Legados de los Líderes

As the COVID-19 pandemic prevails, The Inquirer looked at the importance of Latino leadership and how it impacts the communities during this time. Read the special report on the role the leaders play, how their loss affects Latinos and the social and economic challenges the communities face.

Here are profiles of six community leaders who have passed away during the last year. These are part of a special report, an ongoing tribute and healing experience for residents in the Greater Philadelphia area, to help preserve the legacy of community leaders.

Edilia Gómez O’Hara

Oct. 15, 1953 – June 21, 2020

Edilia Gómez O’Hara, 66, was remembered as a brilliant woman with a captivating smile. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and moved to Washington, D.C., in 1982 to learn English. She met her husband, Michael J. O’Hara, the following year and moved to Philadelphia, Michael’s city, in January 1984.

Mrs. Gómez O’Hara used her skills to organize social and cultural events for Hispanics in the Philadelphia region beginning in the mid-1980s. As a founding member of the cultural organization Raíces Culturales Latinoamericanas, she led meetings and gatherings on Venezuelan folklore, creating a sense of belonging for the community.

In March 2004, she helped found Casa de Venezuela, where she served as the coordinator of its dance group. Wearing her large skirts with ornate hems, she put together the group’s performances for festivals and parades in Philadelphia and other cities in the Northeast, including New York City’s Hispanic Day Parade and Festival.

Emilio Buitrago, 46, said Mrs. Gómez O’Hara was a second mother to him. He said she helped him improve his joropo dancing skills, after migrating from Venezuela as a young adult. He was her dance partner for more than 15 years starting in the early 2000s.

“Edilia had this special energy and so much love for our traditions, that it came natural to follow her lead,” he said. “I have great memories and many lessons learned from her.”

Buitrago said Mrs. Gómez O’Hara led by example, encouraging others to dance with grace and perfection, what he said was one of the traits of her leadership. She accomplished this while legally blind.

Mrs. Gómez O’Hara, who was a Buddhist, worked as an accountant for 18 years for a Fortune 500 company. She ran the Tartarepería 18.64 family restaurant in Fishtown, where she held live theater events and salsa lessons with her husband. The restaurant closed in June 2018.

She worked closely with the community organization Acción Colombia, to create a sense of belonging for other South American Latinos, and was a champion at the gym, which kept younger generations motivated to stay active. After a double mastectomy and chemotherapy sessions, Mrs. Gómez O’Hara survived breast cancer in 2010 and showed no signs of the disease for nearly a decade.

On Aug. 22, 2019, Mayor Jim Kenney recognized Mrs. Gómez O’Hara with a citation, for her work as a Cultural Ambassador of Venezuela in Philadelphia and for representing immigrants in the Greater Philadelphia region.

After battling lung cancer for a year, she had a peaceful passing surrounded by family members, including her three daughters, in Cherry Hill.

In a posthumous recognition for her contributions to the arts and culture of Philly’s Latino and Venezuelan communities, Mrs. Gómez O’Hara was the recipient of an Unsung Hero award at Taller Puertorriqueños’s Feria del Barrio 2020.

The passing of Mrs. Gómez O’Hara leaves Casa de Venezuela seeking a new leader to take on the dance group and other festivities and traditions.

Crisóforo Romero

April 02, 1965 – Nov. 13, 2020

Crisóforo Romero, 55, was a renowned businessman in South Philadelphia’s Ninth Street Market, known as a guru for his entrepreneurial spirit and the joyful ways he lived life.

Born in Puebla, Mexico, he migrated to the United States in 1993. He arrived in Newark, N.J., where he worked at a recycling center. In 1998, he reunited with Beatriz Rojas, after living apart for more than a decade, who became his wife and business partner for 22 years. The couple moved to Olney in North Philadelphia the next year.

The following four years, the couple worked at a chicken plant in Baltimore. In 2003, both found jobs in Philadelphia when Mr. Romero went to work at a window factory, while Rojas worked as a tailor.

