Regular NBC4 viewers know her as the station's newest meteorologist, but what many don't know about Belen De Leon is that she's also a great singer.
That's right, before hitting your television screens with her exuberant personality, De Leon was once upon a time a touring recording artist, and her band La Onda even received two Latin Billboard Awards. So there's no better way to celebrate the Mexican culture on Cinco de Mayo than to have De Leon serenade viewers alongside Mariachi Victoria De Jesus.
"It's the music of my ancestors," De Leon said of the mariachi genre. "So when I hear it I feel like my heart just skips a beat."
For De Leon, though, singing mariachi songs to our NBC4 viewers isn't just a way to show off her talent; instead, it's an opportunity to highlight the beauty of the Mexican culture.
"It's not about 'Cinco de Drink-o,' it's not about the guacamole and the chips and the salsa. The culture goes beyond that," De Leon said, adding that she feels a responsibility to highlight not just the Mexican culture but Latino culture in general in an industry in which Latinos are underrepresented.
"Hopefully folks don't just combine it to just one day," she said. "We should be proud do our cultures every day and respect other cultures every day."
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