Celebrating Hispanic Heritage With Jennifer Del Rio

Jennifer has been with The Beck Group for two and a half years. She learned about Beck through a mutual friend and knew she wanted to grow her experience and portfolio in design-build here.

Today, the Atlanta-based Senior Project Coordinator stays busy balancing her projects, pursuing her architecture registration, and serving on Beck’s JEDI Committee to support justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at Beck.

In her role, Jennifer – whose Hispanic heritage is half Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian – collaborates with multiple colleagues from architecture to preconstruction to construction to successfully complete a project. These aspects include carrying out the design intent using sound knowledge of architectural practices and providing design solutions and 3D modeling tools.

READ AND STREAM Jennifer’s Playlist

Jennifer created this playlist in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Oiga, Mire, Vea by Guayacan Orchestra: Latin music, for me, is constantly in flux. Old school deep salsa and merengue remind me of family gatherings. Although this song is Columbian, it was a staple at family cookouts and impromptu guitar sessions. It signified the start of a great night, and the song itself speaks to having a great time dancing and eating.

Azúcar by AB Quintanilla y los Kumbia Kings: This was my first introduction to Kumbia and to essential Mexican culture. Around eighth grade, my family moved to the west coast of Florida from Fort Lauderdale. With the move, the Latino culture I knew changed from predominantly Caribbean to Mexican. It was fun and different. I especially loved summer Bailes (dances) and learning a whole new style of dance.

La Vida Es Un Carnaval by Celia Cruz: Celia Cruz is iconic. As an afro-Latina in entertainment, her skin color and the standard of beauty were not the norms all those decades ago. Despite this, Celia stayed true to herself: a confident, bold woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

Her influence spans generations – my parents and I still enjoy listening to her music today. She makes you want to dance, clean, cry, or just feel the music in a way that few artists can.

Jenny From The Block by Jennifer Lopez: You can’t grow up with the name Jennifer, be born in New York, have a Puerto Rican father, and not relate to Jennifer Lopez. As a kid, I loved JLo because she rocked her hoop earrings and bun (still does to this day). She looked oh so unapologetically Puerto Rican. She celebrated her heritage and made it mainstream, and with that came an increase in pride in your ethnicity.

Chantaje by Shakira: Shakira was everywhere. The greatest thing I loved about growing up with her music was how Latina she was and her broad appeal. It was a time when you began to see Latin culture cross over into American music. I loved her music and her accent when she spoke English while dominating an industry.