When one sees Jimmy Sanz walking hastily along West 4th Street in New York City, one wonders where this retired-aged man is running off to in his tweed suit and perfectly combed white hair.
At 75, Sanz is founder and owner of six NYC restaurants – Tio Pepe, Las Ramblas, The Taco Shop, Burrito Loco, Da Rosina and Casa Pepe – the first four of which are neighbors on West 4th Street. He considers the West Village his home now for the past 55 years. That wasn’t always the case though.
As a girl growing up in San Bernadino, California, Kathy DÃaz, says she wasn’t one of those kids who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. Instead, she says, too many subjects interested her and she had trouble focusing on just one.
After majoring in Latin American studies at UCLA, she says she “stumbled into†journalism. She spent most of her career as an editor for national publications, including Hispanic and Mexico Events and Destinations magazines. Today, now 61, DÃaz has been co-hosting a salsa radio show in Los Angeles, every Saturday since 1986, and recently, she co-authored her first cookbook called Sabores Yucatecos: A Culinary Tour of the Yucatan.
Ed Nicholson is a retired U.S. Navy captain, based in Port Tobacco, Maryland – 34 miles from the U.S. Capitol. The patriotic veteran spent three decades of his life serving his country. Not only did he survive the Vietnam War, but prostate cancer as well.
After meeting many wounded soldiers while fighting cancer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the born survivor decided to dedicate his time to helping other veterans recover from their physical and emotional wounds.
Nancy Goldberg is 78, and she says she feels in better shape now than she did at 50.
What is her secret?
Working outdoors and teaching kids, says the owner and director of Belvoir Terrace – a sports and performing arts summer camp for girls in Lenox, Massachusetts. She also runs or swims, for 30 minutes, six days a week, and follows a vegan diet.
Oscar Hernandez says he isn’t conscious of when he first knew he wanted to be a musician – it just happened. What he does recall, however, is hearing salsa from as young as he can remember.
“In the ‘70’s, in the South Bronx, you heard music coming from every other window and door,†he says – mentioning the sounds and voices of Machito, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Tito Rodriguez, and Eddie Palmieri – which enveloped him since youth. “It was very much the part of the Latino culture that was developing in the city of New York.â€