Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off September 15 and the Salem region is ready to celebrate. Whether you plan on watching the Aztec dancing in Woodburn’s Downtown Plaza, catching a live band at the ¡Viva Salem! Todos Unidos festival, or chilling out with a tequila cocktail and gaucho-style steak, look for these local Latin luminaries who are inspiring their community.

After migrating to Oregon from Michoacán, Mexico, in the 1990’s, Froylan Ochoa and his family weren’t able to find authentic Mexican cheese anywhere — so they made their own. Salem’s Don Froylan Creamery was born in the family’s home kitchen with 10 gallons of milk a day. Froylan’s teenage son, Francisco, started selling his father’s traditional queso fresco door to door — and it was a hit.

Today, Francisco is at the helm of his family’s business and the creamery uses 8,000 gallons of milk from a local dairy to produce 8000 pounds of Oaxacan, asadero, and cotija cheeses, along with Crema Mexicana, each day. Even with this huge bump in production, a new onsite quesadilla bar, and a lineup of recent awards from the American Cheese Society, Francisco says his company is still rooted in simple traditions.

“Back on the farm in Mexico, anyone can make their own cheese,” Francisco says. “You milk the cow, you wait for it to turn into curds and then you cut it. This is how we make our cheese at the creamery every day. We get the milk, we pasteurize it, and it’s hand-cut and hand-stretched. You can watch the cheese being stretched, behind the glass.”

Francisco says that his cheese-making is still very much a family affair. “My mom helps make the chorizo for the quesadilla bar and two of my sisters have worked here for 12 years,” he says. “Even my employees are like family. My father has passed, but I know he’s looking down and helping us. I know he’s proud.”

Visit Salem’s Don Froylan Creamery to stock up on Mexican cheeses and grab a fresh quesadilla topped with homemade salsas.

Jason Greenwood is a master of global flavors. “My family has lived in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Italy,” Jason says. “When my wife and I moved to Independence in 2010, we saw an opportunity to introduce our diverse range of Latino flavors to the community."

Jason started distilling at home for fun in 2017, but when his spirits started winning awards, he and his wife founded Divine Distillers and made it their full-time job. Today, the distillery specializes in artisanal brandy, whiskey, seasonal amaro infused with herbs from the distillery’s own gardens and, of course — rum and tequila agave.

“We weren’t going to open the distillery without tequila and rum,” Jason says. “Ask any Latino that isn’t from Mexico, and rum is where you’re from.”

In addition to his family’s Latino roots, community and sustainability are driving forces behind Jason’s efforts. He sources the cherries, pears and other fruit for his brandy from local producers. When it comes to the agave for his tequila, Jason uses only heirloom agave from Mexico, which supports the natural ecosystem.

Jason and his wife have also recently opened The Inferno around the corner from Divine Distillers, which serves gaucho-style Argentinian meats cooked over an open flame, along with Divine-infused cocktails.

Jason’s heritage is evident in his spirits — and spirit – so, what’s next? “My goal is to produce an authentic Brazilian cachaça (distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice) and add it to our menu.”

Come hungry to The Inferno in Independence and enjoy a smoked pulled-pork sandwich washed down with a Divine cocktail or cider.

Manuel Villanueva arrived in Woodburn from Guanajuato, Mexico, about 25 years ago. He was eager to find a new community in Oregon, and he dove into picking blueberries and strawberries and started to establish roots. But he really wanted to establish his own business.

“I would go to Mexico to visit family and buy cowboy boots and leather jackets, and I’d come back to Oregon and sell them to my friends,” Villanueva says. “My friends started to ask me for more things, so I looked for places where I could buy these items in the United States.”

Villanueva found the goods he was looking for in places like Texas and Los Angeles, and after a couple years of selling to friends, he opened his own clothing boutique. Today, El Forastero is a western-clothing beacon located right on Woodburn’s Front Street and with aisles of cowboy boots and hats, belt buckles, ranch bows, embroidered campesina dresses and boot spurs.

The Front Street location literally puts Villanueva in the center of his community, and he enjoys meeting people who shop in his store. He says many of his new customers discover El Forastero on weekends, when they’re hitting up Woodburn’s buzzy taco shops.

“I have locals looking for clothes for Mexican rodeos and I have tourists who are walking by and like my cowboy hats in the window,” he says. “I think everybody looks good in my clothes."

Saddle up at downtown Woodburn’s El Forastero and score cool western wear that you simply can’t live without.

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