Voices of a Highway

Growing up as an immigrant on Buford Highway, Dr. Nova Mead found belonging through art. Now, as Fine Arts Department Chair at Cross Keys High School, she has returned to the same community to help the next generation discover the value of their own stories. Together, we explore identity, resilience, education, and the power of being seen.

In our latest episode of Voices of a Highway, Vasti Pichardo, property manager for Atlanta’s Chinatown, a historical part of the Buford Highway corridor, shares what it looks like to lead with people first. What was once a quiet, underutilized space is now evolving into something much deeper, a place where small businesses are finding their footing, families are gathering, and cultures are intersecting in everyday ways.

Rooted in her experience as the daughter of Dominican immigrants, Vasti brings a perspective that challenges traditional models of development. Her approach is not driven solely by occupancy or revenue, but by belonging, visibility, and long-term sustainability for the communities that call this corridor home.

This conversation reminds us that spaces do not become meaningful by accident. They become meaningful when they are shaped with intention, trust, and a commitment to the people within them.

David came to the U.S. from Thailand in 2004 to pursue graduate school. What he found along Buford Highway — access to familiar ingredients, vibrant food culture, and a sense of belonging — quietly shaped what would come next.

In this episode, David reflects on immigrating from Thailand, falling in love with Buford Highway’s food corridor, and using flavor as a way to connect people across cultures. From mango sticky rice ice cream to seasonal creations inspired by cuisines around the world, his story is a reminder that food can carry us home — even when that home spans continents.

Carlo Gan, Kamayan ATL

When Carlo and his wife Mia opened Kamayan ATL, they weren’t just bringing Filipino food to Atlanta. They were creating a space where culture, memory, and community could gather around one table.

In this episode of Voices of a Highway, Carlo shares how a craving for home-cooked meals grew into a Michelin-recognized restaurant. From hosting family-style feasts to providing meals for local nonprofits, Kamayan’s story embodies what Buford Highway is all about: resilience, generosity, and the power of food to make people feel at home — no matter where they come from.

“Food is our medium to educate people. We’re not just chef-owners of a restaurant. We are advocates.”

Through the partnership of We Love Buford Highway and Open Table Community, Voices of a Highway returns to celebrate the people who make Atlanta’s most diverse corridor feel like home. Buford Highway is a community shaped by migration, resilience, and belonging. This series amplifies the everyday stories of neighbors, small business owners, and community leaders whose voices reflect the beauty, the struggle, and the complexity of immigrant life in the South.

At a time when these communities continue to face pressure to assimilate or disappear, Voices of a Highway offers something different: a reminder that these stories aren’t on the margins of our city’s story, but the heartbeat of it.

In this first episode of revitalized Voices of a Highway series, we sit down with Josh Owh, co-founder of Postern Coffee in Doraville, Georgia.

What begins as a conversation about coffee unfolds into a reflection on creativity, calling, and community. Josh shares how his journey—from math major to music ministry to entrepreneur—has been shaped by both his Korean American heritage and the layered culture of Buford Highway.

Through stories of family, risk, and resilience, Josh explores what it means to build something lasting: a space that honors where you come from while pushing the culture forward.

“Our goal is to honor culture and push the future.”

This episode was produced in partnership with We Love Buford Highway and Open Table Community as part of the newly relaunched Voices of a Highway podcast—spotlighting the lived experiences, wisdom, and resilience of Buford Highway’s immigrant and refugee communities.

In this episode we hear Delia Mendez-Valdez, We Love Buford Highway’s Program and Communications Coordinator. She shares her dreams and hopes for Buford Highway’s future, especially through the lens of her upbringing along the corridor. We hope you enjoy this final episode of the series Identities and Belonging. Thank you for listening to our stories this 2023. See you in 2024!

Delia grew up along Buford Highway and she became a passionate advocate for community engagement. Starting as a youth program leader, she evolved into a community outreach coordinator, organizing health fairs and providing crucial health education and services to the local Hispanic and Latino population.

In this episode we bring back Jonathan Peraza, who has been a guest in this podcast before! Jonathan discusses his dreams for Buford Highway and how this vision is centered around building spaces that we don’t have yet. It is not only about questioning and advocating for institutions to be equitable and just, it’s also about going beyond and outside of these structures to build something new, powerful, and unapologetically OURS.

Jonathan reminds us that it is good to be critical about the world but we also need to remind ourselves what is beautiful about us, what we should be proud of, what power and beauty already exists in our communities and start there.

Jonathan Peraza Campos (he/him/él) is a Central American educator and organizer with the Buford Highway People's Hub. He has taught Latinx studies and political education classes for years to youth and adults on Buford Highway and beyond in schools, in movement spaces, and with nonprofit organizations. He supports teachers who want to incorporate Latinx and Central American studies across U.S. classrooms as the program specialist for Teaching Central America at Teaching for Change and an educational consultant.

In this episode Victoria García shares her stories about belonging on Buford Highway through the artistic medium she practices, photography. As a designer, visual artist, and community lover living along Buford Highway, Victoria shares her experiences discovering and deconstructing what art can mean, do, and foster for a community like this one.

You can find Victoria on Instagram

@vlgarcia_

@highwayinmigrante

and find her work by going to vlgarcia.com

In this episode you will hear the voices of Natalia Garzón Martínez, Victoria García, Jonathan Peraza-Campos, and Delia Mendez. They come together to discuss the contradictions that exist with the term "Latinidad" and the importance of nuancing terms to include historically silenced and marginalized voices. When does fitting in become assimilation? How can we break the box instead of trying to fit into it? Listen to this episode to hear organizers and creatives discuss what it means to step into your own autonomy, create collective consciousness, and build power that centers both preservation and change.

Victoria Garcia

Victoria García is a Chicana visual artist and designer from Doraville, Georgia. She got her BFA in Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Atlanta and has been working in the creative industry for the last decade. Her upbringing in Atlanta’s "International Village", or Buford Highway, has led her to focus on the intersection of art and activism as it pertains to immigration policy, diasporas, and gentrification.

Jonathan Peraza

Jonathan Peraza Campos (he/him/él) is a Central American educator and organizer with the Buford Highway People's Hub. He has taught Latinx studies and political education classes for years to youth and adults on Buford Highway and beyond in schools, in movement spaces, and with nonprofit organizations. He supports teachers who want to incorporate Latinx and Central American studies across U.S. classrooms as the program specialist for Teaching Central America at Teaching for Change and an educational consultant.

Delia Mendez-Valdez

Delia Mendez-Valdez currently serves as We Love Buford Highway’s Program and Communications Coordinator. As she grew up along Buford Highway, she became a passionate advocate for community engagement. Starting as a youth program leader, she evolved into a community outreach coordinator, organizing health fairs and providing crucial health education and services to the local Hispanic and Latino population.

En este episodio Lorena Castro comparte sus experiencias con la superación personal y la salud mental. Además, comparte su visión para las personas y comunidades que viven en el corredor Buford.