Finding amor made easier for Hispanics in valley

By Timothy Pratt

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007 | 7:08 a.m.

Ordering a burger in a foreign language is one thing, but wooing a lover?

This Valentine's Day, the Latin Love Connection, the Las Vegas Valley's first dating agency en espanol, is there for those whose thoughts of amor are in Spanish.

One call, to 650-AMOR, can change your life, the agency's ad says.

With the valley's Hispanic population reaching nearly 450,000, about 37 percent of whom "speak English less than very well," according to Census Bureau estimates, it was only a matter of time.

The dating agency, now in its 10th month, has had to overcome barriers, not the least of which is being confused with an escort service, owner Israel Fuentes said.

But over time, dozens have walked through the agency's doors, where they sit down with Alejandra Montanez, describe their search for love and friendship, pay the $100 registration fee and leave with the hopes of getting a call soon.

In some ways, the agency is like other matchmakers around the country that conduct their business in English, helping men and women seek like minds and hearts from a pool of other clients.

But in others, the Love Connection's Latino clientele needs help with its own culturally distinct issues.

Take Josue Roca.

From Guatemala, the 38-year-old construction worker saw his first marriage fall apart after he crossed the border to Los Angeles seeking a job.

Later, a second relationship faltered when his girlfriend - and the mother of his two children - became less latina and more americana.

"In our countries, machismo is very common," Roca said. "When women come here, they become liberated and men can no longer hold them back."

Roca's conflicts with his girlfriend began when she started going out more by herself and making her own decisions.

Now he's looking for another significant other, and is prepared to work less if necessary, as well as let the woman be her own person.

"I'm not going to make the same mistake," he said.

Montanez said Roca's case is similar to many of those who seek her help.

Sixty percent of her clients are men, and most come from Mexico, although Central Americans, like Roca, also sign up.

"Many of these people spend all their time working," she said of those who come to this country to acquire a better life, a place to live, a college education for their children.

"It's a real problem keeping a relationship together," she said.

Then there are the men who seek a new wife after seeing their marriages falter under the realities of life in the United States.

"They blame it on life here," she said.

And although some are prepared to learn new ways, some of the men have put down their feet when it comes to one cultural imperative - homemade food.

"They say that their former wives, because of work, no longer cooked for them, and instead gave them pizza and hamburgers," Montanez said.

Roca, meanwhile, hoped that a woman from Chile he met through the agency would call him back and accept his invitation to go out dancing tonight - another touchstone in Latin culture, where the dance floor is a place for men and women to meet.

"There, we can get to know each other," he said.