After the couple tried to sell merchandise at the Tacony Palmyra Flea Market, Mr. Romero rented a stand to sell fruits at the corner of South Ninth Street and Washington Avenue in May 2005. Working throughout rain and snow, their business prospered and the next year, the couple moved to South Philly and opened a fruit and vegetable shop, El Pueblo, near South Ninth and Ellsworth Streets. In 2007, Mr. Romero rented the northeast corner at the intersection to open a butcher shop, Carnicería El Pueblo, where local residents could find hand-cut steak and all varieties of pork.

For the following 10 years, Mr. Romero opened an array of businesses that offered Mexican cuisine and catered to a mix of audiences: He opened a pizza shop on Ritner and South Front Streets. He opened a restaurant across from the butcher shop, where the couple offered platters on the go. They opened an ice cream shop, diagonal to the butcher shop, to offer water ice, fruit on a stick with chile or lemon, ice cream bars, and more.

Marcos Tlacopilco, 47, had a close relationship with Mr. Romero, who was the godfather of his two daughters. He saw Mr. Romero as one of his mentors, as he introduced him to the flea markets in the area and helped him network with other business owners in the city.

He praised Mr. Romero and his family for being bold and transparent about how they built their businesses, what worked out well and what did not.

“Something I personally learned from him was that you have to work together as a family and never stop innovating until you find the right spot for the business, where to meet the people’s needs,” Tlacopilco said.

Mr. Romero was described as an outgoing man who loved to make jokes and spend time with friends and family. He used to take his godchildren, nephews, and nieces to Atlantic City beaches every other weekend, and enjoyed traveling around the United States and Mexico. He loved spinach omelets in the morning and did gardening at his Lansdowne home.

In early November, he had a high fever and felt extremely tired for eight days. As he refused to seek medical attention, Mr. Romero was medicated at home for a severe headache and sharp pain in his left leg. Late at night on Nov. 13, Mr. Romero had a sharp pain on the left side of his chest. He passed during his trip in the ambulance. The medical examiner determined that Mr. Romero’s cause of death was a heart attack attributed to coronary thrombosis.

Carnicería El Pueblo and the ice cream shop Heladería El Bambino are up and running. Both businesses are being managed by his wife.

Dante Sánchez

Dec. 02, 1957 – Dec. 25, 2020

Dante Sánchez, 63, was a man of many talents, who served as a role model for many Latinos who aspired to become professionals and business entrepreneurs in Philadelphia.

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Dr. Sánchez was a physician, a never-ending learner and an advocate of Dominican culture in the region.

He migrated to New York City in 1992, after starting a career on the island as a medical doctor specializing in gynecology and obstetrics. The next year, he moved to Philadelphia, where he worked as a behavioral health counselor until he completed a master’s degree in counseling at the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico in 2004.

He completed a postgraduate certification in psychiatry with the Universidad de León in Spain, and became a certified cognitive therapist with the Beck Institute in Bala Cynwyd, among many other certificates and degrees he earned in mental health throughout his medical career.

Dr. Sánchez, who was fluent in English at his arrival to the U.S., was the founding member of many organizations, groups, and institutions that forged empowerment and a sense of community for Hispanic medical professionals in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

With Dr. Aritmedes Restituyo, he cofounded the Delaware Valley chapter for the Dominican Medical Association, which currently has a 300-member base of medical practitioners in the region. He also created the Medical Cooperative for medical professionals in the region to get guidance and financial support to obtain licensing and board certifications.

In 2006, Dr. Sánchez opened Cognitive Behavioral Services in North Philadelphia together with his wife, psychologist Deyanira Payano. As the president and CEO, he managed a staff of 36 therapists to provide therapy for psychiatric disorders and other psychological and medical conditions predominant in Hispanic and Latino communities, such as post-traumatic stress.

Dr. Sánchez also had a particular interest in fostering Dominican culture in the Delaware Valley. In 1997, he founded Casa Dominicana en Filadelfia. The local nonprofit, part of a nationwide network, supports Hispanic communities around the country and educates the public about Dominican culture.

