Hispanic Connections of Lexington is a small company of three people making a big impact among native Spanish speakers in Central Kentucky. Hispanic Connections was founded in 2014 primarily as a tax preparation and insurance firm. It has since expanded to include business registration, one-on-one business consultation, notary and apostille services, and all manner of Spanish translation and interpretation services.
Mirna Cerrada
Owner and CEO Mirna Cerrada even performs wedding ceremonies. She is a licensed wedding officiant, a notary public and holds interpretation certificates, IRS certification and three licenses as a bilingual insurance agent.
“We have received a lot of help during the pandemic to stay afloat,” Cerrada said. “Due to the success of our business, we have been able to expand our office space to accommodate more clients.” The company expanded into a suite next door at its office building on Alexandra Drive and held a reopening ribbon-cutting ceremony in mid-August.
Hispanic Connections of Lexington serves a diverse community in Central Kentucky: 70 percent of its clients are exclusively Spanish speaking, 20 percent are African refugees and 10 percent are English speaking.
“Over the years we started adding different services based on what our clients needed or were looking for,” she said. “We have tried to be a one-stop shop for all our clients’ needs.”
Hispanic Connections of Lexington offers help with tax and document preparation, marriage ceremonies, and other services.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Hispanic Connections offered services over the phone or via email. “We serve clients nationwide and sometimes globally, depending on what services they need,” Cerrada said. “We can serve our clients via Zoom, mailing their requested documents.”
Clients come to Hispanic Connections for business insurance, insurance for cars, houses and boats, automobile paperwork for those moving to Kentucky from another state, as well as tax services for individuals, business owners and contractors. Several times a year, Cerrada teaches tax classes in the business’ new conference room. “We are able to accommodate our clients within the privacy of our meeting room or in our open office space, depending on what services they need from us,” she said.
Cerrada grew up in Venezuela, where she earned a college degree in marketing. She moved to the United States in the early 1990s, following her brother-in-law when he came to study at the University of Kentucky.
Cerrada’s first jobs in Lexington were working as a Spanish interpreter for the Fayette County Health Department and at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. In 1998 she started her own business, called English & Spanish Communications, teaching Spanish classes. She founded Hispanic Communications of Lexington in 2013.
“Being a small-business owner in Lexington has been a dream come true,” she said. “We have been able to serve a niche market and integrate ourselves with other small businesses through our community neighborhood association as well as with Commerce Lexington.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 7.2 percent of Lexington’s population is Hispanic — an estimated 23,169 people as of July 1, 2021. “Hispanic Connections of Lexington is serving the needs of the fastest growing population in Kentucky right now, and we are proud to serve that need,” Cerrada said. “If any other small-business owners want to get into that market, we are experts and will be able to help.”