do the same.

- Right.

Anyway, I'm very hungry.

[laughter] - All right.

- We got a big menu for you guys to choose from.

We'll prepare a little bit of everything for you guys.

- Oh, you are?

- Yeah, exactly.

- OK.

- Exactly.

- And while we wait for our savory smorgasbord, I'm going to get to know Cristo just a little bit better.

I want to find out, what are you about, bro?

- The story, born and raised, Guadalajara, Mexico.

Acting was never my dream.

- It wasn't?

- No, no, no.

My-- - What was your dream?

- My life was futbol.

I played professional when I was 15.

I played all the divisions.

I reached second.

- Wow.

Big deal, bro.

- Well, yeah.

Just like any other Mexican has that dream.

- Cristo's dream of being a star futbolista was crushed when he suffered a major knee injury at 16.

And suddenly, his future was no longer certain.

- My parents convinced me to find new dreams, and... - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Something that not many people know-- - Well, let us know.

- Yes.

- We'll be the first to have it here.

Yeah.

- I had a student visa for a year and a half.

I tried all the possibilities to get another visa, but I couldn't, so for, like, almost three years, I stayed in the UK, working in this taco restaurant place that I was honoring the place by being the only Mexican.

- When his student visa expired after graduation, Cristo made the tough decision to remain in London on a tourist visa, leaving and returning every six months so that he could pursue his new dream.

In between acting and auditioning, he worked under the table in a restaurant to pay the bills.

- Sometimes when you immigrate somewhere, you don't have the papers and you got to push.

- He was back in Mexico when his UK agent called about the role that would launch his career and win him millions of fans worldwide, the lovable and always enthusiastic Dani Rojas on "Ted Lasso."

And it was a full circle moment, going from being a young kid with futbolista dreams to playing one on TV.

In 2022, Cristo won the Rising Star Award from the Critics' Choice Association, presented to him by legendary Mexican director Alejandro Iñarritu.

He then went on to snag roles in "Spider Man: No Way Home" and "Transformers."

- I was taking in a harmonious moment between a serene butterfly and an unruffled caterpillar.

- And is now working on a bunch of his own projects focused on telling Latino stories.

♪ ♪ - Here we have a nice spread for you.

So everything is 100% gluten free, and then we have the Sureña, the Tica.

Some pork, chicken.

La Pelúa, the shredded beef, and the Reina Pepiada.

So I'll leave you guys to it.

- Yeah.

- I hope you guys enjoy it.

Let me know what you think.

- Thank you, bro.

Absolutely.

- Thank you.

- [speaking Spanish] ♪ - Yeah.

- I think the Venezuelan arepa might give the Colombian arepa a little competition.

- You're the one to judge.

- Uh-huh.

- You are.

Yeah.

- And I'm very judgy.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

My moms would kill me if I said these arepas were better than hers, but they are super tasty.

Caracas meets Cackalacky.

Have you spent any time in North Carolina?

- Well, the director from "Ted Lasso," she's a very good friend of mine.

And we went to a bar in Wilmington, and she went to the toilet.

- Yeah.

- And then this guy comes and asks me, "Hey, are you here for a job?"

And I was like, "Oh, no, I'm here for a beer."

"OK, I'll bring you the menu."

But then, it took me ten seconds after that where I was like, wait.

- Yeah.

- What?

- Profiling you.

- It didn't come from hate.

- Right.

- It was just something-- - He wanted to give you a job.

He wanted to help you with your career.

- Right, right.

And we definitely have to flip the script in America because we're not seen.

And then when we're seen in a negative light, it just feeds into a demonizing story of Latin culture, which is terrible.

- Mm.

- But the fact that you're there at "Ted Lasso," that's a huge win for us Latinos.

It must've changed your life.

- No, it definitely has.

It has opened me doors that I never imagined.

I also want those doors to open for my family, for my friends.

Learning, also, by your example, you know, to create your own work.

And I'm trying to develop my film company.

It's called Espectro MX Films.

I'm passionate about multicultural stories.

I'm passionate about bilingual stories.

I personally like stories that talk about different cultures, mix of cultures.

