GOING INTO BUSINESS

Danbury CT has almost all the downtown storefronts filled with new businesses. Latino entrepreneurs have brought the down town back to life. DP

Latino entrepreneurs changing region's commercial landscape
By Robert Gold and Mark Langlois, THE NEWS-TIMES

THE NEWS-TIMES : When the federal Small Business Administration decided to hold a class for prospective Latino entrepreneurs in Danbury, about 70 people showed up for the first class in March.

The following week 110 people showed up.

And the sessions have been crowded since then.

The interest comes as little surprise to anyone. As Latinos rally across the United States today and boycott workplaces and schools on Monday, one of the messages they are sending out is that they have become key cogs in the U.S. economy.

As evidence, they point to Danbury's Main Street and its side roads, which are lined with businesses owned by people from Central and South America.

There's BEM Bonita, a shop hawking South American fashions. A few doors down, there's The Mirante Center, an insurance and mortgage company catering to Brazilian and Spanish-speaking customers. Travel agencies line the street, hawking trips to South America.

Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.