Latino Leaders Magazine | April/May 2015

THE

LI ATINA S S U E

WANTED: LATINO

FRANCHISEES

AMY TINTERA:

THE NEW MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION

APPETITE FOR CONSTRUCTION LINDA GRIEGO , THE L.A.

VISIONARY LOOKS TOWARD BUILDING THE HISPANIC CITY OF THE FUTURE

April / May 2015 Vol. 16 No. 2 Display until 06 /10/2015

www.latinoleaders.com

CONTENTS APRIL / MAY 2015

THE

LI ATINA S S U E 54

COVER STORY:

BUILDING A LATINO TOWN Linda Griego is known for helping rebuild L.A. after one of the worst riots in American history. The L.A. activist tells Judi Jordan how she is helping with the reopening of a major hospital and wants to create a Latino artist colony in New Mexico.

2 • April / May 2015

CONTENTS APRIL / MAY 2015

35 16 To build a house: Construction is a man’s job.

Well, it used to be. Now that Sandy Tabacinic, a Dallas mom, is involved, home building has taken a new —and some say for the better— turn as women design homes. She showed Joseph Treviño some of her creations.

20 “Latinos must form their own destinies”:

Luz Bazán Gutiérrez, the feisty activist from the Pacific Northwest, believes that it is crucial that Hispanics let no one tell them how to live their lives in a blazing Q & A interview.

25 Proust Telenovela:

Rosy Ocampo, the creator some of the most watched telenovelas (La fea más bella), answers our Proust Questionnaire.

29 Most powerful Latinas:

They are the Alpha Latinas. Trailblazers. Influential. Winners. Latino Leaders shows you who are really the who’s who in the Latina world.

35 Portfolio:

So you say you want to have your own business but fear that your venture will fail? How about operating a franchise? Our new Portfolio section showcases four Hispanics who have succeeded in that business environment.

4 • April / May 2015

22 Bladerunner: Hispanic writers in the U.S. are mostly

known for deep, soul-searching, autobiographies of growing up Latino. Not Amy Tintera. Instead, the Austin, Texas novelist told Judi Jordan how she takes readers into the future and other worlds via her Sci-Fi novels.

49 Kitchen hero:

Fany Gerson believes Mexican food is magical. And apparently, says Victoria Infante, who interviewed her, so do her Brooklyn clients, who go to her shops for mouth-watering doughnuts and ice pops.

52 Spiritual leader:

Diana Vela, a media visionary who lives in Phoenix, is taking Catholic leaders into uncharted but exciting territories. Tiffany Roney brings you the scoop.

54 Events:

7-Eleven in Miami, Dallas Latina Vanguard (page 9) and New York Life in Los Angeles.

SPECIAL SECTIONS / EVENTS COVERAGE 48 MY STYLE: LAURA HINOJOSA

IN EVERY ISSUE 12 SOUTHWEST LANDING 64 WHAT IS JORGE FERRAEZ DRINKING?

JORGE & RAUL FERRAEZ / PRESIDENTS OF FERRAEZ USA

A CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLISHER

T

Robert Bard

Talking about Latinas, there’s one man’s name that comes to mind immediately: Robert Bard.

He is the well-respected president of Latina Style Magazine and Institute. Robert has many “only’s” in his bio: The only male editor and publisher of a woman’s magazine (probably worldwide), the only man married to another leader in the same industry (Lupita Colmenero, whom we are profiling in this same edition) and also the only man expert in women leadership.

Latina Style Magazine, one of our most recognized fellow competitors, was founded by Ana María Arias, who was Robert’s wife, who at that time was running a successful business as a public relations and affairs consultant.

“My first intention was to find a replacement for Ana María, the void was big and difficult to fill and I spent over a year taking care of things and looking for the right person to direct the Magazine.”

So after he realized that probably he would never find the proper candidate, he decided to take the position himself and ended up bringing his own business into the Latina Style structure.

“I was doing the job anyway…” he says.

Robert told me how they discovered the fabulous niche Latina Style has: “it was 1994, the demographics were not convincing yet, but there were an interest to help develop Latinas in fields like corporate and the military. Then the 2000 census came out and the view started to change.”

Today, 21 years later, I am seeing what I never imagined I would get to see: grand Latinas like Sonia Sotomayor, Giselle Fernández, María Contreras-Sweet and so on are proof that the history of Latinas is being made.

Robert is now married to another big name in the Latino Community: Lupita Colmenero, who is a pioneer herself in hispanic journalism and publishing.

“I see some similarities in Lupita and Ana María; they both could be defined as relentless rain makers, wanting to change things, working for education and women,” he says.

Robert is a person that I will always admire: a true knight, with high ethics, work philosophy, who has a generous vision of business and a business leader who has been able to shine, without overshadowing his wife.

His magazine is one of the pillars of the Latino publishing business today and an example for many of us.

“My first intention was to find a replacement for Ana María, the void was big and difficult to fill and I spent over a year taking care of things and looking for the right person to direct the Magazine.”

6 • April / May 2015

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR NEVER SAY DIE

F

For well over a decade, naysayers have assured us that journalism is on its death woes.

The onslaught of the Internet, the advent of social media and the seemingly unending recession (which at this stage has felt more like what it truly is: a depression) created the perfect storm not only for print media, but for the creation of good journalism as well.

Sure, during the last decade the rise of blogs, of so-called “citizen journalism” and the preponderance of social media allegedly was to take real journalism’s place. I guess by now we can truly see them for what they were: fads.

Journalism, something akin to today’s print journalism, has existed since Roman times, when the Acta Diurna carried news, gossip and even satirical caricatures of the latest Roman politicians and scandals across the empire. To say that such a tradition and way of life was supposed to perish because of trendy technology is somewhat of demented braggadocio. But then again, what else can I say, right? I’m a journalist.

Yes, the death of journalism has been greatly exaggerated.

Here in Latino Leaders we are far from putting down new technologies. In fact, we are deeply committed to our elegant website (we are in the midst of a profound revamping of it) and of using social media.

But we are fanatical about our print magazine. We have it all covered. In this issue, a rogue band of Latinas writes about other Latinas. In-depth stories, interviews, Q&A’s and two new sections: a cool Portfolio section and our Proust questionnaire.

Journalist Judi Jordan hooked-up with Linda Griego, an L.A. visionary who once was that city’s deputy mayor during that town’s worst era and how her dreams and hard work helped turned around that most influential city of the West.

Amy Tintera, a young Latina writer of Science Fiction tells Jordan how and why she chose her genre and what got her in the bestseller lists. Veteran writer Victoria Infante interviewed Fanny Gerson, a Latina chef and author who arguably makes the best artisanal doughnuts in the Big Apple area.

Luz Bazán Gutierrez, a veteran activist from the Pacific Northwest (yes, there is a huge and very interesting concentration of Latinos there) answers in her inimitable style our quick question and answer session. Sandy Tabacinic, a single mother, is taking over a traditional man’s job in construction and putting a cool spin on it.

So, who said good old journalism is dead? As you can tell, we really don’t believe the worrywarts. Journalism is alive and our magazine proves it. We bring you some of the very best of Latino leadership to the best of our abilities wrapped in a gorgeous magazine that befits readers like you. I know I am starting to sound like a politician, but I can’t help my genuine enthusiasm for this publication.

And it’s not because this is my first edition as the editor of Latino Leaders. It’s because I’ve a great crew supporting me and I get to do journalism and have fun while proving the detractors of the written word wrong.

Connecting Leaders, Inspiring the Future

Publisher Jorge Ferraez

President and CEO Raul Ferraez

Editor-in-Chief: Joseph Treviño jtrevino@latinoleaders.com Director of Journalism: Mariana Gutierrez mariana@latinoleaders.com Director of Communications & Special Events Yol-Itzma Aguirre yaguirre@latinoleaders.com National Sales Director: Gil Castro gcastro@latinoleaders.com Administrative Director: Cathy Marie López clopez@latinoleaders.com Circulation Manager and Editorial Assistant Stephanie Rivas srivas@latinoleaders.com Washington, D.C. Sales Associate and Representative Deyanira Ferraez dferraez@latinoleaders.com Art Director: Fernando Izquierdo ferdiseno@latinoleaders.com Editorial Art & Design: Rodrigo Valderrama Carlos Cuevas Luis Enrique González Human Resources Manager: Susana Sanchez Administration and Bookkeeping: Claudia García Bejarano Executive Assistant to the Publishers: Liliana Morales Circulation System Manager: Raúl Hernández For advertising inquiries, please call 214-206-4966 x 225.

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino (ISSN 15293998) is published seven times annually by Ferraez Publications of America Corp., 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA, May 2015.

Subscription rates: In U.S. and possessions, one year $15.00. Checks payable to Ferraez Publications of America, 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Latino Leaders, 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA.© 2001 by Ferraez Publications of America Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino. The periodical’s name and logo, and the various titles and headings therein, are trademarks of Ferraez Publications of America Corp.

Member of The National Association of Hispanic Publications

Audited by

Let the good times roll.

Member of Reg. # 283/01

MEMBER OF SRDS

8 • April / May 2015

Latino Leaders The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA Phone: (214) 206-4966 / Fax: (214) 206-4970

latinoleaders.com

EVENTS

LATINA VANGUARD

DALLAS

STORY BY THE STAFF OF LATINO LEADERS PHOTOS BY SANMAY PHOTOGRAPHY

KARIN V. LARRAVE, OF NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL, LISTENS WHILE A GROUP OF DISTINGUISHED WOMEN TALK ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND CAREERS DURING THE LATINA VANGUARD SERIES IN DALLAS.

“It is very important to speak Spanish at home,”- Carmen Cortez, the owner of a Dallas Catering company.

JORGE FERRÁEZ, PUBLISHER OF LATINO LEADERS MAGAZINE, IS JOINED BY PATRICIA DE COLOMBRES (LEFT) AND CARMEN CORTEZ (RIGHT), DURING THE VANGUARD LUNCHEON.

PATRICIA DE COLOMBRES, FROM MÉXICO, WHO WORKS IN DALLAS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS, BELIEVES THAT SUCCESSFUL LATINOS SHOULD MAKE BETTER EFFORTS TO REACH THE LATINO MARKET.

10 • April / May 2015

Created by Latino Leaders Magazine and sponsored by Northwestern Mutual, the Dallas Latina Vanguard Series took place on February 25th, at the Tower Club, a business venue atop the impressive Thanksgiving Tower in the heart of the Dallas downtown district.

Amidst the elegant confines of the event, with Ceja Pinot wine served —courtesy of Ceja Vineyards— gourmet lunch and the breathtaking vistas of Downtown Dallas, the women concurred that it was necessary to leave a good example for younger Latinas, daughters, to emulate.

“We need to improve the next generation, said Karin V. Larrave, Northwestern Mutual’s Wealth Management Advisor of Dallas. “We have something we can show to the girls, [and they can say] ‘oh, I want to be like that lady. I can do it.”’

A key legacy, according to Carmen Cortez, owner of Carmen’s Delicious Catering, is language diversity. Before, amongst some Latinos living in the U.S., it was a sort of badge of honor not to speak Spanish she says.