I mean, there's great experiences and learning experiences from "Ted Lasso," But I think having played Dani in a positive way, being a Latino or Méxicano, you know, charismatic, positive.

People, especially when I came to America, have told me, like, thank you for being in the show.

Thank you for representing us.

- Positive role model.

- Yeah.

- Doing things.

And now you're using your platform to improve culture.

I mean, that's wonderful.

- Thank you, man.

- Thank you for all you do, my brother.

- There's still a long way to go.

- Still a little slow for me.

I'd like it to go a little faster, pero-- It makes me so happy to see people like Cristo and Marcel and Pedro changing the narrative about Latino immigrants, and they're doing it by embodying all we have to offer: talent, heart, hard work, and big ideas, not to mention delicious food.

Mmm.

That's amazing.

- Now that Cristo and I are well-fed, it's time for our next adventure, but we do have a bit of a drive.

- Speaking of fighting for success, I'm taking Cristo to meet a Peruvian American soccer coach who's spent the last 20 years making a difference in the lives of immigrant kids.

Siler City, where we're headed, is the first majority Latino town in North Carolina at 53% of the population.

Most immigrants were recruited here by the animal processing plants starting in the late '90s.

And as is often the case, they were needed even if they weren't wanted.

I've heard a lot of great things about this guy.

- Yeah?

- John, Cristo.

- [speaking Spanish] Welcome.

Welcome to Jets field.

- Thank you, man.

This is Jets field?

Look at it.

- Born in Michigan to Peruvian immigrant parents, Paul grew up to be an award-winning investigative journalist, focusing on issues of race and poverty for "Time" magazine, "The New York Times," and many others.

In 1999, he embarked on a year-long fellowship to report on immigrant poultry workers in the South.

He had no idea that it would alter the course of his life.

- This story goes all the way back to, like, 1997.

I'm a reporter in Washington, D.C.

I'm working on a book.

And I'm really interested in the meatpacking industry.

And what was going on in the '90s was they were recruiting for workers along the border.

- To come here?

- To come to the South and the Midwest and offering people jobs.

And in some cases, even busing people into the interior of the United States and giving them jobs.

- Isn't that ironic, now that they're busing them from the border for insidious purposes?

- Absolutely.

- That's right, American companies were busing migrants from the border to their new jobs in animal processing, one of the most dangerous industries in the nation.

And North Carolina ranks third in the number of poultry workers, with one of their biggest plants right here in Siler City.

In 1990, just 4% of Siler City was Latino, but by 2000, it was 50%.

To say some people weren't too happy with their new neighbors is putting it lightly.

- I mean, this is a community that was predominantly white.

And so to get, like, a whole group of strangers moving into their community, speaking a different language, a different culture, I mean, that really was, you know, upsetting a lot of things.

And it culminated, eventually, into this anti-immigrant rally in the year 2000 with David Duke and the Klan.

- What had long been a biracial region with all its dark history was now suddenly multiracial.

That rapid change caught longtime residents off guard, sparking a whole new wave of animosity.

Good ol' reliable racist and former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke called Siler City an American tragedy and organized an anti-immigration rally right here to fan the flames in an already tense situation.

- The kids who originally got here, the first generation, they had suffered through so much.

Many of them had crossed the border on their own, walking five days in the desert, no water, no food, and then coming here to Siler City and then finding a place to live, coming to a place that didn't know who you were, didn't know your language.

- It takes a lot of courage.

- Yeah.

But at that time, nobody was really interested in immigration.

But I knew it was going to be a great story because the South was going to change.

And once I got here, all the Latino kids, they were playing futbol, they were playing soccer.

And the high school didn't have a futbol team.

You know, they wanted to play American football.

So they were playing, like, in the parks, in the streets.

Well, you know, I decided to do something which most journalists do not do, which is I got involved.

- Breaking the journalistic code of impartial reporting is a big deal.

But Paul knew that something as simple as giving these boys a place to play futbol, bringing a bit of their culture to this unfamiliar town, could bridge the gap between where they live and where they belong.

- But, you know, I mean, I played futbol in high school.

I was the captain of my team.

- Which position did you play?

- I played midfielder.

