Juntos Somos Más Fuertes
By Lisa Manzanete (’25)
Published in the spring 2024 ALUMNI JOURNAL
Latinidad is a Loma Linda School of Medicine student-run organization focused on fostering opportunities for students to develop cultural competency and practice medical Spanish. More than half of San Bernardino County is Hispanic, yet it’s all too easyfor medical students to remain within the Loma Linda bubble, disconnected from the broader community.
Latinidad was founded on the belief that the best way to learn whole person care is by engaging with and learning from the community we aim to serve. Since its founding two years ago, Latinidad has continued to grow, from a handful of second-year medical students at a Christmas party to encompass a range of programs. Our first endeavor was creating “Hablemos,” a monthly medical Spanish workshop taught by Spanish-speaking physicians that sees attendance upwards of 30 to 40 students.
We also host bi-yearly cultural celebrations and a quarterly event called “Hablemos Afuera,” an opportunity to eat delicious food, support local Latino businesses, and catch up with friends while speaking Spanish. We’ve also expanded to providing cultural competency workshops and collaborating with community health workers to support the work they do to care for the community.
Our motto, “juntos somos más fuertes,” we’re stronger together, reflects our conviction that our lives are enriched by being part of our surrounding community rather than existing in isolation from the patients we serve.
Lisa Manzanete (’25), founding member of Latinidad, is an MPH/MD student with a passion for reducing language barriers associated with poor health outcomes and health inequities. Her goal is internal medicine and then to work as a hospitalist.