From teachers to cowboys: These L.A. Latinos bring 'vaquero' life to the city

Along with Connecting Compton, other organizations, such as the Compton Cowboys and Compton Junior Equestrians, which are led by African Americans, have garnered national attention for encouraging a love of all things equestrian.Zepeda, Gomez and Diaz see their proposed center as a way to pull this passion for horses together into something more.“It’s gonna create a lot of pride and make everybody feel like there’s that sense of belonging, and more than anything, just create unity for all our cultures,” Zepeda said.In interviews with NBC News, the men explained how horses brought them together.During an adaptive physical education course, Zepeda said he overheard classmate Hector Gomez express an interest in horses. “I’ve never heard of a ranch in Compton.” But Gomez accepted the invitation, and the two took off for the ranch — about a 5-minute drive from campus — during a break between classes, Zepeda said.The two young men connected with another kinesiology student, Rogelio Diaz, bonding over their passion for the Mexican cowboy lifestyle.Zepeda’s father, Sergio Luis, better known as “Don Luis” in the Compton community, had purchased a half acre of land in Compton in the late 1980s.Zepeda, 31, recalls "doing everything" on his father’s ranch from the age of 5. They said several local officials have expressed support for the project.They said they’ll be working with rodeo Compton champion Tre Hosley to build a 10-person youth team that will have the opportunity to learn more about the equestrian/ranchero lifestyle, and potentially represent Compton on a competitive rodeo level.The three men, with their degrees in kinesiology (the study of anatomy and its connection to human movement), and their teaching experience, are well suited to their goal.Gomez teaches physical education to middle schoolers at South L.A’s KIPP Comienza Community Prep, and Diaz teaches physical education to high schoolers at the Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy.