Alondra Gonzalez Carrillo is the dedicated Bilingual Communication Specialist of Commerce City and editor of the monthly newsletter Commerce City Connected. The Colorado native who went to Overland High School in Aurora now lives in Commerce City.
Her passion for community engagement and her unique role bridged the gap between the city government and its diverse residents, ensuring that everyone has a voice and access to vital resources.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
🎙️La Ciudad: Did you know that your name Alondra, which means “skylark” in English, is a bird that flies high while singing?
Alondra Gonzalez Carrillo: Yes, actually, my mom has told me the story only once. Alondra is the name of a bird. She once heard the name in a telenovela, but then she did some research and decided that when she had a daughter, she would name me Alondra. She knew that Alondra was the name of a bird and she wanted me to fly as high as my little wings could take me.
So it’s always been a very sweet message, and I feel that my mom has always seen the potential I have as a Latina and has always given me that support.
🎙️La Ciudad: What is the percentage of Latinos in the city? How did you, at such a young age, come to hold the position of bilingual communications specialist in Commerce City?
Carrillo: Commerce City has a population where almost 50% are Latinos living here. So the city recognizes that it’s important to ensure that Latinos are part of the community. They need to know about the resources and events so that there is no division and they feel part of the community, regardless of the language they speak.
Regarding my position, people from Cultivando, a nonprofit organization, mentioned that one of their suggestions to the Latino Engagement Committee was to have a bilingual communications specialist.
I graduated from Drake University in Iowa, although I grew up here in Colorado. I went there simply for the opportunity to study public relations. When I returned, I knew I wanted to continue in communications and public relations, to be able to communicate whatever message needed to be conveyed to the appropriate audience.
This is my first job out of university. I started this job at 21. I graduated in May and started in July, so there wasn’t much of a break from the beginning. At 21, I began working, and this July will mark three years that I have been here working in Commerce City.
Over the last three years, I have definitely seen the importance and the focus that the city places on communicating in a bilingual and inclusive manner, ensuring that everyone in the community, especially Latinos … has a place.
🎙️La Ciudad: What does your job entail?
Carrillo: Years ago, this was the communications division, but as the city started to see what resources they offered to citizens, they changed the name to community relations.
Within my division, there are three communications specialists, all of us women, and we divide all the departments and divisions of the city among us. I am the only bilingual one because it is a requirement for my position, even though we are all communications specialists.
I am specifically a bilingual communications specialist; so regardless of whether I stay or leave the city, my replacement will have to be bilingual. It’s a standard set for my position. Among the three specialists, we divide all the divisions and departments of the city so that everyone has a portion.
For example, I handle the human resources department, community development, economic development, boards and commissions. The point is that all these divisions and departments come to me with their communications needs, whether it’s an event, a resource or a new program. My job is to help promote all these programs or events so that the community and residents are aware. My job is to ensure the community knows about all the resources the city offers.
Additionally, I am the editor of the city’s newspaper. I work with my team, and the other specialists, and decide what will happen each month. Although they give me the topics and occasionally write the first draft, I am the one who reviews and finalizes everything.
I also work with Cultivando on the Latino Engagement Committee, where Cultivando finds people in our community who want to learn more about the city. When they have this group, I serve as the bridge between this group and the city in terms of resources. Over eight months, I meet with these women, and we learn more about the city, the community and the available resources. They receive this information and share it with their community.
This is a very specific part of my job that I am very proud of. Working directly with the people in the community, especially the Latino community, and seeing their faces when someone speaks to them in their language is very fulfilling. I often see them as I see my mom. Although my mom now speaks English, it’s always been a source of pride to be a resource for people in my community, knowing that many of my family members didn’t have this opportunity in the past. So I take great pride in that.
🎙️La Ciudad: What is the main difference between the work you do to inform, promote and advertise city government resources and events for the community and the journalistic work of our newsletter, La Ciudad, where we cover community voices and provide balanced and relevant information?
Carrillo: The city’s newspaper has been distributed and offered to the community for years, much before I joined the city. It has always been how to inform residents about the city’s activities.
Due to the guidelines and rules we have for producing the city’s newspaper, we can only include resources coming from Commerce City. Since the funding comes from the city, and it’s sent to all houses in Commerce City at no extra cost, people don’t have to opt in or opt out; they receive the newspaper just by being residents.
Our newspaper doesn’t provide an opportunity for nonprofits or individuals to share their stories. There are not many articles about what is happening in the community. Instead, it reflects and captures all the events and resources from the city, which are free and available to all residents.
In contrast, the newspaper you work on creates and provides another opportunity to focus more on the community, its challenges, opportunities and stories, while the Commerce City newspaper is specific to city-provided resources and events.
🎙️La Ciudad: We recognize and appreciate the resource you offer because it has helped us understand the governmental structure and which resources are useful and necessary for our community. Everything is well thought out.
What would be your most important recommendation, not only to a media outlet like ours, but to any other media that wants to cover the vibrant community of Commerce City inclusively and respectfully?
Carrillo: Because I can communicate bilingually, I am very grateful that my parents prioritized raising me bilingual. This has given me the opportunity I have today to speak to the entire community in both English and Spanish.
I would say it’s important to empower Latinos, recognize that they are part of this community, that they have a voice and the ability to both demand and acknowledge all the available resources.
I always tell the Latino Engagement Committee that there are several opportunities within the city to give their opinions. The City Council meets every Monday, with the first and second Monday of each month being a public meeting open to all, and the second and fourth Monday being a study session, which is a bit more private but still open to the public.
These meetings are an opportunity for residents to come and tell the City Council their complaints, concerns and even gratitude. If there is something the city is doing well, (or you have) a complaint or a suggestion, these council meetings provide an opportunity for residents to speak directly to the City Council, which has the authority to direct other employees on what to prioritize. In a way, residents are the bosses of the City Council because they have the power to say what they want to see and what they don;t like.
So they have this power and should recognize that they have power in their voices. They should speak up when there is a problem and also acknowledge when something is going well.
🎙️La Ciudad: Where can people find you and communicate with you, both physically and virtually?
Carrillo: My information is always in the newspaper that reaches all homes in the city. My email is agonzalezcarrillo@c3gov.com.
The people at Cultivando always know how to contact me. As I mentioned, just as I am a bridge for them to the city, they are also a bridge to reach me.
In this way, the community is united, and we all try to support each other with a common goal to help unite the Latino community and all residents of Commerce City.
I work at the Civic Center almost every day of the week, but mostly on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
And yes, I am available for all city residents to answer any questions or concerns they may have. Everyone is welcome.