de Jesus, Margaro.

Businessman, social benefactor; Margaro De Jesus was born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico in 1939. In 1956, he and his family moved to New York City and in 1981 he migrated to Syracuse, N.Y. to follow his wife. When he first arrived in Syracuse he worked for a commercial laundry company. He was the only Latino employee at the time. He was soon elevated to management and he worked with Sam Velazquez from the Spanish Action League to create a Latino shift at the laundry. He succeeded and by 1985, many Latinos were employed at this company.

In 1986, De Jesus opened a grocery store (Mi Familia Grocery Store) on the West side of Syracuse, where Latinos had begun to form a community. Having owned a grocery store in New York City prior to migrating to Syracuse, De Jesus had some prior business experience. The response to his grocery store was overwhelming and the store soon grew from one or two staff to seven full-time staff. De Jesus used to travel to New York City to get Latino products not readily available in Syracuse.

With his store flourishing, De Jesus took an active roll in the community and became vice president of the Spanish Action League Board of Directors. He helped form the Latino American Festival and also funded the only Latino radio station program, Nosotros, for three consecutive years. Mi Familia Grocery Store began to lose customers in 1994, but as of 2005 it still stood at 400 Seymour Street. In 2005, De Jesus owned several houses in the West Side of Syracuse and continued to serve the Latino community in that neighborhood.