- Ah, cool.

- What do you play?

- I used to play right or left midfield.

So you would do the running, running lots.

- Yeah, running, yeah, yeah.

And so me and some other people in town, we fought to get this team created at the local high school.

It was fantastic.

I mean, when the boys first put on the colors of their school, they finally felt like they were a part of this community.

- It took three years to get permission from local officials, secure the resources, and form the team.

In that time, Paul left behind his life in Washington D.C, moved to North Carolina permanently, and agreed to be the team's coach.

In 2002, Los Jets and the Lady Jets futbol teams officially launched with Paul at the helm.

Just two years later, Los Jets won the state championship.

And just like that, Siler City went from being a football town to a futbol town.

- The first all-Latino team in the South to be state champions of any sport.

That was Los Jets.

- OK, how do you get a team that's just playing on the streets... - Yeah.

- And all of a sudden, they're champions?

How did you do all that?

- I knew based on the caliber of the kids that I was seeing play that all we needed to do was just, like, get them organized.

I knew magic would happen.

I didn't think it would happen in three seasons.

- [laughs] And you were the coach all this time?

- Absolutely, yeah.

I've been the coach here 23 years.

- As if 23 years of coaching a wildly successful soccer team wasn't enough, Paul is also an associate professor of journalism at UNC Chapel Hill where he helped found the Latinx Center, giving Latino students a much-needed platform.

And his work with the Jets garnered lots of attention from the book he wrote about the first team to the exhibit in the North Carolina History Museum.

And not just for being Latino, but because they've been crushing it since day one.

You've been champion three times in a row?

- And we've won, like, a dozen conference championships, state championships.

We've won everything you can imagine in the state.

- That's incredible.

I mean, what a source of pride for you.

- Yeah.

- For everything that you've struggled to accomplish here and to give to these kids.

- Absolutely.

You know, when I was growing up, nobody did this for me.

So, you know, when I saw the need here, you know, I had to step up and do it.

Things have really changed here.

Things have gotten a lot better.

And the school district, of course, that's done a 180 with regard to educating Latino students.

- When are we meeting these superheroes?

- Yeah, yeah.

- We're going to meet them right now.

Let's meet the Jets.

Yeah.

And I've got something for you as well.

[laughter] - I like free shit.

♪ ♪ And thanks to Paul's gifts, we're looking good, so Cristo and I are ready to dominate on the field.

And what I lack in skill, I make up for in flair.

Come on, you know how I do.

♪ ♪ [indistinct chatter] - Oh, hey, hey.

Last minute.

[chuckles] ♪ ♪ - OK, Cristo has skill and flair.

That is so not fair.

- Oh.

[whistle blows] - Hey, let's take some shots, guys.

Oh, John.

Ah, there you go!

Yeah!

All right.

- That sucked.

Whoa.

What are you guys aiming to be, man?

What is your goals?

- Probably go to college.

- Go to college?

Everybody go to college?

- Oh, yes.

[laughter] - Gol!

- Gol!

- So you feel like this is family, right?

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- This is your family outside of school, out of the struggles.

- Not everyone has the opportunity to join the team.

Only the best.

Congrats to you all.

- Have you found it difficult to be a Latino kid here?

- Yeah.

- When you travel away, you feel it more.

all: Yeah.

- What do you feel?

[laughter] - That's right.

I think it's true.

- What kind of words do you have for the coach?

- Just amazing.

The way he coaches, even off the pitch, he's amazing.

- That's awesome, man.

That's awesome.

- Every time we come together as a team, we come together with a chain that links us one link at a time that makes us strong together as a team and as a unit and as a community.

- Mm.

- Bring it in, boys.

- Let's go, let's go.

- All right.

Guys, you ready?

- Y'all ready?

all: Yeah!

- Who are the Jets?

- We are!

- Who are the Jets?

- We are!

[shouting together] One, two, three, let's go Jets!

[applause] - You trained them well, man.

You trained them well.

- Thank you.

- Los Jets have shown just how revitalizing change can be to small towns like Siler City.

These athletes are the future of America, and I feel pretty damn good about that.

