THE IMMIGRANT WHO BROKE EVERY BARRIER AND
From the 9-year-old boy who arrived alone in El Paso, Texas… to the Latino spirit that inspires, transforms, and rebuilds lives across the Americas.
THE 9-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO TRAVELED ALONE…
BECAME THE MAN WHO LIFTS WHOLE COMMUNITIES
The true story of a man whose impact transcends borders, labels, and political cycles.
By Carlos Mamián
When Cecilia Maya packed her nine-year-old son’s suitcase to send him to the United States, her hands trembled, and her faith had to carry them both. Inside she placed two objects Diego still keeps at 57 years old: a wooden cross and a handmade chess set. They were not souvenirs they were a moral compass for the boy about to cross into an unknown world.
The boy who learned to live in every culture Diego grew up between two worlds: the academic discipline of Cali and the human formation of a hundred-acre farm near the equator, where he lived among Indigenous families in traditional dress. He learned words in Quechua and understood early that diversity is not studied it is lived.
That inner world guided him when he arrived in El Paso, Texas, under the care of an uncle stationed at Fort Bliss.
El Paso was a shock: desert heat, military discipline, and a foreign language. But Diego adapted. He crossed into Ciudad Juárez to play soccer, learn new expressions, and discover new flavors. At Fort Bliss he saw snow for the first time and learned that even the harshest places hold beauty.
Then came constant movement: thirteen schools, more military bases, temporary homes, six months in Hanau, Germany, and finally Princeton, New Jersey. More than studying, he learned to rebuild himself every time life changed his address.
Adulthood and redemption
At twenty he became a father, and a difficult experience one he describes with discretion pushed him into a transformative chapter where he taught himself discipline and purpose. That is where true adulthood began, and where the ethics and mission that would define his life were born.
Sigue la Historia Completa Escanea el código para leer la versión extendida en ISSUU.
He chose to serve. He worked with youth who had committed serious offenses, convinced that timely intervention can change an entire life. He studied at night, worked during the day, and graduated with honors from Rider University.
He then entered the pharmaceutical industry, developing leadership and professional rigor yet his call to serve the community kept growing.
The communicator before the digital age
In the early 2000s, he created the first Spanish Yellow Pages in New Jersey 225,000 printed copies mapping the entire Garden State and organizing essential information for Latino families long before Google existed in their lives.
Without knowing it, that work prepared him for the communicator he would later become. As the digital era arrived, he naturally transitioned into cameras, editing, and social media.
Colombia: returning to the origin
Between 2008 and 2018, he lived in Colombia so his son Nicolás could know his heritage and to be close to his mother.
That return led him to Tierradentro—UNESCO World Heritage Site 743— where he produced content to preserve that extraordinary place.
During that journey, he met Gillette Griffith, the last living friend of Albert Einstein, who taught him about the cultural continuity of South American ceramics. That collection now rests in the Princeton University Museum—closing a circle between origin and destiny.
The pandemic: the rise of the modern community leader
When the world shut down, Diego moved forward.
With his own equipment and no government support, he began broadcasting New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s daily COVID-19 briefings in Spanish. His transmissions reached 1.8 million people, becoming a lifeline for families who had never before received official information in their language.
At the same time, he coordinated the distribution of 370,000 pounds of food across Philadelphia, Camden, Newark, Trenton, Harrison, and Lakewood.
He sent toys to Ecuador, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic; delivered medical supplies to Haiti and Central America; and provided 700 computers to youth in Honduras and Guatemala.
He became the first Latino to broadcast and interpret Newark’s State of the City Address—under Mayor Ras Baraka— and then Trenton’s—under Mayor Reed Gusciora. He also began streaming school board meetings in Spanish, allowing thousands of parents to understand critical decisions about their children’s education.
The architect of future initiatives
From his work emerged the projects that today uplift communities across and beyond the United States
• USLAI, an organization projecting empowerment and community support.
• The Latino Spirit, digital platforms built for empowerment.
• Top Latinos, where Latino stories shine.
• The Latino Index, a Spanish-language digital resource hub.
• Hope for Girls, supporting vulnerable girls across Latin America.
• Redemption Heroes, Hope, service and redemption.
• Toys for a Smile, international toy distribution.
• Diverse Voices Link, a multilingual network for governments and schools.
• Hablamos Tecnología, eaching coding across Latin America.
• NJ en Vivo, official news translated daily.
A closing that opens paths
Diego has received awards across New Jersey. He rarely attends. He prefers work over ceremony, service over applause. His impact does not come from an office, but from a life that crossed continents and cultures to lift others.
The cross and the chess set his mother packed remain with him. The 9-year-old boy never disappeared. He simply changed the scale.
Today he moves communities. Tomorrow, perhaps he will move nations.
PROGRAMA DE SANAMEANTO Y REDUCCIÓN DEL
El plomo no se ve... pero destruye vidas. ¡Elimínalo ya!
¡PELIGRO PARA TUS HIJOS!
Daño cerebral, Problemas de Aprendizaje, Retraso en el Desarrollo.
ESCANEA AQUÍ
Escanea para ver la versión digital con números para llamar.
Scan the code to view the digital version with contact numbers.
“LA VIDA SIN PLOMO EMPIEZA AQUÍ
