Photo: The Tennessean, (L-R) Mike Quinones, Cristina Gonzalez and Ricardo Turk Ricky Turk was a mechanical engineer in his native Colombia, where he had a company repairing aircraft engines. The need to export parts from the U.S. allowed him to join his wife and three step-children living in Miami in the 1990s, and he later worked with the Colombian coffee industry, including the Juan Valdez brand. … Continue reading Ricky Turk & Mike Quinones: Rico Ricky Y El Gordito

Photo: The Tennessean Fabian Bedne remembers watching books burn in the 1980s on his college campus in his native Argentina. While the country was still under a dictatorship then, these weren’t the materials of the opposition… they were architecture textbooks.  That experience, however, was one of many – his own brother disappeared — that led him and others to protest, and the regime was eventually … Continue reading Councilman Fabian Bedne

Juan Reyes was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, just outside of San Juan, and found his passion as a restaurateur there in the nearby Condado community. Surrounded by friends and family on the paradise island, Reyes had built a wonderful life. But a chance visit to Nashville seven years ago changed his vision for the future. In August, a trip to see his … Continue reading Juan Reyes: Salsa