Together with his wife, he founded the Dominican folk dance group Larimar, which performed merengue, palo and carabiné in parades and festivals around Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey until 2006. A Philadelphia Mural Arts project on the southeast corner of West Cambria and North Fifth Streets, called “Latin America: One language, multiple cultures,” features Dr. Sánchez performing with Larimar dancers.

In 2019, Dr. Sánchez was honored for his medical career and for his work in promoting Dominican culture in the U.S. He received the Hispanic Health Professionals Association of New York’s Legacy Award and was a finalist for the Oscar de la Renta Outstanding Dominican Migrant Award, given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic each year.

Dr. Sánchez, who had suffered a stroke in 2012, was a diabetic and a hemochromatosis patient. After four weeks at Jefferson University Hospital’s ICU unit in Philadelphia, Dr. Sánchez passed away from COVID-19 on Christmas.

Cognitive Behavioral Services in North Philadelphia will now be managed by his wife.

Corina Chaljub Rosa

March 10, 1951 - Dec. 29, 2020

Corina Chaljub Rosa, 69, was known as a very kind and generous woman, who dedicated her life to serving faithful and marginalized communities in Philadelphia and the Caribbean.

Born in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic, Ms. Chaljub Rosa migrated alone to the United States in 1986, when she settled in New York City. As the pillar of her family, she worked in the restaurant industry to pay for her three daughters’ immigration process. She met Yoryi Sánchez in 1987, and the family moved to Philadelphia in 1989. They opened a grocery store on North Third and Cambria Streets that same year.

In the early 1990s, Ms. Chaljub Rosa’s life changed when she became a member of the Pentecostal Church. She started volunteering at New Bethel Church of Germantown with Pastor Mario Santiago. In 1993, she became a founding member of the Roca de Vida Church, where she served until the day of her passing.

For more than 25 years, Ms. Chaljub Rosa was the captain of the church’s pro-templo foundation, where she worked on philanthropic efforts that supported the temple’s volunteer efforts. Her outreach work increased the church’s membership from 10 to 140 families. She conceived a four-month-long renovation project to improve the church’s infrastructure and organized the financial donations.

Her service went beyond the church, as she was known for organizing potlucks and collecting clothing for neighbors in need from her Kensington home near West Allegheny Avenue and North Front Street. She was a pillar to many local residents, as she also gave emotional support, guidance, and spiritual services to those who came seeking her encouragement during their most difficult times.

Gregorio Rodriguez, 37, came to Ms. Chaljub Rosa in 2017, after serving 10 years in state prison. As he found ways to get back on his feet and obtain a barber’s license, Ms. Chaljub Rosa shared her living space with him, so that he could operate a barbershop out of her home’s first floor, free of charge. Rodriguez said that she granted him a life-changing opportunity.

“I was in a halfway house for five months and she was makin’ me breakfast every morning, no dishes to wash,” he said. “She never judged me or anyone else for the life they had.”

With her support, Rodriguez saved money and pursued a career as a general contractor. Today, he owns a deli and is a real estate investor in North Philadelphia.

“When I was startin’ my first business, she was my counselor, told me who to go to,” he explained. “I try to come around, buy her some pan sobao at the Spanish bakery.”

Ms. Chaljub Rosa’s service helped many others in her homeland. Since the early 2000s, she was dedicated to transforming temples and vacant motels into shelters for children in various cities of her native Dominican Republic. She also collected items such as clothes, food, school supplies and medicine, to send to congregations on the island, to be distributed among those in need.

She was a proud Dominican, who celebrated the community’s successes in Philadelphia. She was considered by her benefactors as a servant full of sweetness, love, and dedication, who gave to others never expecting anything in return. She was a woman with a good sense of humor and an incomparable smile.

Ms. Chaljub Rosa, who was diagnosed with diabetes and high cholesterol, was admitted to Abington Hospital on Nov. 24, two days before Thanksgiving. After a month in the intensive care unit, she passed away due to viral pneumonia and other health complications caused by COVID-19.

She was known to never break down, even in the worst moments. Her family members consider her an inspiration. In addition to dedicating herself to goodwill, she loved her family, especially her five grandchildren: Brianny, Edwin, Anny, Aiden, and Yahil.

