Magda with her daughter in the mid-1990s.

Magda, a lawyer, and Enrique, an accountant,
were upper-middle-class professionals in Mexico.

When their lives were threatened by organized crime, Magda and
Enrique felt they had no choice but to leave their homeland.

With no recognition of their credentials and limited English skills,
adjusting to their new lives in Toronto was no easy task.

The Latin American population of Canada grew by 40% between 2001 and 2006.

Magda and Enrique recognized an acute need for businesses tailored to
the needs and tastes of Toronto's rapidly expanding Latino community.

Just two years after arriving in Canada, Magda and Enrique
opened Tierra Azteca in 2007, and gradually transformed a dingy
convenience store into a hub for Toronto's Latino community.

Tierra Azteca filled a niche by offering one of the city's few
Spanish-language money transfer services and eventually
added a restaurant serving authentic Mexican cuisine.

In 2015, Magda and Enrique moved on from Tierra Azteca. They have since opened Hacienda Las Americas, which has two locations: a restaurant and bar at 424 College St., and a Latino goods and money transfer at 1926 Eglinton Ave. W.