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LA ESQUINITA
NC
Inspired by La Esquina—
where stories are shared, opportunities are passed along,
and community comes together.
QUÉDATE
UN RATITO.
VOL. 01 • FALL 2026
MADE IN NORTH CAROLINA
CREATED BY STARLYNN MENDEZ
DIGITAL ZINE • SPANGLISH • HECHO EN NORTH CAROLINA
Documenting Latino life in North Carolina, preserving our stories, and sharing opportunities for our gente.
Our Mission
La Esquinita is a digital platform designed to connect people with resources, stories, and opportunities that helps the community grow. Our goal is to bring together educational pathways, career connections, local businesses, community organizations, and stories of people creating change.
La Esquinita exists to honor the way our communities have always shared knowledge. Because access to opportunity should not be dependent on who you know--- it should grow from the communities we build together.
Joy
We celebrate joy, creativity, and connection as essential parts of community life and collective healing.
Culture
We honor the traditions, languages, histories, and experiences that shape our identities and strengthen our community.
Storytelling
We uplift the stories, memories, and voices of our community as a way to preserve our history and imagine our future.
Community
We believe in the power of coming together, building relationships, and creating spaces where people feel connected and supported.
Our Values
Resistance
We recognize the resilience, courage, and collective action of communities who have fought to create pathways for belonging, justice, and opportunity.
Community
We believe in the power of coming together, building relationships, and creating spaces where people feel connected and supported.
Storytelling
We uplift the stories, memories, and voices of our community as a way to preserve our history and imagine our future.
Resistance
We recognize the resilience, courage, and collective action of communities who have fought to create pathways for belonging, justice, and opportunity.
Culture
We honor the traditions, languages, histories, and experiences that shape our identities and strengthen our community.
Joy
We celebrate joy, creativity, and connection as essential parts of community life and collective healing.
Yvette is La Esquinita NC’s Community Media & Engagement Coordinator. Born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC, with roots in La Costa Chica de Guerrero, Mexico, she is the youngest daughters of six siblings and the first in her immigrant family to pursue higher education and earn a college degree with honors.Raised by a single mother who taught her the value of una educación, Yvette’s experiences shaped her commitment to community, access, and creating opportunities for others. At La Esquinita, she helps connect Latino students and families across North Carolina with resources, organizations, and stories that remind them of what is possible.
Yvette Muñoz-Sandoval
Community Media & Engagement
coordinator
El corazón de La Esquinita NC
Starlynn Méndez Ed.M
Starlynn is a North Carolina-raised educator and policy advocate whose work is rooted in expanding access and opportunity for students and families. The daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, her journey has taken her from teaching middle school to earning her Master of Education from Harvard and working in education policy. She returned home with the hope of helping shape education in North Carolina and ensuring communities like the one that raised her have a voice in the decisions that affect them.
She created La Esquinita NC as the resource she wishes she had growing up—a place to share opportunities, celebrate our stories, and make navigating education a little easier for nuestra comunidad.
Founder & Editor
Starlynn is a North Carolina-raised educator and policy advocate whose work is rooted in expanding access and opportunity for students and families. The daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, her journey has taken her from teaching middle school to earning her Master of Education from Harvard and working in education policy. She returned home with the hope of helping shape education in North Carolina and ensuring communities like the one that raised her have a voice in the decisions that affect them.
She created La Esquinita NC as the resource she wishes she had growing up—a place to share opportunities, celebrate our stories, and make navigating education a little easier for nuestra comunidad.
Diana is the Digital Experience and Strategy Coordinator of La Esquinita NC. She was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC; her family originated from Guerrero, Mexico. As a first-generation graduate, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in new media and a minor in creative writing from the University of North Carolina Asheville.
Growing up, she learned the importance of coming together as a community and helping others. Diana has strived to support her Latino community by sharing her knowledge and experiences to help others gain access and opportunities so that they can thrive and reach new heights. This is her way of giving back to the community that has supported her and watched her grow.
Digital Experience and Strategy Coordinator
Diana Robles
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Meet the people bringing this little corner of the internet to life
Yvette Muñoz-Sandoval
Yvette is La Esquinita NC’s Community Media & Engagement coordinator. Born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC, with roots in La Costa Chica de Guerrero, Mexico, she is the youngest daughters of six siblings and the first in her immigrant family to pursue higher education and earn a college degree with honors.Raised by a single mother who taught her the value of una educación, Yvette’s experiences shaped her commitment to community, access, and creating opportunities for others. At La Esquinita, she helps connect Latino students and families across North Carolina with resources, organizations, and stories that remind them of what is possible.
Community Media & Engagement coordinator
Digital Experience and Strategy Coordinator
Diana Robles
Diana is the Digital Experience and Strategy Coordinator of La Esquinita NC. She was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC; her family originated from Guerrero, Mexico. As a first-generation graduate, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in new media and a minor in creative writing from the University of North Carolina Asheville.
Growing up, she learned the importance of coming together as a community and helping others. Diana has strived to support her Latino community by sharing her knowledge and experiences to help others gain access and opportunities so that they can thrive and reach new heights. This is her way of giving back to the community that has supported her and watched her grow.
Artist
Alejandro Romero
Alejandro Romero is the artist and creative mind behind La Esquinita’s artwork. He grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after moving to the United States at age 12. Learning English while finding his place in a new environment was one of his biggest challenges. With perseverance and a little stubbornness, he became the first in his family to attend college, earning two bachelor’s degrees.
Since 2016, community service has been an important part of Alejandro’s life. Whether creating chalk art for a community event or volunteering at a local food drive, he finds meaningful ways to give back. His commitment is rooted in a simple belief: put kindness into the world and pay it forward.
Alejandro Romero is the artist and creative mind behind La Esquinita’s artwork. He grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after moving to the United States at age 12. Learning English while finding his place in a new environment was one of his biggest challenges. With perseverance and a little stubbornness, he became the first in his family to attend college, earning two bachelor’s degrees.
Since 2016, community service has been an important part of Alejandro’s life. Whether creating chalk art for a community event or volunteering at a local food drive, he finds meaningful ways to give back. His commitment is rooted in a simple belief: put kindness into the world and pay it forward.
Alejando Romero
Artist