Not anymore, Cortez adds.

CATHY BRITTINGHAM, WHO USED TO WORK IN THE CORPORATE WORLD, NOW OWNS HER OWN MEDIA COMPANY IN DALLAS.

ADRIANA CONTRERAS, AN INTERNATIONAL LAWYER ORIGINALLY FROM MÉXICO WHO HAS WORKED IN GERMANY AND SWEDEN, IS NOW USING HER SKILLS IN DALLAS.

MARIE QUINTANA, A WELL KNOWN CORPORATE BUSINESS LEADER WAS CLEAR AND SOUND WITH SOME VISIONS FOR LATINAS TO GROW AND ADVANCE.

“We need to improve the next generation. We have something we can show to the girls, [and they can say] ‘oh, I want to be like that lady. I can do it.”’Karin V. Larrave, Northwestern Mutual’s Wealth Management Advisor of Dallas.

“It is very important to speak Spanish at home,” insisted Cortez, as the rest of the women nodded in approval. “Now it’s a different story.”

Cathy Brittingham, who used to be in the corporate world and now runs her own company, Catalina Productions, a media firm, says that what, in the past, may have been a handicap, like speaking Spanish or just being a Latina, is now the other way around. She adds that being Hispanic may come with some advantages.

“We were born Hispanic. You can’t go to school to be Hispanic. That’s our luck. I feel that we have been very fortunate and lucky to have the kind of bicultural, bilingual opportunities that we’ve had, that is a gift. Like every gift, we need to use it,” Brittingham says. latinoleaders.com

STORY BY THE STAFF OF LATINO LEADERS / PHOTO BY ANDREW MCROARY

Jacqueline Reynoso, president of the National City, CA, Chamber of Commerce. “Don’t fear the perception of limitations,” she says.

Jacqueline Reynoso President of National City’s Chamber of Commerce

acqueline Reynoso grew up in the Southern California town of National City, in the midst of the gang wars, in an economically challenged environment where there were little expectations for Latinas to succeed.

Few, aside from her supportive parents, would have predicted that the young woman would attend a four year college and then go to Harvard to earn a degree in Public Policy. Reynoso now heads the National City Chamber of Commerce.

She promotes business and economic development in that small, but key city, near the Mexico-U.S. border. Last month, the California State Legislature presented her with an award for being the “Woman of the Year for Business.”

Reynoso says that she is honored of being the recipient of the state award. She credits her family for infusing in her a hard work ethic.

“Maybe it’s physiological. I am a very hyperactive person,” she says. “There is this entrepreneurial, hard-working spirit that runs through the veins of my family.”

Cesar Chavez, Harvard and Maria Contreras-Sweet

Part of her family heritage includes stories and anecdotes of hard work, struggle and more hard work, Reynoso says. As a teen, her mother marched with Cesar Chavez, the historical farm worker leader, Reynoso recalls.

Growing up in National City, her parents always made sure that she was responsible, studying hard at school and learning to make her own decisions at a very young age.

“I always felt that my mom encouraged and instilled that in us. And my dad had very high expectations,” Reynoso says. “I was always very inquieta” But her efforts at studies paid off- even at an early age. She won awards, which in turn gained her trips to foreign lands, which nurtured what is still one of her passions: travel. ”I got to travel and experience, to see life beyond my GETTIN G little National City,” she says. “I always had a thirst to JACQUTO KNOW ELINE Who is learn more about culture, music and other people.”

Maya Anyour favorite n Her studies also steered her away from the gang ovelist o gelou. r writer life which was so prevalent during the 1990s. ?

If you c o u ld have an Though never in that sort of trouble, Reynoso be …? y other My drea job it w remembers how she saw some of her cousins ould TV Host, m job would b e struggle with those urban maladies and the toll it L Internati ike an O scale. on prah Win frey but al Traveling inflicted upon barrio youth. on a glo bal You nev Her efforts garnered her a ticket to Berkeley. e r le a ve hom My red e witho lipstick.

Later, she won a full ticket to Harvard, where ut …? she took Public Policy.

My wor s t h a bit Biting m By a stroke of luck, Reynoso attended a y nails. is …? public leadership luncheon in Los AngeThe las les, where she sat next to none other than Hero. Wt movie I saw w ith my s on, Diegas…?

Maria Contreras-Sweet, who would be a o M y favo future president of the Small Business AdCheese. rite thing to e a That’s m ministration, selected by President Barack y weaknt is? ess.

One thin Obama. It was there that ContrerasTo trave g on my buc Sweet invited her to a job at a start up my husbl to Italy, where ket list is…?

I li and and Latino bank in Los Angeles. children ved in Sienna, with .

“It was an amazing experience. For me My favo rite thin A p g in skirt, tw to it was a dream job,” Reynoso evokes. o piece wear is…? suit.

“Don’t fear yourself.

Don’t fear the perception of limitations,” she says. “Go out and get what you want.

Get involved.

Volunteer.

Get civically engaged, help each other out.”

No fear

After a year in Los Angeles, National City beckoned. She landed a gig there and sometime later she was offered the position of being head of the Chamber of Commerce, where Reynoso gets to promote businesses. In addition, she has headed a local mariachi event, which she hopes will grow and grow and has introduced programs to promote more awareness about environmental issues.

For Reynoso, being a leader is about hard work, a good ethical foundation and to work for others. It’s that simple.

“Don’t fear yourself. Don’t fear the perception of limitations,” she says. “Go out and get what you want. Get involved. Volunteer. Get civically engaged, help each other out.”

LATINO LEADERS OF THE FUTURE

Courtesy Photo Story by Tiffany Roney

THE

LI ATINA S S U E

H

Coca Cola’s Latina spirit She is the head of the staple soft drink’s Hispanic Marketing Department. Alba Adamo says that Latinas can achieve their goals by what she learned from her Colombian parents: staying true to their values, having faith, showing transparency and helping out their communities.

er voice carries vital-

ity. Her words release meaning. And her career shows what a Latina can achieve by combining her values with a drive to succeed.

As a young girl in Columbia with a single mother who never finished high school, Alba Adamo had no idea she’d one day snag a top title at Coca-Cola. Alba now leads Coke’s Hispanic marketing department from headquarters in Atlanta, but when emigrating to the U.S., she was an 18-year-old with meager English.

She drew on a motto from her mother, who said there were two things no one could take from you — what you knew in your head and believed in your heart.

“She was always keen on education — ‘Learn, learn, learn as much as you can,’” Alba remembers. “She taught us values, which are the roadmap for every day.”

For Alba, those principles include faith, trust and transparency.

“My grandpa used to say, ‘You need to be clear and transparent with what you’re thinking, so there is no room for misinterpretation and people know what you stand for,’” Alba says.

14 • April / May 2015

THE DIRECTOR OF HISPANIC MARKETING FOR COCA COLA, ALBA ADAMO. SHE WENT FROM BEING A HOTEL WORKER TO THE HEAD OF THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT OF ONE OF THE MOST EMBLEMATIC BRANDS IN THE WORLD.

“Faith, transparency and trust are the keys to everything.”

With those three building blocks, Alba constructed a life almost 2,000 miles from her hometown. Her mother visits when possible to help with Alba’s daughter, Sofia, almost four.

“She’s the light of my life and the greatest gift,” Alba gushes. “When I open my eyes first thing in the morning, I thank God for her. She inspires me to do all I do.”

Empowering Latinas through Coca-Cola

their potential. By doing that, they will inspire others to do the same,” Alba says. “By standing behind them, we are enabling the prosperity of communities around the globe.”

To promote this development, the initiative teaches women how to secure loans, where to gain skills to complete application forms and other layers of business acumen. Alba and staff designed the 5 BY 20 system through conversations with Latinas that led them to identify three focal points: 1) access to business skill training courses; 2) access to financial services; and 3) access to mentors.

Classes about leveraging social media have been added, and Alba anticipates even more curricula arising as the team realizes needs and forms strategies to meet them.

“As with any initiative, it is a journey,” she says. “As we grow, we are learning, evaluating and making necessary adjustments.

It’s a program that truly affects one woman at a time.”

Though Sofia’s only three, she must pack a potent portion of inspiration, because Alba has accomplished plenty, including representing Coca-Cola’s longstanding partnership with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). The collaboration between the soft drink company and Swiss-based sports powerhouse started in 1978 and grew to perhaps its most visible status during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when the corporations connected Latino soccer fans in a way that Expanding Latino horizons freed them to cheer on both their favorite U.S. teams and Hispanics comprise about 17 percent of the U.S. population, squads from their countries of origin. and that percentage is expected to increase to 25 percent by “When you come to the U.S., you continue to support your 2050. Corporations are wise to take notice, as U.S. Latinos’ purhome country team, but you also support the one of your neighbors and your college,” Alba explains. “We wanted to give everyone chasing power is valued at $1.3 billion, making them the world’s the opportunity to celebrate and embrace 16th largest economy. all the teams.”

While the growing Latino market is an “My grandpa used to say, If Coca-Cola’s World Cup camemerging force of consumer demand, Alba paign brought a bottle of optimism, its says what Hispanics bring to the United States ‘You need to be clear and holiday ads displayed later that year is much deeper than the ability to make and transparent with what brought an entire six-pack of happispend money. First and foremost, according to ness. With the tagline, “Make someone Alba, Latinos bring passion, followed by spirit you’re thinking, so there is happy,” they challenged people to and a work ethic possibly unmatched by any no room for misinterpretation other ethnic group in America. Additionally, perform acts of kindness, whether that meant clearing snow from someone’s they bring rich traditions, tight-knit families, and people know what you windshield or assisting the disabled. cuisine and sports that unite cultures. stand for. Faith, transparency tasty“Right The commercials carry an added now, for Hispanics as a growing sparkle for those who know Alba well, bepopulation, it’s extremely important to help and trust are the keys to cause the first name they feature is Sofia each other,” Alba pleads. “For those who have everything.”

— spelled “Sophia” in the English version been here a while, the question is, ‘What do but still a clear tie to Alba’s daughter. we need to do to take advantage of the opportunities in this country?’”

To Alba, the pieces of her life, To move forward, Latinos must draw from the progress from family to career, are wrapped in the ideals she shares already made. In the past few years, Hispanics across the nation with Coca-Cola — happiness, optimism and uniting on common ground. As she told Georgia State University, her MBA have climbed ladders in a variety of fields, from corporations to alma mater, “I always introduce myself as a daughter, sister, philanthropy, arts and entertainment. Alba celebrates all representations of Latino success, but in her eyes, headway is most mother and leader at The Coca-Cola Company.”

This spring, her schedule is packed with speaking engage- detectable in the sphere of education. ments across the country as she spearheads Coke’s LatinaAccording to The Education Trust, Hispanic college enrollment increased by 22 percent from 2009 to 2011, in contrast to empowering initiative, 5 BY 20. The program aims to equip an increase of 2.7 percent for non-Hispanic whites. Graduation five million women to become entrepreneurs by 2020. By rates during the same two-year span rose 4.7 percent for Latinos the close of 2013, the initiative had empowered more than and just 2 percent for whites.

