ATLANTA — There will be more noise than ever as election day nears. Sophisticated -- and well-resourced -- campaigns will compete for our attention.
But the heart of the election remains unchanged. Everyday voters, right here in Georgia, will help decide the next president of the United States.
That's why 11Alive's Sunday politics show, The Georgia Vote, is working each week to keep those voters at the center of the conversation.
Meet Malita Belloso-Pinto, owner and teacher at Calo Gitano dance academy
At her studio situated in Atlanta's Kirkwood neighborhood just inside the Dekalb County border, she focuses on teaching flamenco dancing to students of all abilities.
"I love to teach people to love themselves," she said.
Many of her students come from different neighborhoods and backgrounds, Belloso-Pinto said. She works to create an environment where new connections can form.
"Let's listen to good music, let's just see ourselves dancing," said the instructor. "That's it."
Belloso-Pinto emigrated to the United States from Venezuela in 2000. She's watched as Latino influence in Georgia has grown over the near-quarter century she's been in America.
"There's a lot of people here that are good people, that are hard workers. And that's what Latinos have," she said. "We are very hard workers. And I come here and I love this country."
"I love the opportunity that this country has given me. I wouldn't change it for anything," Belloso-Pinto continued. "Sometimes people ask me: 'if you could live anywhere in the world where would would you live?' I say 'Atlanta, Georgia. The United States.'"
Issues she cares about
Gun safety
After the September 4 shooting at Barrow County's Apalachee High School, Belloso-Pinto said she's thinking hard about her own daughter's safety.
"I have a fifteen-year-old. I saw what happened in this school in Georgia. With the kid. And the gun," she said. "I almost started crying."
"I don't want to feel that that could've been my kid because just thinking about it gives me the goosebumps," she continued. "How is it that a fourteen-year-old can have a gun? What's going on? Like, where did this gun come from? Why is this happening?"
Women's and LGBTQ rights
"I have my fifteen-year-old girl, I was married twice, and now I have a partner," said Belloso-Pinto. "And she's amazing."
Her personal experience guides her views.
"Even here in the United States there are certain places or certain circles where I wouldn't be able to say that I have a partner. That I have my fifteen-year-old daughter. That we are a modern family," she said. "That we are happy."
Her biggest worry
"The division," said Belloso-Pinto.
"Back in the day we could talk about Republicans and Democrats and you would vote for this one and I would for for that one and everyone was friendly," she continued. "Nowadays, if you say 'I'm going to vote for Trump' or 'I'm going to vote for Kamala Harris' then already immediately it's going to become 'maybe we can't be friends.'"
What she's optimistic about
Despite the division she sees, Belloso-Pinto believes Americans will find their way through this controversial election.
"We made it through the Depression and 2008 when everything was bad. We made it through COVID, like the whole world made it through COVID," she said. "We're going to make it."