Peter Hernandez moved to Canada from Chile in 1975, a year and a half after the military coup that deposed President Salvador Allende. He tells the story of his Chilean upbringing in Canada and how living in small towns at the time was so different than living in the cosmopolitan city of Toronto that we now know.

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Thanks for listening, I’m Oscar Cecena and this is Immigrants of Toronto.

Learn more about Peter Hernandez

Peter Hernandez

I was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1971. Immigrated to Toronto in January 1975 after a military coup. My father felt that it would be safer to leave Chile for few years, but we’ve stayed an entire lifetime, and Canada is home.

We arrived with only the clothes on our backs, and even that was not enough for a Canadian winter.

My father was a Professional Engineer & University Professor in Chile, and my mother was a Primary School Teacher. Upon arrival in Canada, my father worked as a taxi driver, janitor and manual labour jobs while studying English and re-doing his Professional Engineers designation. My mother became a stay-at-home mom to my two sisters and me.

Immigration & relocation became the story of my life. Even after arriving in Toronto, I continued to move throughout my life including living in: Sarnia, Deep River, Port Elgin, Kincardine, Oshawa, St Catharines, Hamilton, Oakville, back to Toronto, Mexico City, Montreal, and back to Oshawa.

Most everything in my life has an international aspect to it:

I studied Business Admin at Brock University and International Business at Sheridan CollegeI did an Internship at the US Consulate in TorontoI worked as a Flight Attendant with Air Canada after college.A 20-year career in International Business - Food exports to Mexico & Latin America.My wife, Irina, is Russian/Ukrainian. So our kids are Chilean-Canadian-Russian-Ukrainian.My community groups are international in scope, ie. Toastmasters International and Rotary International.I’ve enjoyed travelling throughout Canada, the USA, and Mexico, as well as Chile, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Grenada, Barbados, Australia, England, Germany, France, Monaco, Spain, Italy and India.

My hobbies include Public Speaking, Running, Real Estate Investing, Networking and Community Building.

Bucket list accomplishments: marathon, published children’s book, ex-pat assignment working abroad, fire walker, 4x40, met sports heroes: Pele (soccer) & Mike Bossy (hockey), met favourite Rock band KISS, overcame the fear of flying, overcame the fear of public speaking, 3rd place in a global Inspirational Speaking competition.

I’m proudest of being a good father, husband, son, & brother, and being an authentic person with authentic friendships.

Get in touch with Peter

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/peter-hernandez-c-i-t-p-a436bb13/

Facebook: facebook.com/peter.a.hernandez/

Instagram: @peter.a.hernandez

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCMUY4xXkKv6DPT1KzGHIjNg