As for Paul Cuadros, there better be a statue of him the next time I come through these parts.

[birds chirping] [upbeat Latin jazz music] - It's easy to focus on the history of racism in North Carolina or the people who still celebrate the enslavers of the Confederacy and call it heritage.

But it's equally important to shout out the people doing the anti-racist work, and there have been plenty of those here too, most notably the Greensboro Four.

In 1960, four Black college students sat at a whites-only lunch counter in a Woolworth's and refused to move.

Four days later, more than 300 students had joined them.

It was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement and a reminder that confronting injustice is the only way to make progress.

Since then, the population has diversified, and although the KKK still exists, it no longer holds the power or numbers it once did.

Still, that doesn't mean the work is done.

Today, I'm meeting someone who is continuing that fight in Raleigh, Pepe Caudillo, an artist and community leader who's taking on racism in a big way.

- How are you, John?

- I'm doing great, man.

- Yeah.

Nice to meet you.

Thank you so much for coming.

- Thank you for having me.

- Yeah, we're working today in this project for the community.

- What is the project?

And so we're just really happy that we're almost done.

- You're almost done eradicating racism?

- [laughs] - Please.

- The mural is part of the purpose to raise our voices, letting people know that the Latino community is also interested in doing their part to help with this big problem that we have in our community.

- I love people like you who come to this country and you start organizing... - Yes.

- And you start improving the neighborhood.

Pepe witnessed a rise in racist rhetoric after the 2016 election and he knew he had to step up despite the risks involved as an immigrant himself.

And although he's a Southern boy and a citizen now, Pepe is originally from the deep south-- south of the border, that is.

And then you ended up in Raleigh.

- Yeah, so I came to Raleigh about 27 years ago.

Several jobs.

I worked in a warehouse, I worked in a restaurant... - Of course you did.

- I worked delivering paper.

- Like every immigrant, you worked a thousand jobs.

- Yeah, because it also helped me to learn English.

I started working for a newspaper.

I was trying to inform the people how to register kids in school, how you can get a driver's license, what are the kinds of things that you need to be careful when you're driving a car, the court-- - And was it in English or Spanish?

- In Spanish.

- Yeah because it was kind of the late '90s, is when the Latino community started exploding.

- And boy, was there an explosion.

Between 1990 and 2000, more than a quarter million Latinos moved to North Carolina.

In Raleigh, their numbers grew by over 600%.

All these new people required resources to help them integrate, and that's when Pepe found his calling.

- I happened to see a press release from the local Boys and Girls Club, and... So we want the Latino community to join the club and be part of the benefits that kids get here.

And I was like, well, I'm your man.

So they offered me the club director position.

I took it almost 20 years ago.

- That's incredible.

- And I'm here.

In my daily job, I don't stop helping kids.

- Right.

- I want to help parents.

So I have to go to meetings with teachers, I have to do translations, interpretations.

- So great.

So I know this is the second mural.

How did you get the idea for the first mural?

- Well, it was the time when George Floyd happened.

- Yes.

- And so we all got shocked by the news.

It was a horrible thing to watch.

- As the nation reeled from the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, artists and activists across the country took up their paintbrushes in solidarity and covered streets in massive Black Lives Matter murals.

In Raleigh, Pepe sprung into action.

- I was like, well, we need to do something about it.

I mean, we need to let people know that the Latino community is also part of this.

And so I was like, what about let's do a mural and with a message against racism in Spanish.

- A show of solidarity with the Black community.

- Right, exactly.

- Beautiful.

- Right in downtown Raleigh where a lot of elected officials and a lot of politicians walking there every day.

We have one long street.

"Erradica el racismo."

We did it in different colors because that was part of the message, that all the colors are included.

- Fun fact, this anti-racist mural is coincidentally two blocks from where the Klan marched in 1966.

I love it.

- The mayor of the city was really nice and she supported the project.

- That's pretty incredible.

- Knowing what we have had happen before in Raleigh, this mayor is pretty progressive.

And so now we're doing the second mural.

- And the second one is beautiful.

- Yeah, thank you so much.

We're almost done, but we can use some help.

- I love to paint.

