We’re excited to announce a new partnership between Pangea Money Transfer and a local Chicago organization, Liga Azteca de Basketball LLC.
As a prominent Latino community organization, the basketball league is a great fit to help us spread the word about the Pangea mobile app to more potential customers—and league President Frankie Marron happens to be a happy Pangea customer, too!
Frankie was born and raised in Chicago, where his family has played a huge role in the Latino community through their work with Liga Azteca de Basketball LLC. His father Francisco started the league with a few friends in 1974, after coming to the United States from Mexico. At that time, Frankie says, there were not a lot of people in the area from Mexico, so the idea was to build a community of friends who spoke the same language and had similar backgrounds.
“Through basketball, they were able to build a support system to help each other out, since a lot of them did not have family in Chicago,” says Frankie.
Liga Azteca has helped connect Latino families from many different Chicago neighborhoods. The league members span across generations—and the loyalty to the league has helped make their Sundays all about family and basketball. It’s even helped teenagers stay away from gangs, considering they have to focus on training during the week to be prepared for Sunday’s games.
This is something that makes Francisco, Frankie’s dad, incredibly proud. “He’s seen many members grow into young men who are now doing positive things in the community,” Frankie says. Today, Liga Azteca includes many young professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and business owners. Many of these young professionals come from immigrant parents, and some of their fathers are current or past members of Liga Azteca.
For Frankie, Liga Azteca combines his love of basketball and family—and supporting his community. “When I graduated from college I saw there was a lot of potential in growing the league and making it one of the largest Latino basketball leagues in Chicago,” he says.
That mission has been accomplished, with more than 130 teams and 1,300-plus members! Frankie plans to build on this momentum and stays involved in many communities in Chicago, including Pilsen, Lawndale, and Humboldt Park. “We’ve sponsored basketball clinics for the youth and organized yearly toy drives during the holiday seasons.”
Pangea Money Transfer is proud to partner with Liga Azteca during this basketball season. We are donating a set of uniforms to the winning team from Sunday, July 31st’s game at Collins High School. The game starts at noon, if you want to attend! And, if you’re involved in the league and send money to Mexico, you can learn more about Pangea at the upcoming games—and get a promo code to use on your first transfer!
Learn more about Liga Azteca, and Frankie and his father’s experiences using Pangea:
#HappySending