550,000 women in 40-plus countries.

While many Americans attempt to further themselves in It has propelled the progress of women like Candy Ramirez, pursuit of personal goals, to Alba, progress in education, career 28, who now owns a bakery in Tucson, Ariz., and Janete Nazareth Guilherme of Rio de Janeiro, who started a cooperative for and income is not as much about fulfilling internal dreams as impoverished women to earn income as seamstresses. Operatit is about the privilege of playing a cooperative role in one’s ing from the concept of women as pillars of their communicompany and community. ties, the initiative develops economies as women bring home “Everyone has a story, but we are all people, and we just newfound earnings, knowledge and confidence. want to be part of society. We want to contribute. We want “By helping Latinas, we are going to see them realize respect,” she says. “We all bring something to the table.”

L AT INO LE A DE R S

Woman at work Story by

Joseph Treviño

16 • April / May 2015

Photos by Jason

D. Gilmore

THE

LE DATINA ITION Sandy Tabacinic is a constructor and home designer. She is fast becoming a popular home builder in a predominantly man’s world.

A

s burly men in worn khakis, work boots and sweat shirts toil away, making room extensions or putting new carpet inside a brick home in Dallas, overseeing work is a long, raven-haired woman.

Construction work has been known to be a man’s world. Not anymore.

Sandy Tabacinic is one of Dallas’ leading home contractors and designers, adding contemporary pools to upscale homes or turning former media rooms into more livable family dens. Her unique eye for design, artistic expression or just plain common sense has turned her into a sought after remodeler for her architectural creations.

“This is a male dominated business, but I feel I am the exception to the rule,” She says. “I understand my clients and get along with women in a great way. I understand them. I think women are much better at communication.”

Working for a construction firm, she slowly but surely started gaining knowledge and experience, working on projects hands on.

Until it clicked. Why not give it a shot?

“I kind of realized I could do it better, kind of like a woman’s point of view,” Tabacinic muses. “After a while I opened up my own company and decided to go up on my own.”

In 2009, she formed Homecorp. Tabacinic now has full-time employees, mostly men, who mostly do the manual construction work.

Construction is a woman’s thing The key to her success has been precisely what in the past may have been seen as a setback: her womanhood. Bringing a female view to home construction and design is really what many homeowners are looking for, she says.

Take for example a kitchen, Tabacinic says. Most male architects reasoned that a separated kitchen with a window would give a woman a wanted view of the exterior.

Sometimes that’s the case, but often “sometimes you want to be a part of what’s going on around you,” she adds.

“THIS IS A MALE DOMINATED BUSINESS, BUT I FEEL I AM THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. I UNDERSTAND MY CLIENTS AND GET ALONG WITH WOMEN IN A GREAT WAY. I UNDERSTAND THEM. I THINK WOMEN ARE MUCH BETTER AT COMMUNICATION.” BEAUTIFUL, ISN’T IT? IT’S THE WORK OF SANDY TABACINIC, WHO IS WORKING IN A FORMERLY MAN’S DOMAIN.

Observers say that Tabacinic, a single mother of three teenagers, must be doing some great communication, since via her company, Homecorp, she has been working on many different home projects all over the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area. More and more clients are entrusting the high-heeled Latina of Colombian-Jewish heritage to remodel or design their homes.

From Colombia, with love Tabacinic grew in her native Colombia, learning from her mother, who is an architect and her grandmother, who was an interior decorator.

“I have been around construction projects most of my life. It just grew into a career,” tells Tabacinic.

At 18, the future home constructor moved to the U.S. She studied graphic design, with visits to Israel.

She married and moved to Puerto Rico, where after some years she relocated to the Dallas area, she says.

She started working as a graphic designer just when the housing boom exploded, when people were buying homes as investments, she recalls.

18 • April / May 2015

SANDY TABACINIC, ORIGINALLY FROM COLOMBIA, IS BRINGING A LATINA STYLE TO SOME OF THE BEST HOMES IN THE DALLAS METRO AREA.

That’s how open kitchens were designed, Tabacinic says. Women want to be part of their families and gatherings while they are cooking or taking care of things, she says. Open kitchens permit that.

In addition, a home truly is a woman’s castle, so they understand it better, Tabacinic reasons.

“If you are a woman and have children, you kind of understand how a home needs to work. It needs to have storage rooms, the function of a family,” she says.

That is why many people are doing away with 1990’s media rooms and having remodelers like Tabacinic turn them into more contemporary multiuse rooms, she says.

Home, sweet home Being one of Dallas’s top remodeling designers is tough. Tabacinic’s day starts at 5:30 in the morning every day, juggling her home life with three teenagers, fronting her business and listening intently to what their clients want, she says.

“Having communication is very women driven,” she says.

Building posh homes, designing striking interiors and going seamlessly from different construction styles and colors are all part of her daily chores, she says.

But at the end of the day, Tabacinic is really looking for one thing: happiness.

“Even when I finish the work, I’m never fully finished,” she says. “Maybe a year later I’ll come with a bottle of wine and say, ‘I’m coming to visit.’ And what I’m doing basically is checking the house and making sure that its o.k. I want people to be happy.”

LEADERS

MONITOR ALLIANCE TO HONOR VISIONARY LEADER

The National America Alliance will devote the Wall Street Summit in November to Jorge Castro, who passed away in early April.

A

national, non-profit organization will dedicate a top event in honor of a Latino business leader who passed away earlier this month.

The National America Alliance (NAA) will devote the Wall Street Summit, which will take place in New York City to honor Jorge Castro, a prominent figure of Latino business leadership. The Alliance says, via a press release, that while it mourns his death, it also celebrates his legacy; Castro embodied the NAA’s ethos and mission.

“It was through Jorge’s vision, belief and passion for increasing the leadership of Latinos and diverse professionals in finance and asset management, that NAA began its work in increasing access to investment capital for diverse firms and businesses,” says NAA via the press release. “We will remember Jorge as a change agent who built new roads of opportunity.”

A private funeral for Castro’s family was held in Los Angeles on April 8. A future memorial is also planned.

Castro was Executive Chairman of the Board, partner, prior CEO, and Co-Founder of Lombardia Capital Partners. Previously, he served as CEO, CIO

the Staff of Latino Leaders

and founding principal of Los Angeles-based CIC/HCM Asset Management (19902003). Prior to starting CIC/HCM in 1990, Jorge worked for Goldman Sachs & Company (1985-1990) and J.P. Morgan (1983-1985) in New York City.

The son of a merchant seaman and homemaker who struggled to make ends meet, Jorge was born in the Watts Community of Los Angeles. He attended catholic schools in Los Angeles, including Loyola Jesuit High School, before winning a scholarship to Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts for his final two years of high school.

He went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from Princeton, win a Danforth Fellowship and earn a Master’s degree in Government from Harvard. He was also a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard before turning to a career on Wall Street. Professionally, Jorge was a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Many other renowned Latino figures showered Castro’s work and legacy.

“It is a sad day that marks the passing of our colleague.

I will always treasure Jorge Castro’s contributions to our community and to our cause. I join each and everyone of you in celebrating his life, says Raul Yzaguirre, NAA Co-Founder and a former ambassador to the Dominican JORGE CASTRO, IN 2003. CASTRO PASSED AWAY IN EARLY APRIL. HE IS HAILED AS A GREAT LEADER AND VISIONARY. Republic.

“Jorge Castro has led the way for us all. His journey has just started, joining our ancestors on whose shoulders we all stand,” says Moctesuma Esparza, the famous filmmaker and also NAA founding member. “As we mourn his loss in our daily lives it is also a time to celebrate his contributions to his family, us and our collective mission— the well being of our people and country. We all will follow his path. We now know he will be there as he has always been to greet us and guide us. Jorge lives in our lives forever.”`

DALLAS OIL EXPERT DONATES TO BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF FORT WORTH

C

COURTESY PHOTO

Major sponsors include Finley Resources, XTO Energy, EnLink Midstream, Breitling Energy, Coca-Cola Refreshments, EOG Resources, WEIR Oil & Gas. The event is chaired by Jim hris Faulkner, the owner of Breitling Energy and an Finley and Brent Talbot from Finley oil expert will speak at the 10th Annual North Texas Resources and assisted by: Win Ryan, Gas & Oil Crawfish Boil, at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

XTO, Jim Cox, Silver Oak Energy The event is scheduled to take place on Friday, The 10th Annual North Texas Gas CHRIS FAULKNER, OF BREITLING ENERGY AND April 24th. & Oil Crawfish Boil, featuring live AN EXPERT IN OIL AND GAS AND THE AUTHOR Faulkner, who is the author of The Fracking music from Me & My Monkey and OF THE FRACKING TRUTH:AMERICA’S ENERGY REVOLUTION: THE INSIDE, UNTOLD STORY. Truth:America’s Energy Revolution: the Inside, Untold Poo Live Crew, Texas Hold ‘Em tournament free to attendees with $500 Story, will speak at the event. In addition, he is scheduled to make a check to the Boys and Girls Club of Fort first prize, 7,000+ pounds of crawfish, cold beer and Coca-Cola Refreshments, additionWorth, which serves mostly minority and Latino children of the area. al food and drink in sponsor tents, Kenny Chesney & 4,000-plus professionals from the region’s oil and gas industry and local officials join Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth to raise funds for youth Jason Aldine ticket raffle, Sport Auction and more. programs, and keep the lines of communication open about the impact of the The event will take place at River Ranch in the oil and gas industry on our community Stockyards, 500 NE 23rd Street. latinoleaders.com

COURTESY PHOTO

Stories by

Q&A

THE

LI ATINA S S U E

LUZ BAZÁN

THE TEJANA FROM THE NORTH

L

COURTESY PHOTOS

UZ BAZÁN GUTIÉRREZ has been an activist on behalf “AS LATINOS of Latinos most of her life. Originally from Falfurrias, WE HAVE a small town in southern Texas, she ended up in YaTO SET OUR kima, a beautiful city in the Pacific Northwest, where OWN DESTINY. her feisty personality is tailor-made (despite comWE CAN’T BE plaints by some) in defense of the mostly agricultural HAVING PEOPLE Hispanic immigrants who live there.

TELL US WHAT As a child, Gutiérrez, who grew up in a middle-class home, OUR DESTINY IS saw that her parents were active in defending the rights of LatiGOING TO BE. nos. She quickly followed their example.

WE HAVE TO After becoming a schoolteacher and getting married, GutiérSET OUR OWN rez and her husband moved to Oregon and later to the Yakima DESTINY BY Valley, one of the least known yet considered one of the loveliest CREATING THE Valleys in the nation. The Yakima Valley has the largest group of JOBS. BY BEING Latinos —mostly from México— who work in agricultural jobs.

IN CHARGE All along, Gutiérrez has worked, via channeling funds and OF OUR OWN programs for Latinos to own their businesses and homes, to BUSINESSES, improve the lives of Hispanics in the Pacific Northwest. She BECAUSE now works with the Yakima Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, BASICALLY LUZ BAZÁN GUTIÉRREZ IS A LEGEND IN THE PACIFIC which she helped found.

NORTHWEST. SHE IS IN THE HISTORY BOOKS FOR HER YOU CONTROL STRUGGLE TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF LATINOS. She says: “As Latinos we have to set our own destiny. We YOUR OWN can’t be having people tell us what our destiny is going to be.

FINANCES.” We have to set our own destiny by creating the jobs. By being in charge of our own businesses, because basically you control your own finances.”

Gutiérrez’ pugilistic nature proved perfect for our question and answer session.

LL Immigration reform or wishful thinking?

LB Immigration reform will come. There is no LL Is there still a glass ceiling for Latinas? way that we as a nation cannot have immigration LB Yes there is. reform to move forward as a country.

LL The secret of success?

LB The secret of success is just to go for it. Stop letting people tell you you can’t do this, you can’t run for office, you can’t get that job. Just go for it.

LL Republicans or Democrats?

LB I think neither of the parties is doing what they should be doing for our communities. I think we have to do what we need to do and work with the parties that want to work with us.

LL Being a tejana is…

LB Fabulous.

LL So what is it? Tejano or Tex-Mex? LB I think most of us consider ourselves Tejanos. I call myself a Texas Mexican.

LL The next U.S. president should…

LB I think we need a woman to be the next U.S. President. We need to have that sensitivity that many times men don’t have.

LL Latinas are special because…

LB We have the stamina and determination. We are very well organized.

20 • April / May 2015

LL The meaning of being Latino?

LB Is we are a proud culture. We are proud of who we are and our heritage is a very big part of who we are.

LL The Yakima Valley is…

LB The Yakima Valley needs a lot of help. We continue to live in a box. We need to change that.

LL The Bushes or the Clintons?

LB Definitely I am a Texan and I admire some of the things that Barbara Bush says as a woman, as a mother. But the reality is that the Clintons have done bigger strides for our communities. I trust that that will continue to happen.

LL What does it mean to be a leader?

LB What it means to be a leader is to listen, to be able to listen to what people want, to be able to think about what we need to do and to be able to talk about it as us and we, instead of I.

PAPER prophet Story by Judi Jordan Courtesy photos

Amy Tintera is sci-fi fiction’s coolest, new writer. A native of Austin, Tintera’s novels are popular with young adults; Fox Studios bought the movie rights for her novel, Reboot.

F

or someone whose bestselling books are all set in a sinister future, Amy Tintera is certainly enjoying life in the present.

A successful young adult author with HarperCollins/HarperTeen, she’s known for her fact-paced, action, high-concept and romance packed sci-fi novels, Reboot and Rebel, Tintera’s books are often compared to The Hunger Games in tone, and have already been optioned by a major Hollywood Studio.

This bleak alternate universe all emanates from her sunny Austin Texas writing room where she spins tales of a harsh future not lacking in love—or courage.

One of five children, Amy began writing novels at age 12, and had six novels completed by the time she was finished high school. She worked part time jobs, went to Texas A & M, and scored her masters in film at Emerson College, but after a short stint in Los Angeles, she quickly returned home to pursue her true love; writing. Aside from her obvious talent as a writer, Tintera’s clarity, self-awareness, and focus are the secret ingredients in her flourishing career.

Here’s the plot that took Tintera from A [Amy] to P [Published].

Latino Leaders: You’re a Texas gal, that’s where it all started?

Amy Tintera: Yep! I grew up in Austin.

22 • April / May 2015

Were you encouraged by your parents to write?

Definitely! My mom is a big reader (and a teacher), so she always encouraged me to write. My sister was also very encouraging. She’s read everything I’ve ever written. She was my first critique partner!

Were you a solitary or outgoing child?

I was definitely not outgoing! I’ve always been an introvert, and I was even more shy as a kid. I got asked “why don’t you talk?” a lot!

Do you read a lot, and if yes, what--and who--do you read?

Yes! I read a lot of YA, since that’s what I write. Recent favorites include I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, NIL by Lynne Matson, and Hexed by Michelle Krys. I read some adult as well - I’m a big fan of Gillian Flynn, and Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorites.

Do you have any favorite Latino authors?

Alex Sanchez! Rainbow Boys is a favorite.

When did you know that writing was your special gift?

I’m not sure I knew it was my special gift, I just knew I liked it. In fact, in high school and college, I was sure I wasn’t good enough to be published. I just thought it was something I would always do for fun. As I got a bit older I decided I should at least try to get published.

WITH MODEL GOOD LOOKS AND ACCOMPLISHED WRITING STYLES, AMY TINTERA IS TAKING THE SCI-FI GENRE BY STORM. HOLLYWOOD IS LOOKING TO TURN AT LEAST ONE OF HER BOOKS INTO A MOVIE.

Do you recall the first thing you ever wrote?

It was a 30-page handwritten short story that was basically Sweet Valley High fan fiction. I set out to write a novel, but it was done in 30 pages. I had to learn how to pace myself!

How many books did you write before being published?

My debut, Reboot, was number nine.

Did you sweat over query letters--did you send those out first, and how many?

I sent query letter to agents first. Reboot was my second time querying, so it wasn’t as stressful as the first time.

After about fifty query letters and 3 months later I got an offer from Emmanuelle Morgen, who is still my agent.

in my life to focus on my career. But I try to plan vacations and take trips to the movies to get out of my head once in a while.

How did you decide on the ‘genre’?

I’ve always been a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy. Some of my favorite shows are Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Vampire Diaries, among others.

What does this reflect about who you are?

I like thinking about what the world will be like in future, or what the world would be like if there were magical creatures or crazy technology.

The “what ifs” are very interesting to me.

Where do your characters ‘come from’?

How many publishers did you submit to before getting to yes?

Submitting to the publisher was much faster. My agent sent the manuscript out and there was a 4-house auction within 10 days.

They usually just kind of appear! With Reboot, Wren just started speaking in my head and I started building the character from there.

Do you plot out your stories, or just let the characters speak to you?

How do you stay inspired? Ever have writer’s block?

If I have writer’s block, it’s usually because I’ve taken a wrong turn in the story somewhere. So I’ll usually go back and reevaluate recent scenes, and I’ll probably end up deleting some stuff to get back on track.

I don’t really plot. I usually have a vague idea of the first half of the book when I start writing, but not much else. I tend to revise the first draft heavily, and rewrite at least half.

And lastly...What are you working on next?

I’m working on Ruined, which is the first in a new fantasy trilogy.

Do you have a daily routine?

I usually write in the mornings and early afternoons, walk my dog, and then I may write again in the early evening if I have more to do. I’m pretty flexible!

Do you want to write screenplays for your novels?

Did writing make you more solitary --and how do you find the balance between working alone and ‘life?’

Do you believe in life from other planets exists -- and among us?

Writing definitely made me more solitary, especially since I’m a full-time writer and I work from home. I’m fine with being solitary for now; I feel like this is a really good time

No, I prefer to leave that to the Hollywood professionals!

Someone else is adapting Reboot for the screen.

I hope life exists on other planets! It’s nice to think that there are other life forms out there. I would hope that if they were among us, they would have said something by now!

TIME LINE 1818 - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley publishes Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.

It is often considered to be the first true science fiction novel.

1870 - Jules Verne

1937 - The legendary editor John W. Campbell Jr takes charge of the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction. His leadership inaugurates what is often known as “The Golden Age of Science Fiction” and helps start the careers of numerous influential SF writers such as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.

1938 - Orson Welles presents a radio drama based on H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, in the form of a news broadcast. Unfortunately, many listeners mistakenly believe they are hearing a real newscast about actual martian invaders.

1968 - Director Stanley Kubrick releases the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, based loosely on the short story The Sentinel

by Arthur C. Clarke. Shortly thereafter, Clarke publishes a novel based on the film.

1977 - George Lucas releases his ultrapopular film, Star Wars, and changes the look of summer entertainment forever.

tion is published.

1939 - The first World Science Fiction Convention is held in New York.

1982 - This year sees the release of numerous important SF films, including Steven Spielberg’s megahit ET: The Extraterrestrial, the influential Bladerunner (which is credited with jump-starting the cyberpunk movement), Tron (which was the first film to make extensive use of CGI special effects), and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (which many consider to be the best of the Trek movies).

1921 - The word “robot” is used for the first time in the

1941 - Isaac Asimov publishes the short story Nightfall,

1985 - Orson Scott Card publishes his novel Ender’s Game,

Czech play R.U.R. by Karel Capek. It is derived from the Czech word robota which means “statute labour.”

in Astounding Science-Fiction. It is now among the most famous SF short stories of all time.

which is based on a short story he published in 1977.

1926 - In the premier issue (April) of Amazing Stories

1950 - Ray Bradbury publishes the book The Martian

Hugo Gernsback defines a term he has recently coined: “scientifiction.” This term soon evolves into “science fiction.”

Chronicles, a brilliant and influential collection of interconnected stories which relate the history of humanity’s exploration and colonization of the red planet.

1926 - Director Fritz Lang releases the influential SF film

1966 - NBC broadcasts the first episode of Gene Rod-

Metropolis.

denberry’s highly influential television program, Star Trek.

publishes Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.

1895 - H. G. Wells’ novel The Time Machine: An Inven-

1997 - The brilliant websites The Interplanetary Railroad and Talkin’ Smeg are founded by Argus Skyhawk.

1999 - After having generously handed control of the aforementioned sites over to Realm Scribe Shadren and §amantha, Argus founds a new site, The Rings of Saturn. It goes on to become the most popular site on the internet.

2013 - HarperCollins publishes Amy Tintera’s novel, Reboot.

Courtesy photo

Rosy Ocampo One of the most influential Latinas in Television worldwide, Rosy Ocampo is a visionary who has produced some of the most popular and influential telenovelas of all time.

“La Fea más Bella” (Mexico’s version of Ugly Betty) was a monster hit. How successful are Ocampo’s telenovelas?

Several times her productions have bested America’s most popular shows in the U.S. and have aired in over 70 countries.

Considered one of the 100 most important women in México, Ocampo, 55, is currently working on a romantic telenovela called Antes muerta que Lichita.

With her classy style and deep knowledge, Ocampo answered the classic Proust questions with flair and substance.

Your idea of Happiness?“Happiness is a set of unique, unrepeat-

favorite Latino authors, poets? -Authors: Gabriel García Márquez, José

able and brief moments that, when they are added up one by one, make up a satisfying and full existence for oneself and for the ones that are around you.” Your favorite virtue? “To be faithful and loyal.” Your favorite qualities in a Latina? “Many Latinas are true warriors that get ahead no matter what, whatever it costs, almost always under adverse circumstances. We transform pain into a fortress, being great fighters.” Your chief characteristic?

“Perseverance.” What you appreciate the most in your friends? “Loyalty and solidarity, be it in good times or bad times. Especially in ‘bad times,’ because during the ‘good times’ everyone wants to be around but in the bad times is where you know who your real friends are.” Your main flaw? “To be a perfectionist.”

Your favorite hobby? “To travel.” Your idea of happiness? “To be good with oneself, not to feel that I owe something to life nor that life owes you something.” Where would you like to live? “As the poet said [Antonio Machado], I would like to be like him who travels ‘unencumbered by baggage’, at every level.” Your

Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Juan Rulfo, Jorge Ibargüengoitia, Rubem Fonseca, Jorge Amado, José Martí, Fernando del Paso.

-Poets; García Lorca, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Rosario Castellanos, José Emilio Pacheco, Pedro Garfias. Your favorite Latino painters and composers. -Painter: Frida Kahlo. - Composer: Cuco Sánchez (“La cama de piedra” y “Grítenme piedras del campo,” among).

Also Lila Downs. Your Latina heroines in World history? “Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a woman who stood out as a poet, playwright and thinker in the 17th Century; unique in her kind, in times when only men stood out and in the case of women, only queens and empresses. Sor Juana excelled as an incomparable artist in her time and is unique in the world.” What I hate the most. “Betrayal.

Low blows. The lack of loyalty, hypocrisy.” How I wish to die “In my bed and as an elderly lady, surrounded by all of my loved ones.”

What is your present state of mind. Excellent! Ready for whatever comes ahead! For what weakness have you most toleration? White lies.

Your favorite motto? “Live and let live.”

LUPITA COLMENERO IS A DALLAS MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR. SHE IS THE COFOUNDER AND PUBLISHER OF EL HISPANO NEWS, A PUBLICATION WHICH HAS SERVED THE LATINO COMMUNITY IN THE METROPLEX AREA FOR OVER 30 YEARS.

26 • April / May 2015

MEDIPOWER A Story by Joseph Treviño

Lupita Colmenero went to Dallas from her native Mexico in search of her missing brother. She ended up founding a newspaper to help Latinos in need.

F

or Lupita Colmenero, life seemed so bright, she almost needed shades.

She had graduated as a social worker in her native León, Guanajuato, in México. She had a good job in an big company and had plans to marry her high school sweetheart. But when her older brother, Joel, went missing after he migrated to Dallas, everything came crashing down.

Colmenero asked for a six-month leave from her gig, parted north and searched for her brother. She went to the police, asked for the local media’s help and even hired a private investigator so search for Joel.

Nothing.

To this day, 34 years later, Colmenero has not been able to find her brother. The failed search ended up breaking up her family, she says.

“My initial goal was to stay here for six months. But I did not want to go back without news for my mother. I thought I would not be able to go back,” Colmenero says.

But the search had a bright spot, she says. She found help in a Spanish-language newspaper, which printed several stories.

There, she also found the man she would fall in love with and later marry.

“That’s how I came to El Sol de Texas, which was the only [Spanish-language] newspaper that existed back then,” Colmenero recalls. “That’s how I met the father of my two children,” recalls Colmenero, who ended up marrying Marcos Suárez, the publisher of El Sol.

Media activist

Colmenero’s plight during the search for her brother, led her and Suárez to create El Hispano News, possibly North Texas’ first free Spanish-language newspaper. The goal was to provide a good, quality publication that not only brought news, but also

solid community information and a comprehensive directory that would help inform avid readers.

“The idea came up out of the need that was in that time of informing people like me, who came with those types of problems, with limited opportunities. There was no Spanish television back then,” she recalls.

By fate, Colmenero says, looking for her lost brother, she did not choose the media, but the other way around.

“It was the media who found me,” Colmenero says.

In the end, this was a good thing, Colmenero says. Her goal of serving the Latino community of Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area was coming into fruition, she adds. El Hispano News suffered several setbacks related with new publications, but it quickly became the publication of choice for Spanish-speakers, with the convenience of being a free weekly.

Still, for Colmenero, it was not easy leaving her social worker background. On the 20th anniversary of the foundation of El Hispano News, Colmenero started “Parents Step Ahead,” a non-profit program designed to help parents in the education of their schoolchildren.

One of the main goals of step ahead is to help parents support their children during the early school years. Many Latino parents believe that college is out of their financial league, but via scholarships and programs, they are accesible, Colmenero says.

“The thing about not having money and so you can’t go to college is a myth,” she says.

“My initial goal was to stay here for six months. But I did not want to go back without news for my mother. I thought I would not be able to go back. My brother’s dissapearance was the break-up of my family.”

The act of being a Latina leader

The media may not have been her first choice as a career, but Colmenero dove headfirst into it anyway. In addition to publishing a newspaper, she became a news anchor for Dallas’ Spanish-language Channel 19. Realizing that she was good in front of a camera, she took part in two independently produced movies, one about the communist regime in Cuba.

28 • April / May 2015

For Colmenero, it is a privilege that for someone like her who travelled to Texas in search of her lost brother —she keeps her investigative files in boxes and does not lose hope of one day finding Joel— is now seen by others as a true leader.

Colmenero loves movies and has a passion for theater, going to plays whenever she can, but her life has, like for most Latinas she says, been hard work and dedicated to her family. She is now married to Mr. Robert Bard, the owner of Latina Style Magazine; she treasures and finds happiness in her children, Eileen and Marcos Suárez, who are now professionals.

What makes Latinas unique, Colmenero says is the fact that they can face the toughest ordeals and overcome through sheer willpower. At the same time, Latinas are very family oriented.

“For me my family is number one,” Colmenero says. “We can multi-task, we Latinas are afraid of nothing, especially when it comes to acheiving a goal. But it is the way we see the family.”

Staff of Latino Leaders

THE

LI ATINA S S U E most po erful latinas They are the Alpha females.

This is Latino Leaders Magazine’s A-list of the most influential Hispanic women in America.

T

his is it.

These are, to the best our knowledge, the 15 most powerful Latinas in the country. Yes, wealth, power and fame play an important role in their selection, but also influence.

Women have definitely made huge strides in the last decades, with Latinas being no exception. But clearly, not enough.

In many areas, Latinas clearly are outpacing Latinos. However, a lot more needs to be done so that it becomes a true level playing field.

Hispanic women in the United States are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as non-Hispanic women, according to Pew Research Hispanic Center.

latinoleaders.com

L AT INO LE A DE R S

Story by: the

THE MOST POWERFUL LATINAS Still, as our following list shows, Latinas have made inroads in business, arts, culture, health, science and practically in every field.

The teen pregnancy rate for Hispanic teens decreased from 104.6 per 1,000 in 1991 to 49.4 per 1,000 in 2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More and more Latinas are college-bound. In 1970, only 4.3 percent of Hispanic women were college graduates and by 2010 that rose to almost 15 percent, according to U.S. Census data.

From the corporate world, to traditional female jobs to the home, there are many Latinas who toil and sacrifice their lives for others. No doubt, there are several talented women whom we have left out in this list.

But these are the most powerful Latinas in the country. They are in numerous fields, going where few have dared tread before.

More power to them.

LINDA G. ALVARADO President and CEO of Alvarado Construction. Co-owner of Colorado Rockies.

Linda G. Alvarado likes to mention that she has been mistaken for a banker, a secretary and an office cleaning lady.

But never as a construction contractor.

The first woman ever to own a professional baseball team, Alvarado is a true trailblazer. Born in New Mexico, with five brothers in a humble home with no indoor plumbing and heated by wood stoves, she grew up tough.

She credits her parents for instilling in her a passion for honesty and work and a never say die attitude. With a loan from them she started her own construction company (they had to refinance their home).

At first, she met with much resistance from both sexes when they found out that a woman was working in construction. The backlash almost made her quit.

“We have to be careful that their narrow vision doesn’t cloud our perspective,” she says.

Despite the opposition, Alvarado became a powerhouse in Colorado construction. She is now a part of the Fortune 500; she has national clients.

Then there’s baseball. In 1992, Alvarado became the first woman and Latina or Latino to own a pro team when she became a partner of the Colorado Rockies.

An exemplary role model –no mater what gender- Alvarado likes to talk to young people. Her advice is simple, but powerful— keep pressing forward and go after your dreams.

She says: “What is important is not how others see you, but how you see yourself.”

30 • April / May 2015

CAROLINA HERRERA Fashion designer/Entrepreneur The embodiment of elegance, good taste, style and refinement, minus snobbery, Carolina Herrera is one of the most influential Latinas of the last 30 years.

Latinos have always made inroads in the world of fashion (think Oscar de La Renta in the modern haute couture or how Mexican vaqueros strongly influenced the dress style and profound character and lifestyle of the American cowboy). Herrera took things to a higher level.

Consider this: a talented Hispanic designer could have taken the easy road, designed a popular street style of gangsta clothing. But Herrera did the total opposite: she has dressed First Ladies (Jacqueline Kennedy adored her), royalty and class A divas.

With her elegant, gorgeous styles she reminds non-Latinos again and again that Hispanics can and often do have the best of tastes.

Instead of letting her class and styles slum down, she exquisitely forces us to look higher – and that’s a good thing.

Born in Venezuela in 1939, at the age of 40 Herrera, a socialite who had relocated to Manhattan and was a favorite of Mick Jagger and others, converted her passion for clothes into a business, when in 1981 she took the world of fashion by storm with a line that impressed the cream of the crop in the fashion world.

At 76, Herrera keeps turning out knockout styles, with her elegance and beauty still a staple of her fashions and herself. Few times have influence and power been so beautiful and sweet.

JAIME HERRERA-BEUTLER Congresswoman in Washington State’s 3rd District.

Her home is in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, where lush green forests and valleys rival some images from the Middle Earth of the Lord of the Rings movies. But despite the aesthetics of the place, the area seems forgotten by the rest of America and even other Latinos, in spite of the fact that it has a large Latino population.

Jaime Herrera-Beutler is the first person of Latino origin from Washington State ever to win and sustain a seat in Congress. Herrera-Beutler, 36, represents Southwest’s Washington’s 3rd District since 2010.

A Republican, Herrera-Beutler survived a Tea Party challenge during her campaign for the 3rd District. Time Magazine selected her to be part of the “40 under 40.”

Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams is one of her most influential figures, Herrera-Beutler says. She also cites Britain’s former Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher.

“I am encouraged and challenged by Thatcher’s clarity of vision and her unwavering dedication to what was best for her country,” she says. “She stood firm in the face of tough opposition and was a strong leader.”

COLUMBA BUSH Philanthropist Will Columba Bush become the first Latina First Lady of the White House.

Only time will tell. But what is certain is that she is already a very influential woman. She is the wife of Jeb Bush, the man from the Bush dynasty who has given indications that he could run for President. She is also the mother of George P. Bush, who currently is the Texas Land Commissioner and many see as a future political star at a national level.

By now, Columba’s story is starting to be known. Being Columba originally from León, Guanajuato, México, Jeb Bush spotted her as she sported the quasi-hippie look of that era in the early 1970s, when he was a student in México.

“I fell madly in love with her — literally love at first sight. Whatever I was doing beforehand, I vaguely remember. But my life got really organized after that,” recalls Bush.

The couple married a few years later. They have moved all around the country while all along Columba has become a part of the Bush dynasty.

Quiet, shunning the spotlight, Columba has shown that she is passionate not only for her immediate family, but for battered women.

She has also been active in promoting the arts. In 1999, she worked with Arts for a Complete Education/Florida Alliance for Arts Education (ACE/FAAE) to develop Arts for Life!, a program devoted to increasing the importance of art in the education system.

MARIA CONTRERAS-SWEET Administrator of Small Business Administration Last year, María Contreras-Sweet, originally from Jalisco, Mexico, became the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

She is the first Latina to hold that position. President Barack Obama named her to the post.

A mentor to many, ContrerasSweet rose to vice-president of public affair at 7-Up / RC Bottling Company, she lent her talents to California as the state’s Business Transportation cabinet secretary. She also founded ProAmérica Bank, the first Latino-formed commercial bank in California in over 35 years.

But as National City’s Jacqueline Reynoso (please see her story on page 12) shows, her exemplary work towards helping young Latinas flourish is also what makes Contreras-Sweet so influential— and powerful.

Contreras-Sweet is the Founding President[of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE). Its goal is to provide political education of Hispanic women so that they can improve the communities in which they live for the betterment of all.

Her membership in boards of organizations for charitable and noble causes are many, which shows how and why a person of power shines most when they give so much of their time for others in need.

SALMA HAYEK Actress/Producer/Activist Sure she has been described more often than not as “sexy” and has heated up many Hollywood movies ever since landing in California in the early 1990s after participating in some Telenovelas in her native Mexico.

But what has made Salma Hayek stand out is that she has proven that she is not only a good actress with stunning looks, but a good businesswoman and a creative producer as well.

Since launching her American film career in the early 90s, Salma has been a fixture in Hollywood. Her talent and range have been seen in the biopic, “Frida,” while offering comedic relief in television shows like “30 Rock” and “Ugly Betty,” a show for which she served as executive producer.

An entrepreneur, Hayek is the CEO of Ventanarosa, a production company that develops Latino-themed projects for networks like ABC. But Hayek’s work goes beyond Hollywood. Her charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants. In February 2006, she donated $25,000 to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, shelter for battered women and another $50,000 to Monterrey based anti-domestic violence groups.

Hayek also advocates breastfeeding. During a UNICEF factfinding trip to Sierra Leone, she breastfed a hungry week-old baby whose mother could not produce milk.

Hayek married Kering CEO, Francois-Henri Pinault.

Yes, stunning good looks. And so much more.

MONICA LOZANO Media Entrepreneur, former head of most important Spanishlanguage daily She may no longer be the CEO and publisher of La Opinión, the largest and arguably most important Spanish-language daily in the U.S., but Mónica Lozano’s influence and power in the world of Latino media can be felt.

Coming from the Lozano dynasty, who were pioneers in Latino media, Mónica Lozano’s power and influence has helped shape the history of media in the U.S. Growing up in Southern California, Lozano went to work as the managing editor or La Opinión newspaper in 1985.

Lozano has been on the board of directors at the Walt Disney Company since 2000. She is also Chair of the Board of Bank of America. She is on the board of Southern California’s Weingart Foundation and the National Council of La Raza.

She is a member of the Board of Regents for the University of California and the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California. Since 2001, she has been on the board at UnionBan Cal Corporation. In 2012, Lozano was named to the board of the Rockefeller Foundation. From 2002-2005, she was a director of the Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

THE MOST POWERFUL LATINAS SUSANA MARTÍNEZ Governor of the State of New Mexico She is the first woman ever to be elected as governor of New Mexico.

There is a reason why Time Magazine selected her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Martínez was born in El Paso, Texas. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. After graduating from college and being admitted to the State Bar of New Mexico, she began her career as an assistant district attorney for New Mexico’s 3rd Judicial District in Las Cruces in 1986, before being appointed deputy district attorney in 1992.

She then ran for District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, in 1996 after joining the Republican Party and defeating her former boss; she served three terms as district attorney from 1997 to 2011.

In a woman vs. woman race, Martínez defeated rival Diane Denish by a wide margin in November of 2010. She was reelected last year.

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN U.S. Representative (R-Florida) Ros-Lehtinen plays a prominent role in the Cuban-American lobby, which aims to put pressure on the Cuban government and encourage political change on the island. In July she introduced bills to enhance the security of the Western Hemisphere and to authorize appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal year 2013.

She is currently one of three Republican members of the LGBT Equality Caucus and is a vice-chairperson.

Ros-Lehtinen also gave the first Republican response to the State of the Union address in Spanish in 2011, and gave the third in 2014.

Ros-Lehtinen also enjoys being the most senior woman member of Congress. She advises others to fight for their goals.

She says: “No matter where you are from, no matter what your background is, no matter what your socioeconomic status is, every person can achieve his or her dreams.”

32 • April / May 2015

ELLEN OCHOA Former astronaut and current Director of the Johnson Space Center.

She became the first Latina to go to space.

Ellen Ochoa is now the director of the Johnson Space Center. Need we say more?

Yes, Ochoa is awesome. She also has a superb story.

She may not earn millions, nor does she hold sway over large territories or headline events, but her influence is felt all the way to the stars— literally.

The woman who would head into space was born in Los Angeles, but calls La Mesa, California her hometown. She always had a knack for science. She graduated from Grossmont High School in El Cajon in 1975 and got a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from San Diego State University in 1980 and a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1981 and 1985, respectively.

Ochoa became the first Latino (regardless of sex) in the world to go to space when she embarked on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993. The astronauts were studying the Earth’s ozone layer.

Ochoa says she wishes that her work and accomplishments inspire others, especially Latinos.

“I hope that my background and me being able to talk about the importance of education to my career will really give them something to think about,” Ochoa said. “An incentive to set goals for themselves.”

SONIA SOTOMAYOR U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice In this list, there are a quite a few firsts.

Linda Alvarado is the first woman owner of a pro baseball team, Ellen Ochoa is the first Latina to go out into space, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the first Latina to become a congresswoman.

Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina to become part of the U.S Supreme Court when in May of 2009 President Barack Obama selected her. She was quickly confirmed, assuming the seat vacated by retiring Judge David Souter. She made history as the first Hispanic and only the third woman to make it to the nation’s highest court.

But the road to the Supreme Court was far from easy. In fact, it took a lot of work and much more than hopes, she says.

“I had no need to apologize that the look-wider, search-more affirmative action that Princeton and Yale practiced had opened doors for me. That was its purpose: to create the conditions whereby students from disadvantaged backgrounds could be brought to the starting line of a race many were unaware was even being run,” she says. “I think it’s important to move people beyond just dreaming into doing. They have to be able to see that you are just like them, and you made it,” Sotomayor says.

Why is she so powerful? Well, the legal decisions the Supreme Court takes not only influence legal matters, but also ideas. Yes, as history has shown again and again, ideas, good or bad ones, have consequences.

That is why Sotomayor believes that in life, especially in her work, she must remain fair.

“It is very important when you judge to recognize that you have to stay impartial. That’s what the nature of my job is. I have to unhook myself from my emotional responses and try to stay within my unemotional, objective persona,” she says.

NINA TASSLER Chairman, CBS Entertainment She heads the most-watched television network in America.

Nina Tassler has the power to green light high-profile shows and has supplied the network with hit series’ like The Big Bang Theory, How I Met your Mother, The Good Wife and other shows.

It’s no wonder that Tassler, of Puerto Rican ancestry, is considered the most powerful Latina in television.

Tassler leads the Network’s entertainment programming for primetime, daytime and late night, as well as program development in all genres, including comedy, drama, reality, specials and long-form. She also heads a growing, year-round programming portfolio that features a full slate of original series in the summer as well as projects in the newly created Limited Series & Event Programming unit.

‘In addition, Tassler oversees Entertainment division matters in advertising and promotion, business affairs, consumer products, digital/ interactive, diversity, publicity, scheduling and research.

In June 2011, Tassler was honored by Women in Film with its prestigious Lucy Award, presented to those whose creative work enhances the perception of women through the medium of television. Later that year, she was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

In May 2011, Tassler was honored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles for her work as Chairman of the Federation’s entertainment division. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Jewish Family Services and is a member of the Ambassador Council of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

She currently serves on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Executive Committee and on the Board of Directors of the Academy Foundation. Tassler is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Boston University.

Tassler married to director Jerry Levine and has two children.

THALIA Actress, singer, producer, philanthropist Quite possibly the most successful Latina star of the last 25 years, Thalia (real name Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda), has evolved from a teen singer to Telenovela diva to superstar pop vocalist.

Currently Thalia has her 2015 fashion line with Macy’s, the quintessential and historic middle-class store. Thalia herself dedicated a year and a half to work on her clothing line, including jewelry.

Since the 1980s, when she became part of Timbiriche, the teen act and one of Mexico’s most successful pop groups, Thalia has been part of the spotlight. During the 1990s she became the most successful telenovela actress, some say of all time, with wildly popular Mexican soap operas that were hits all over the world (in the Philippines her visits there elicited crowds reminiscent of Pope John Paul’s visits).

But if you think that Thalia may be rich, famous and shallow, you would be wrong. The wife of Tommy Mottola is also a philanthropist.

Amor a la Mexicana, indeed.

NINA VACA CEO, Pinnacle Technical Resources; Chairman, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors She is on a roll.

Nina Vaca is the former chair of the Board of Directors of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC). Her appointment marked the first time that two Latinas occupy top USHCC leadership.

Vaca not only was able to turn Pinnacle Technical Resources into a top 500 company, but she made it grow during the last recession, which many say is uncanny.

In 2005, she was named an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur Of The Year.” In addition to her business achievements, Vaca has represented the U.S. internationally in transatlantic leadership forms, including the German Marshall Memorial Fellow program (a subset of the German Marshall Fund) as a member of the British-American Project.

Vaca belongs to several high-profile boards, including Comerica Bank, Kohls Corporation and Cinemark.

Recognized for her incredible entrepreneurial skills, Vaca has been hailed by top publications and observers for her accomplishments.

KATHERINE VARGAS White House Director of Hispanic Media The media is indeed the fourth estate, with its eye on political power and holding officials accountable.

If you can profoundly influence the media, you are indeed powerful. That is what Katherine Vargas does with the Latino media.

Sixteen years after arriving in Boca Raton, Fla., from her native Bogota, Colombia, Vargas is the voice of the administration to the millions of Latinos who get their news via Hispanic media. Long involved in the country’s Hispanic communities, Vargas was the director of communication for the National Immigration Forum and worked at the National Immigration Law Center before joining the White House in 2013. A graduate of Miami’s Florida International University, she hopes her story inspires. “I came to this country in 1997 hardly knowing any English,” she said. “To be working at the White House every day—I still kind of pinch myself, because it speaks volumes about the opportunity this country offers.”

PORTFOLIO

Latino Franchise Inc. The world of entrepreneurship, owning your business or just starting one can be daunting.

In fact, most business consultants recommend against starting one. That is, with the exception of a franchise.

The plan, for the franchisee is to use the franchise’s successful business model and plan, instead of trying it out on her or his own. On the other hand, the franchisor’s success depends on the success of its franchisee operators.

It would seem like a win-win situation for both parties, but the practice has its risks and it is hardly fail-proof. Still, franchises, which started in the 1930s in America, have been a successful business model and have grown up to 770,368 in 2014, according go a report by IHS global.

There are no hard data or statistics of how many Latinos or what percentage are franchise operators in the country. But all experts agree that they are too few and that many more are needed, with many brands actively seeking Hispanic candidates, especially the ones with bilingual and bicultural skills.

The following four Latinos in our first ever Portfolio section, which will offer real glimpses into the lives of a select band of leaders, are truly exceptional. But, as they all insist, their success is not unattainable.

Quite the contrary, they insist. They all concur that running a franchise is very hard work, but the rewards are worth it, as well as giving back to their communities.

34 • April / May 2015

For Rita and Jacob

Casanova, being operators of a 7-Eleven franchise has been all about family.

Rita and Jacob —brother and sister— joined forces in Austin, Texas, and decided to run a 7-Eleven store. After years in the corporate and service world —he in restaurants and other ventures in Houston and she with clothing giants like Saks Fifth Avenue in many parts of the country— they wanted to be close to their mother and to other family members.

“That’s what brought me here,” Rita says. “We missed being closer to mom.”

It has been a lot of hard work, running at full speed and paying close attention to detail, but so far the Casanovas have made it happen in the short time they have been at the front of their store.

Photo by Jordan

Gómez

Family values

“It’s really fast paced. You have to make fast decisions,” Jacob says. “You are literally busy every single minute of the day. The whole time you are providing service to the customer.”

So why are not more Latinos going into franchises? One reason, according to the Casanovas, could be that most Hispanics marry young and dedicate most of their time to their families during that time period of their lives.

But in the Casanova’s case, they now have the time, energy and passion to make their franchise work, they say. They add that at the very least, a franchisee can make in salary what she or he used to make in the corporate world.

“It’s exciting to see what we’ve done since we’ve been here. We’ve increased sales from 28 to 35 percent. We’re really excited,” Rita says.

Photo by Alfredo

E. Araiza

An oasis in the desert Here,

in this rugged terrain of Southern Arizona, where during the summer months the desert becomes a dry cauldron, nothing comes easy.

That is why the success of the Canchola family, which runs six McDonald’s restaurants, is noteworthy. Even more striking, locals say, is how the Latino family is just as well known for their leadership and charitable work in their communities via Arcos de Oro, a foundation the family created shortly after arriving and going into business.

Led in the 1970s by the late José Canchola, the Cancholas saw opportunity in Nogales, a small border town in the middle of the Sonoran desert. The bustling place, where two nations meet, Spanish is more popular than English and many cultures mix, was a perfect setting for a McDonald’s restaurant.

In 2008, José Canchola passed away. Now, Roger, the son who learned firsthand from his father, has taken the reigns.

Most of the Canchola McDonald’s are in the Tucson area, where the family for decades has contributed to scholarships, given money to health care programs and has sought to bring opportunities to their employees.

In a former eyesore, Roger Canchola built a restaurant in 2012 from the ground up; it is now a shopping strip facing a busy intersection.

Roger Canchola’s advice to prospective franchisees is to learn all about a brand and make sure that their values are the same as the intented company. Then comes serving others, he says, adding that that is why his family feels so comfortable with McDonalds: they share the same dream of helping others.

“The values that McDonalds was about. Leadership is self-lived, not self-serving. We would look for opportunities,” Canchola says.

“We hopefully set an example for others to follow. It should. You can be whoever you are and set that example.”

36 • April / May 2015

Courtesy photo

Cajun, Latino style Growing up in

Pico Rivera, Héctor Muñoz was seven years old when he went into the family business of his immigrant Mexican parents.

He started by washing dishes, moved up to busing tables and later became a waiter. All along, Muñoz found out one thing: service pays off.

“That’s where I developed my passion for serving others.

I completely understood the benefit of being respectful and hospitable,” Muñoz evokes. “All I had to do was deliver great service and people would tip me more. It’s that simple.

I was the richest kid on the block.”

Now, Muñoz is the Chief Marketing Officer of Popeyes, the food brand that specializes in Louisiana cuisine. In addition to making the restaurants more popular, Muñoz has a lofty goal: make Latinos fall in love with Popeyes.

“Hispanic marketing will play an even bigger role in 2015.

We believe that we have an opportunity to be even more relevant in the fastest-growing segment in the U.S.,” Muñoz says. “Think about it: we have a vibrant and flavorful menu that Hispanic consumers can understand.”

The key, in addition to the mouth-watering Louisiana cuisine, will be the franchisees, Muñoz says, who lives in the Atlanta area. Popeyes is looking for a few good Latino franchisees, where they are the brand’s number one priority, he says.

As for the secret of Munoz success, it’s quite simple, he insists: labor and service to others.

He says: “Hard work absolutely pays and you need to believe in yourself. If you can dream it, you can do it.”

If there is

The king Photo by Jason

38 • April / May 2015

Kindig

a name that defines what being a franchisee and Latino means, it may well be Guillermo Perales.

Known primarily for having over 400 restaurant locations in four states ( primarily Burger King, but also Popeyes, Golden Corral, Cici’s Pizza, Arby’s and others), Perales, a Dallas businessman originally from Mexico, founded Sun Holding in 1997.

Perales grew up reading in specialty magazines about big time business moguls like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

He finished higher learning in the states— then he honed in on his sights.

“I guess at some point and time you have to decide if you are going to create something,” he told Latino Leaders recently. “I thought that paying a royalty for using a name for a brand was better than starting my own concept.”

He chose the restaurant business, zeroing in first on Burger King. In record time Perales became the true king of the Burger King franchises.

Now Perales has moved into other brands like Denny’s and Krispy Kreme. He has diversified his ventures, always respecting the brands he works with, he says.

Despite being a very busy man who handles an ever-increasing empire, Perales believes that dedicating time to his family and leisure is of utmost importance. As for guidance for Latinos who may consider venturing into franchising, he has some gold nuggets of advice.

“Franchising is a solid way to start, because you can get financing easier. It’s the safest way to jump into business,” he says. “Go to conferences, get to meet people and understand why some people fail, why some people are successful and learn from whoever is doing right and really dig into which concept you want to jump in before you jump in. You don’t want to jump into the wrong one.”

THE

LI ATINA S S U E

THE CHARMED LIFE OF

LINDA GRIEGO Story by

Judi Jordan

Photos by Ejen

Chuang

Like a guided arrow tracking an improbable target, luck follows the intrepid entrepreneur, public servant, and board maven Linda Griego as she pursues her curiosity across the country, around the globe, and back. With every seemingly random chance Griego takes, she comes closer to her powerful destiny with humor, hard work, heart-led strategy, and focus. Latino Leaders honored her achievements with the 2014 Los Angeles Maestro Award. Here is the delicious, inspiring tale of her astonishing life.

40 • April / May 2015

L AT INO LE A DE R S LINDA GRIEGO, INSIDE MLK COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OF SOUTH LOS ANGELES. GRIEGO IS ON THE BOARD OF THE BELEAGUERED MEDICAL CENTER THAT IS SCHEDULED TO REOPEN THIS YEAR, AFTER BEING CLOSED FOR EIGHT YEARS.

DREAM ON It’s 1967 in Tucumcari New Mexico, and the tall, willowy 18-year-old girl with the wide, engaging smile, dark soulful eyes, and straight A’s decided to ignore the ‘well meaning’ high school guidance counselor.

“I had a scholarship to University of New Mexico but I didn’t want to go to a local school. I wanted to go to Mills College in Oakland! I’d read about it in a book… but my student ‘advisor’ said “No, your parents can’t afford to send you there—they can’t afford to send you anywhere! You shouldn’t be dreaming like that.”

Linda Griego had just encountered one of many obstacles that would melt in the presence of her gentle tenacity. Her calm, determined presence would take her to Washington —twice— before she was 21.

It would also break barriers for Latinos and women in high places, including a rewarding and terrifying tenure as Tom Bradley’s Deputy Mayor during the LA Riots, a thorny passage in the aftermath with Rebuild LA, an uphill run for mayor of Los Angeles, and a string of successful entrepreneurships and storied board directorships. She would also experience sexual harassment, and resistance, but Linda loves problem solving and that trait has carried the day for her more than a few times.

But first, back to that seminal moment in 1967.

“I had it in my head that I wanted to go to college but even with a scholarship we couldn’t afford it.”

Griego put wish into her back pocket and went to work with the rest of her family in a local bakery.

Tucumcari’s a small place— population hovers around 5,000, more or less. Word got around that Linda, the first in her extended family to ever graduate high school and now ‘dreaming’ of college, was stuck in limbo— and elbow deep in flour.

Then, it happened. The first of many strange and miraculous events in the life journey of Linda came in the form of a job.

But not just any job.

Griego: “My first grade teacher, Connie Morris’ husband was Congressman Tom Morris.”

The congressman’s aide came by the bakery where the entire Griego family was employed, and spoke to Linda, who was ‘still dreaming’ while working there trying to save money for her education.

The aide took Linda aside: “Why don’t you go to Washington and go work for Congressman Morris, there’s an opening.”

Griego met the congressman and after an interview, he offered her the job.

“My first questions were who’s going to pick me up at the airport, where will I live?”

Known for his compassion, Congressman Morris understood Linda’s situation and assured her, “We will take care of all that.”

And they did. In what has become a defining characteristic of her life trajectory, Griego said ‘Yes’.

She went from backwater to deep water with one word and thus began the ascent. Linda was astonished to realize that she’d be earning a good wage.

“It paid $400 a month—more than anyone had made in my family.” She came from a long line of bakers and railroad workers. Money was always tight at home and she’d always made her own spending money.

Griego recalls, “I arrived in Washington, and I was sort of the ‘gofer’ you know go for coffee, go to the post office…and one of my jobs was ‘robo-signing,’ this was placing the letters under the machine that put the congressman’s signature on 10,000 letters to constituents.”

A potentially boring task. But what made it very interesting for Griego was her proximity to power.

“In his office there was a little cubby hole near the congressional office where I did this signing, I could hear everything that was going on— him in discussions with President Johnson —and everyone— it was like a living newspaper or a radio. I was doing ‘robo-signing’ but it was this ongoing stream of events. I could even watch all these politicians; it was such an education.

Tom Morris had been in congress for a long time and was very prominent in armed services, army, navy, later, as result of those days, that would become my area of expertise when everyone else was concerned with the environment or health”.

Griego worked during the day and at night attended classes at George Washington University, and the Department of Agriculture to fill in the gaps in her education. She had quickly realized that her ‘inferior’ high school education —even with her perfect grades— had not prepared her for the rigors of political letter writing.

The congressman’s Chief Of Staff, Anna Marie Ryan, only one of two female COS in the entire government—was patient with her, “But I knew my letter writing was horrible—she’d give me back letters with everything underlined in red”.

Linda was—and remains a ’quick learner.’

“I went to school at night—and my letters improved.”

This penchant for learning and self-improvement never left Griego; instilled by her beloved grandmother, Aurora Griego, who raised her with wisdom, compassion, and generosity.