Maritza Hernández

May 26, 1976 — Jan. 13, 2021

Maritza Hernández, 44, was a passionate, feisty educator. Born in Philadelphia to Puerto Rican parents, Hernández worked for the Philadelphia School District for more than a decade.

Ms. Hernández began teaching Spanish in 2007 at Maritime Academy Charter High School and moved on to elementary education at Antonia Pantoja Charter School in 2008. After she earned three master’s degrees in education, leadership, and administration, she became dean of students and vice principal at Memphis Street Academy in 2012, and then the principal at Julia De Burgos Elementary School in 2014.

As a principal, she was devoted to students and teachers alike. In 2018, she encouraged her middle school teachers in math, science, and social studies to visit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, in an educational trip that would provide them with a historical perspective on the children’s migration path or their parents’ origins in the Caribbean.

Jenna Chavis, 38, worked with Ms. Hernández for over five years as a fifth-grade teacher at Julia de Burgos School. She said the principal dedicated as much energy to her students and faculty as she did to fighting kidney cancer for over a decade.

“She made sure that the kids knew that they were cared for and that they got what they needed during the time she was battling cancer, and she never complained,” Chavis said.

Ms. Hernández took pride in helping her students and their families strive for greatness, regardless of their circumstances. She enjoyed dancing and singing with family and friends in Florida and in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.

She lived in the Northeast, and built her professional career in education while battling the disease. She was admitted to Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and died of kidney cancer.

In late January, the Historic Fair Hill Association honored Ms. Hernández with a gathering in front of Julia de Burgos Elementary School, to share memories and reflect on her legacy.

Hilda Sorell

Oct. 29, 1946 – Jan. 20, 2021

Hilda Iris Santana Melecio, better known as Hilda Sorell, 74, devoted her life to education and civic engagement in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Born in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, and raised in New York City, she began her career as an early childhood teacher in New York City public schools in 1969. Over the next 20 years, the Hunter College graduate worked as a school administrator in bilingual and special education, and as a vice principal.

After an 18-year marriage and raising a son with George Sorell, she divorced in 1986. She moved to Camden in 1990, after she married José E. Delgado, a former long-serving member of the Camden Board of Education, that same year.

Ms. Sorell joined the Philadelphia School District in 1991, where she worked as a Spanish-bilingual teacher, early childhood intervention specialist and, later, when she returned to the district, as an elementary principal until her retirement in 2006. Her career took on a broader scope in Pennsylvania when she worked as the director of bilingual education for the Reading School District from 1997 to 2000.

She was known as a talented teacher, able administrator, and worthy role model, especially to the many teachers she mentored.

Ms. Sorell was also a great cook. She loved to dance, watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, do crossword puzzles, attend jazz concerts, and read mystery novels. She lived in Camden for 30 years, where she shared her expertise with local school administrators.

Simultaneously to her professional career, Ms. Sorell was a fierce advocate for equality and social justice. She served on the board of the Berks County United Way, advocated for accurate Hispanic accounting in the 2000 Census, and proudly joined in organizing Camden’s Puerto Rican parades and celebrations.

Ms. Sorell championed projects for voter registration and student empowerment, and was a leader in Puerto Rican and Latino groups. Even in retirement, she stayed connected to her Camden community.

She worked for more than 10 years as a member of the board of directors of the Puerto Rican Unity for Progress, providing critical services to low-income residents in Camden County, especially in the Hispanic communities. Ms. Sorell, a diabetic, was actively supporting during the pandemic the organization’s volunteer efforts distributing food and coats before she was hospitalized.

After 15 days of treatment for viral pneumonia and related health conditions, Ms. Sorell passed away due to COVID-19 at Cooper University Hospital.

Rick Camacho, 56, the executive director for Puerto Rican Unity for Progress, said he doesn’t expect to find another person like Ms. Sorell, whom he considered his right hand at the nonprofit. He said she was the most active and supportive board member, who was a mother figure for the entire staff.