- The meaning of this mural is an oak tree because it's the symbol of the city.

- Oh, right.

- The city of Raleigh.

The trees represent strength, power, endurance.

So it's a combination of the traditional local community... - Right.

- With our Latino community.

- Yeah, you know, everybody thinks Latinos are just in the big dominant cities, New York, LA, Chicago, Miami.

But we're also in these tiny little towns because we provide the essential labor that everybody needs-- farming, gardening, construction, plumbing, carpentry.

We do all the labor that builds the infrastructure of a city and keeps a city going and we're everywhere in America.

And then we bring our food with it and then we bring our dance and we bring our language and our culture.

And we enrich every city in America.

I believe in your statement and the fact that it's here in Raleigh in the middle of the city is a powerful statement of its own and I like to be a part of it.

Thank you.

- And I appreciate it.

- And I appreciate you.

Thank you for talking to me and taking the time from your busy schedule.

- Hopefully, this is not the last time we see you in Raleigh.

- I hope not.

I'm coming back.

I didn't realize it was a huge Latin population.

This is my-- this is now my new city.

♪ ♪ - When we think of immigrants to this country, we often think in terms of what they've gained-- opportunity, safety, a chance at the American dream.

But we never think about all that they've lost-- their culture, their language, their roots.

It's hard work to find that sweet spot between assimilation and preservation, but it's worth it.

Preserving our past ensures our future.

And I'm about to meet someone doing exactly that.

- [speaking Spanish] - Hey, bravo, bravo, bravo - [laughs] - Mexico has a rich history of folk music and dance dating back centuries.

Each region has its own sound, costumes, and steps shaped by local traditions and ethnic diversity.

Since moving to Raleigh in 2003, Alicia De Dios Fernandez never stopped missing the local folk dances from back home.

So what did she do?

She brought them here.

Of course she did, 'cause that's how we Latinos do.

With her dance group called Flor de Hidalgo, Alicia is restoring lost traditions for those who left them behind as well as introducing them to a whole new audience.

- OK.

- Turns out Alicia wasn't the only one craving her culture.

Every week, her tight-knit community of dancers meets to practice and prepare for upcoming performances.

Many of them travel long distances just to reconnect with their roots.

- [snaps fingers and chuckles] - With each performance, Alicia and her dancers reclaim a piece of their identity that might otherwise have slipped away.

She dreams of expanding, but due to her undocumented status, finding a permanent dance space has been difficult.

- Ah, no.

- [laughs] - Yo, I'm honored to learn the traditional dance from Alicia's home region.

But if I'm going to do it right, I got to dress the part.

[cheers and applause] - [chuckles] - John, bravo.

[energetic music playing] ♪ ♪ ♪ Muy bien!

- Ooh.

♪ [person cheers] [cheering] ♪ ♪ - Hey!

- Hey.

- Bravo.

- Gracias, gracias.

- So check it out.

The area known as the Triangle is made up of three major universities and the surrounding towns-- Duke and Durham, NC State and Raleigh, and UNC and Chapel Hill.

And aside from being three of the top research schools in the country, they're also all Division I sports schools, meaning that they got the top nerds and the top jocks.

And in order to have the top jocks, you got to have the top coaches.

And while Latinos are sorely underrepresented in that capacity, Cuban-born Yaidel Gamboa is making Carolina history.

I want to say he made a big splash, but they dock you points for that in competitive diving.

- What's poppin'?

Welcome to Chapel Hill, man.

- Oh, thank you.

This is--this is it.

This is Michael Jordan's home.

- Yeah, yeah.

- This is a big deal.

- This is the top of the hill.

- How the hell did you get here?

- That's a long story.

I'll tell you a little bit more later, but do you want me to show you around?

- Yeah, please.

Please, show me your office.

Yaidel's road from Cuba to UNC head diving coach was a long one, requiring discipline, guts, and sacrifice.

- So I started diving when I was five years old in Cuba.

They were doing all this selection talent.

- Measuring the aesthetics of your body.

- Yeah, the aesthetics of the body.

And in that day, there was more like 120 kids, so I was like, I'm skipping the line.

And I just run from the back all the way and jump in the water without knowing how to swim.

