Julio Barrenzuela says he left Springfi eld so he could come back.

Springfi eld’s offi cial “Salsa Ambassador” moved to California in 2012, but he’s still working to better his hometown, a city that welcomed him as a young Peruvian immigrant 26 years ago. Barrenzuela’s passion is using salsa dancing as therapy and a tool to teach cultural understanding. He started a business in Springfi eld as a combination motivational speaker, salsa instructor and therapist of sorts, visiting nursing homes, companies, schools and homes for people with developmental disabilities. During those visits, he used salsa to teach people about staying active, appreciating diversity, the importance of relationships and more.

However, Barrenzuela says he began to sense that he was capable of reaching more people. That conviction led him to Burbank, California, which is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In May, Barrenzuela earned a master’s degree in Media for Social Justice from Woodbury University in Burbank, where he found a cause near to his heart. A Navy veteran himself, Barrenzuela now works as outreach director for California-based nonprofi t Soldiers Who Salsa, which uses salsa and other dances as therapy for returning veterans. The group has salsa classes at 14 VA hospitals across the U.S., with plans to expand. Barrenzuela, who jokes that veterans can now get a “medically-prescribed salsa lesson” from a VA doctor, wants to start such a program at the University of Illinois Springfi eld for veterans attending college.

“This is helping them overcome not just their physical limitations,” Barrenzuela said, “but also their mental and emotional limitations.” Learn more about Soldiers who salsa at www.soldierswhosalsa. org. Whenever Barrenzuela returns to Springfi eld to visit his mother, Rosa, he puts on a presentation at a school or developmental center. And despite relocating, he’s also working to create a salsa band and weekly salsa night here. That won’t surprise anyone who knows his reputation for tenacity and passion.