BEAUMONT, Texas — Two Hispanic entrepreneurs, who also happen to be sisters, are using their careers to help Latinos thrive in the Southeast Texas community.
Tania and Vania Castelan are Mexican-American entrepreneurs.
"My dad is super Mexican, my mom is real Chicana, we grew up with a mix of everything, learning the American culture also going off of my mom's roots," said Tania Castelan.
Their family has 10 siblings total, consisting of five boys and five girls.
Vania Castelan owns Beaumont's beloved snow cone stand 'Mabel's'.
"I'm a big foodie. My dad is also big on antojos," Vania Castelan said.
Tania Castelan is a realtor with Connect Realty and helps Latino families truly understand the process of buying a dream home.
"There's really no Spanish speaking escrow agent, barely any lenders who speak Spanish, no home inspectors who speak Spanish," Tania Castelan said.
While one deals in cravings and the other in closings, they each built a business that nurtures their roots.
"There were agents in the next office and I overheard their conversation and the conversation was 'I love working with Latino people because all they do is shake their head and sign everything we tell them to sign,'" Tania Castelan said.
That conversation pushed Tania Castelan to pursue real estate full time.
"I knew that going in to it I could bring a little bit of something which was the education part of it, being able to teach the paragraphs, teach what you're reading," she said.
On the other hand, Vania Castelan's inspiration came in the form of shaved ice, chamoy and conchas.
Vania Castelan knew there weren't many places people could grab those popular Hispanic deserts in the Golden Triangle, so she made it her mission change that.
"I'd be like well that's what I need to do. We need to bring that here. We need to bring our culture here. We need to share our heritage," Vania said.
All business aspects aside, family and tradition remain the core value for the Castelan sisters' careers.
"It feels like I'm fulfilling what I'm supposed to be doing, helping others," Tania Castelan said.