[chuckles] And the coaches were like, this guy's in.

- Well, you're not afraid of the water, obviously.

- There is some-- you know, there is something you don't-- you can't teach in diving.

It's the courage to do things out of your comfort zone.

- Following the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro's government decided to invest in sports as a way of building national pride.

Athletes were identified and nurtured from a young age, with the best being sent to Havana for specialized training, and Yaidel was one of them.

- And I was selected to the national team when I was 12.

I won ten junior national champions and then... - I hadn't won anything in my life till I was, like, in my late 20s.

- I guess I was-- I was lucky.

- Yeah, yeah.

Well, you worked harder.

Despite his competitive success, Yaidel's potential was stifled on the global stage.

The Cuban government restricts travel to prevent defection, denying their athletes access to the best international coaches and competitive opportunities.

And then there's the U.S.

embargo, which prohibits American businesses from trading with Cuba.

You know how you see all those dope '50s Chevys in photos of Havana?

Well, it's because they can't import newer ones.

For Cuban athletes, the embargo means they're cut off from the latest equipment and technology in their sport.

But for Yaidel, an opportunity came along that lit a spark of hope.

- Around 2007, that's when I get this contract offer to go to Venezuela and coach in Venezuela.

- And how'd you do?

- [chuckles] I think it went pretty well.

- Yaidel was killing it in Venezuela, but then the birth of his son back in Cuba changed everything.

He knew the only way to give his kid a bright future was to defect.

To avoid getting caught by Cuban authorities, Yaidel told no one where he was going and didn't speak one word to his family for eight months.

Imagine that.

After hiding out in Venezuela, he got the call from the American Embassy that his visa had been approved.

He worked construction jobs in Kentucky, then got a job as a show diver at SeaWorld Orlando, learning English on weekends and missing his family, but never giving up on his dream of coaching.

When opportunity finally knocked, he jumped.

- My first opportunity, I coach for free.

And then a year later... His assistant moves on to another job opportunity and then he comes to me.

Hey, Gamboa, would you like to be my permanent assistant coach?

[laughing] I was like, of course.

- That Coach was Olympian Mark Ruiz, and working for him opened a lot of doors for Yaidel.

Over the next several years, he followed every lead, taking coaching jobs in Florida, Texas, and Missouri, guiding multiple young divers to medals and titles.

And in 2019, UNC came calling.

What were you able to accomplish here once you got to UNC?

I was really excited to have them both because I knew they were very talented and they will make our team.

And we ended up being the best team in the country that year.

Yeah.

- You had the best team in America.

- Yes.

That was the Olympic year.

Aranza and Anton made it to the Olympics.

They were finalists.

- Talk about a dream realized.

Not one, but two of Yaidel's divers competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, New Zealander Anton Down-Jenkins and Mexican sensation Aranza Vazquez.

As a team, Aranza and Yaidel have won ACC Women's Diver of the Year and ACC Women's Diving Coach of the Year for the last two years in a row, and their partnership is unstoppable.

And when we filmed Aranza, she was training for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, repping Mexico.

Yo, I can't wait to meet this phenom.

And who knows?

I might just strap on my Speedo and hit the springboard myself.

[soft upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - Right here.

- [speaking Spanish] Nice to meet you.

- So you've accomplished so much.

How did you think you were able to do all that?

- I mean, a lot of training, a lot of discipline.

I've definitely had three great coaches through my whole diving career.

- And where did you come from?

- I'm from La Paz, Mexico.

You were born over there?

- Yes.

Born and raised until I was 18, and then I came here for college.

- Did you scout her?

- Yeah, yeah.

Well, she was coached by Cuban coaches in Mexico.

They were one of the first that I reached out.

- Who tipped you through the Cuban connection?

I love that.

- They told me, hey, I got this girl.

I'm going to send you videos.

And as soon as I watch the videos, I'm like, I want to talk to that girl.

- Oh, yeah.

So I heard so much about you, but I want to hear from you.

- Yeah, so I started diving when I was four.

There was this summer camp in La Paz with who was my first coach, Yuniesky Hernandez.

And he just saw that I had, like, the qualities, the form.

And, like, I was a brave kid, I guess.

And he just recruited me to come to diving.

- By age seven, Aranza was already making a name for herself on the international stage, competing in five junior Pan American Games and two World Junior Championships.

Jesus, the only notable thing that happened to me at age seven was getting my bike stolen in Queens.

Oh, my God, I'm so proud to be in your presence.

- Thank you.

- What's it like being a champion?

- I mean, it's incredible.

I love competing.

I really, really enjoy all the feelings I go through in the competition.

So being a champion is kind of like the reflection of all the hard work and all that love that I have for this sport.

- I know you're humble, but what awards have you won?

- Being here, I've been ACC Diver of the Year twice.

I've won seven gold medals at the ACC, which is the most ACC awards winning that a woman diver has done in the history of the ACC.

- In the history-- - Yeah, in the history of ACC.

So seven is the record.

- Whoo.

[claps] - Yeah, yeah.

- I've won two national titles.

I've got second place twice, third place, and sixth place.

Bronze medal in the 1 meter at World Championships, my first world medal ever.

I got a second place in the team event at that same competition.

And then recently, I got seventh at the World Championships in February.

Then I went to the Olympics in 2021, got sixth there.

- Got sixth at the Olympics?

- Got sixth.

- How do you rattle that off?

That's so incredible, the accomplishments.

What's next?

Is there a next?

- I've just qualified for 2024, so I'm going to the Olympics this summer.

- Oh, man.

We'll be looking for you.

- Thank you.

I'm really, really excited about that.

- What about him being Cuban?

What does that Cuban element add to it?

- It's bringing it back now with Gamboa, of the cultures being kind of similar and that, like, hardworking, like, inspiring.

And like, the way that he coaches you, you can see that he cares about you.

- That's incredible, man.

You were able to pass that on.

- That's why I also want to be a coach in the future because-- - Oh, you want to be a coach?

- Yes.

- You want to follow in his footsteps?

- Yes.

- But you've dedicated your whole entire life since you were-- how old were you?

- Four.

- Four years old.

- Four years old, yes.

- Which is what it takes nowadays to be a super athlete.

- Exactly.

- While Aranza didn't medal at the 2024 Olympics, I know she'll be back in 2028.

♪ ♪ And it makes me so happy to hear that Aranza wants to follow in Yaidel's footsteps and coach the next generation of divers.

She knows firsthand how important it is to see people who look like you in your dream roles.

Now she will be that for other Latino kids.

And guess what.

I'm about to be her first student.

I mean, you made it.

I don't know why I couldn't make it.

I got drive.

- OK, let's just see in the pool.

We can get a competition going.

- Let's go.

Let's get at it.

Come on.

- This is getting interesting.

[laughter] [dramatic music] [rapping in Spanish] ♪ ♪ - ♪ Go big or go home ♪ I put that on my partners ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Go big or go home ♪ I put that on my compas ♪ ♪ Go big, go big, go big ♪ ♪ Or go-- ♪ [upbeat rock music] - Wow.

Nice job, John.

- I did it.

[laughs] - Good job.

- I made it!

[laughter] How did I do, though?

Man, I think you did great.

Maybe if you give me 15 more years, I think we can get there.

- OK, maybe not.

Maybe I'll pass.

- Great job, buddy.

- Thank you for everything.

- Thank you.

- Good luck with that career.

- Thank you.

I appreciate it.

- All the best to you.

- Thank you so much, man.

- Really appreciate it.

- Yo, it's inspiring to see Yaidel and Aranza making waves as two Latinos in positions of power and influence.

Making waves.

Get it?

OK, I think the chlorine fumes are getting to me.

When you visit the South, you can't help but be confronted by its ugly history and the people who still cling to it.

But in Raleigh and the Triangle area, the focus is on the future, and it's palpable.

Every incredible person I met in my time here is doing their part to keep pushing for a more inclusive and equitable tomorrow.

Whether it's through art, sports, food, or dance, they're enhancing and transforming this community.

And the Old South doesn't stand a chance.

Here's to new statues that celebrate the rich diversity of El Nuevo South.

♪ ♪