Guns For Scholarships: Latinx Nation's Executive Producer Aims To Reduce Gun Violence In Jane And Finch
Written by Annabel Oromoni
Photography by Johanna Hernandez
Due to the alarming increases of gun violence in Toronto and a lack of Hispanic representation in the Canadian film and TV industry, Executive Producer Oswaldo Quiroz uses his media production company, LatinX Nation, to change the narrative in his community.
Quiroz started LatinX Nation in 2016 because he never saw anyone that looked like him at the large broadcasting and production companies he worked for in Toronto. After working extremely hard at honing his media skills and becoming great at his craft, he got inspired to share his skills with his community.
Watch one of the videos uploaded on the LatinX Nation youtube channel. Latin Eats Toronto visits delicious Latin restaurants in Toronto.
Born in Ecuador, Quiroz and his family moved to Canada in 1990, where they lived in the Jane and Finch area for 23 years. Like many immigrants, Quiroz said his family experienced their fair share of racial profiling due to Canada's lack of diversity in the 90s. However, the Jane and Finch community was a welcoming and affordable environment for many immigrants from different backgrounds.
"My parents definitely felt most of the discrimination and verbal abuse for not knowing the language and how the Canadian system works,” said Quiroz.
The transmedia executive producer said although Canada has changed over the years and is now recognized globally for its multiculturalism and inclusivity, the Canadian film and television industry still fails to create a more inclusive and diverse industry.
Quiroz says there is no accessibility to basic skills for understanding and working in the media industry for many Hispanic immigrants because Hispanic representation in the TV and film industry remains extremely low.
He is deeply committed to changing this lack of diversity in the Canadian media industry through his production company, LatinX Nation — a Canadian Hispanic Latin American transmedia company focused on producing pop-culture content and bringing Canadian Latinx perspectives to mainstream media.
LatinX Nation provides media training to youths living in Toronto with a Hispanic Latin American background by organizing free workshops to get hands-on training in television productions.
"They learn about television production and the basics to be on a set," Quiroz said. "Then we try to get them into internships and place them into productions happening in the city."
LatinX Nation continually strives to provide significant opportunities and life skills for Hispanic youth and other racialized communities in Toronto. In November 2020, the media company initiated its Love Thy Neighbor, Six Heart Toronto campaign to oppose gun violence in the Jane and Finch community.
The campaign is a community-driven initiative that provides post-secondary education opportunities and scholarships for youth who turn in a firearm in the Jane and Finch community.
The idea to initiate the campaign came from the alarming rate at which guns were coming into the Jane and Finch community.
"So, it's pretty much disarming firearms, and what we want to do is, for every youth that turns in a firearm, we'll give them a scholarship. We'll give them some post-secondary education opportunities."
Quiroz said, although authorities are doing a great job investigating the influx of guns in Jane and Finch, the investigation is a long process that also needs community involvement.
Confident about the remarkable talents in the Jane and Finch community, Quiroz says that providing guidance is crucial. The campaign is currently underway with ongoing discussions from the Toronto police department and post-secondary institutions.
"We're talking with Ontario colleges, Universities and the Toronto Police Department on how we could bring that to life."
Since LatinX Nation's launch in June 2016, the transmedia company has successfully organized TV production workshops and hands-on training for young Latinx folks between the ages of 16-29, creating employment opportunities in the Canadian film and TV industry.
Executive Producer, Oswaldo Quiroz. Photographer: Johanna Hernandez
"Education and knowledge are power, not just knowing but opportunities and opening doors," said Quiroz. "But if someone doesn't open the door for you, you got to build your door. As I grew in the industry, I realized our voices are necessary."
The Ecuador native is committed to guiding Hispanic teenagers in the media industry and across various career paths. He aims to empower and show them that there are possibilities in the entertainment business, not just in film and television, but also in music and post-production, gaming eSports, finances, law, and marketing.
His recent developments for LatinX Nation gears towards future economic developments within the Hispanic community, and Canada's 2021 census plays a significant role in achieving it.
Quiroz said being correctly socially classified as Hispanic and Latin Americans and getting an accurate population count from the government is significant because the census count presents an opportunity to teach the country about Canada's Hispanic population. Furthermore, the accuracy of the census would provide access to funding for projects that will strengthen the Hispanic community and help develop the talents of racialized youths in the media.
"I want to help them build doors, and I want them to build their own doors as well. I want to be their flashlight so they can see something and then run with it."
Quiroz said social programs in his community were significant to his career growth when he was an inexperienced teenager in the media industry. As a teenager, he received great insights from Colombian and Experimental Documentary Filmmaker Jorge Lozano on a programming show that sponsored artists to help youths in Toronto's racialized communities to produce artistic works and build their creative careers.
"I just think it's so important what he gave back. I'm a big believer in giving back as well. I know there's going to be so many powerhouses after me, and I'm going to be so proud that at least, I had something to do with it."