“My grandmother only had an eighth grade education but she was the most learned person I ever knew. She always said “If you can’t find a job it’s because you don’t have the skills, so get the skills!”

This shaped Griego’s immediate future even when Morris was headed home.

“He lost the election in 1968 and by that time I was planning to come back to New Mexico.”

“WHAT DRIVES ME IS THE CHALLENGE—IT’S ALMOST AN ENGINEERING MIND THAT SAYS O.K. YES— IT’S BAD BUT HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT MENDING IT AND I THINK THAT FOR ME, IN ALL OF MY CAREERS—-WHETHER IN GOVERNMENT OR THE PRIVATE SECTOR IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT TROUBLE SHOOTING, PROBLEM SOLVING, SOMETIMES AT THE MICRO LEVEL SOMETIMES AT THE MACRO LEVEL.”

42 • April / May 2015

Back in New Mexico, Senator Joseph Montoya offered Griego a job. This was a pivotal moment when Linda discovered her love of start-ups.

“I thanked him but told him I really wanted to work for somebody new.”

Senator Montoya was helpful, and offered to help Griego.

“Well, a friend of mine, Senator Alan Cranston just got elected in California—send me your resume and I’ll send it to his office.”

Griego: “They called me, I spoke to him and they offered me a job. I really wanted a job in Westwood so I could attend UCLA, but they said “Look we don’t have anything in LA now but the first one that opens up—we will let you know— go back to Washington and help us with military, you know a lot of military congressional stuff ‘help us with that.” So I went back to Washington we were all sworn in on the same day in January of ’69.”

“We were 13 people on staff we did everything—we just worked around the clock. He was such a great person, Senator Cranston. Actually, both he and Congressman Tom Morris were great mentors. I remember there were a lot of Bobby Kennedy staffers that worked great with the senator. It was a very liberal group and they were very busy on the ‘Hill.”

“My job with the senator was defense—anything military, because remember—I came from that background from Congressman Morris’ office —and Senator Cranston was an anti Vietnam, anti war, anti nuclear proliferation— and all these staffers were really interested in health and the environment but not military so I was the military person at a very young age. There was an invitation that came to Joint Chiefs Of Staff they were giving a briefing to congressional aides who were the military expertise. So, I went, and when I got there they turned me away— they said no women.

I said, ‘Well, I am the senator’s representative.’ They said, ‘sorry, you can’t come in!”’

She smiles.

LINDA GRIEGO, IN HER RESTAURANT AND COFFEE SHOP, ETCHEA, IN LOS ANGELES. SHE LEARNED TO BAKE FROM HER FAMILY BUSINESS DAYS BACK IN NEW MEXICO.

latinoleaders.com

“The Pentagon is overwhelming, OK? Big buildings, guys with guns, big doors it was very intimidating. Just being there and then to be told go away? So I got in a cab and went back to the senator’s office. I said you need to send a man, they won’t let me in. He said ‘Why aren’t they letting you in?’ I said, ‘they don’t let women in. they’re just men.’ Senator Cranston said, ‘you are my representative— you go back. I will call them right now.’ Linda laughs…I was like ‘Senator—they have guns.’ He looked at me and said “Just get back there.”’

By now the seminar is ongoing— I walk in the only woman.”

“That was my first taste of not taking no for an answer. It gave me this feeling of empowerment —I should have argued and stayed— the senator always gave me opportunities.”

To say that Griego was lucky was not to discount her appetite for hard work. It would evince in her next stop: back to Los Angeles where she also would work full time for the senator in his office while studying full time at UCLA. Infinitely practical, flexible, and determined, Griego took courses around her work schedule, majoring in History. By 21, Linda was married to attorney Ron Peterson; she’d found the man she’d spend the next forty-five years —and still counting— with.

They went to Africa for their honeymoon and this is where it gets more eclectic. Maybe it was all that travel, but whatever it was, it gave Linda wanderlust.

She left politics. She wanted change and ownership and experimentation.

She got it.

Griego went to work for AT&T training as one of the first female installers and successfully ran telephone service crews for a few years. She launched Griego Enterprises, Inc and opened a 700 square foot chili stand on La Cienega Boulevard.

“I left my jobs to follow my passion, where I was making no money, but what I got from my grandmother you should always do something that puts people to work.”

She then opened a 20,000 square foot restaurant in an abandoned Downtown LA firehouse called Engine Company 28, then another restaurant in West Hollywood (Griegosold the chili shop, closed the West Hollywood location but held on to Engine Company for 23 years before selling it).

Griego currently has two new ventures: ‘Etchea,’ two Café/Bakeries and Salad/ Sandwich shops in Downtown LA featuring delicious Basque French style food and baked goods. But this parallel food universe would co-exist with Linda’s board management and return to politics… sort of.

Impressing people with her business skills, heart and tenacity, Griego came to the attention of Tom Bradley, (Los Angeles’ mayor from 1973-1993 who became the second African-American mayor of a major city) who invited her to be Deputy Mayor. After they survived the riots, Linda was hired to head Rebuild LA. Seeing the great dearth of jobs as the city’s key problem —one she could fix— Griego decided she’d like to be LA’s first female mayor. That didn’t happen but she made a ton of good contacts and all along she’d been working on the boards of non-profits, for-profits and various foundations.

Over the years, Griego has served on at least 30 different boards. With every step she’s made inroads, fans, and colleagues to forge a better LA. The time was coming for her big third act. It arrived in the form of a chal44 • April / May 2015

lenge: The beleaguered Martin Luther King Community Hospital, which served the economicallychallenged sector of South Los Angeles and closed in 2007 after complaints, required additional funding to support much needed facilities for an expanded maternity ward and more. Ten plus million dollars later, thanks to the hard work of Linda Griego and her colleagues, the ward will open with the new Hospital in spring 2015.

A WITNESS TO HISTORY: GRIEGO ON THE TWO APRIL KING RIOTS “When Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, I was working for Congressman Morris; I was at a Democratic fundraiser at one of these big hotel.

[President] Lyndon Johnson was set to give remarks.

Right in the middle of the dinner someone comes up to the speaker and says “Dr….the Reverend Martin Luther King was just assassinated.” The room —there was a thousand people— went quiet, just quiet. Then the sirens went— you could hear sirens everywhere. I was pretty young and I thought, oh my God what’s going to happen?”

“There were no cabs available, no buses. It was chaos— total chaos. We got a ride home from someone from the building in the where we lived. Shops were closed, there was no food. It was a hard time.

The hardest was looking out the window of our apartment building and seeing smoke everywhere —all around us— my roommates’ parents kept calling; they were from North Dakota.”

“I got no calls. I thought maybe they didn’t know that there were riots going on so I called my grandmother and said ‘I just want you to know that I’m OK.’ ‘She says ‘Of course you are!’”

Linda’s expression recalls her confusion. “I said, ‘Oh, OK.” She thought maybe they hadn’t heard about the riots.

“I said, are you watching the television?”

Griego’s grandmother Aurora, always wise and unshakable replied, “Oh yes! It’s about time! Sometimes you have to take to the streets— sometimes that’s what it takes. Because nothing has changed and people have to sometimes do what they are doing.”

L AT INO LE A DE R S

“THERE WAS NO BUS SERVICE AND I WAS WALKING TO THE RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE WHERE I WORKED AND SEEING ALL THESE TANKS —MILITARY TANKS SURROUNDING THE CAPITAL AND PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE LINED WITH HARD HATS AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE— IN THE CAPITAL! IT GAVE ME CHILLS TO SEE THAT THAT’S HOW FAR THAT WE WERE.

LINDA GRIEGO, IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.

Griego recalls, “That gave me a level of comfort where I thought, ‘I don’t have to be scared. I just have to know why this is happening.”’

In light of recent similar civil unrests that have happened or nearly occurred –think last year’s Ferguson incident and others- Griego believes that her experiences in some of the most seminal violent, mass events in recent American history are noteworthy. So she continues with her tale about the riots after Dr. King’s assassination.

“There was no bus service and I was walking to the Rayburn House Office where I worked and seeing all these tanks —military tanks surrounding the capital and Pennsylvania Avenue lined with hard hats as far as you could see— in the capital! It gave me chills to see that that’s how far that we were. And I remember walking in the building— it was deserted! A lone

congressman from Illinois was there; he asked us ‘What are you doing here?’ We answered, ‘we’re here because the congressman’s in New Mexico. We have to work.’ He said, ‘No. You have to leave. You close down the office and go.’”

“It was a good five days of rioting. In Washington! It doesn’t feel like we’ve done a good job. Like, why did this have to happen? And then you start seeing the unemployment rate is high, the access to good jobs is not there, all of a sudden it brings up all issues that cause people to take matters into their own hands.”

“And at the same time I also saw that these are small business people just trying to make a living and then, not long after we have the assassination of Bobby Kennedy! Yet you’re working for a congressman or a sena46 • April / May 2015

tor. There’s a sense of you rally to the challenge— not throwing your hands up, not hiding in a corner. It’s sort of what do we have to do, what legislation must we enact– protection of elected officials and a whole bunch of things began to happen. It was a very difficult time.”

Some twenty-four years, later Griego experienced déjà vu with the LA Riots after the Rodney King trial verdict [acquitting the four officers who severely beat King, an African-American motorist]; 53 people died, 3,600 fires were set, 1,100 buildings were destroyed, damages came in at between 800 million and 1 billion.

Griego: “In 1992. I was with Mayor Bradley in his office I was deputy. Mayor my charge was economic development working with small businesses. We were in a deep recession. LA County had lost about 200,000 jobs and we had a high unemployment rate everywhere and in high poverty neighborhoods even higher. It was a powder keg. All of it was coming kind of to a head. I was with Tom Bradley when we heard the verdict. And all the color in his face went out —he just turned ashen— I will never forget that, probably as close to fainting as I’d ever seen someone strong like him. He just sat down and it was like he shrank. He knew what was coming.”

She continues: “We were watching the television and he said immediately, ‘Get all the ministers on the line! We need to get with the police, the fire dept everyone who is going to be impacted needs to get on board.’”

MLK COMMUNITY Linda lived right in the middle of HOSPITAL. LINDA GRIEGO the area surrounded by the riots at AND THE BOARD HELPED RAISE FUNDS FOR THE the time.

EMBATTLED HOSPITAL. “I lived in the Baldwin Hills area.

I couldn’t get home, the fires were basically all around! A friend of mine called saying, ‘Do not come around in your city car —it looks like a cop car— drive your own car.”’

“So there was a lot happening in personal terms. It was a hard, hard time because neighborhoods were calling us and saying, ‘we’re protecting our grocery stores. A lot of neighbors got trashcans and they held hands and stood out front and they were asking, When is the National Guard coming?”’

“It wasn’t coming. It didn’t come.

It went to Orange County. And they mobilized in Anaheim. Part of it was Daryl Gates [Chief of Police and Mayor Bradley’s nemesis], who said we didn’t need it. And he wasn’t in town when it happened and neither were his top deputies. They were all at some conference in Simi Valley— they were not here, so the police were mobilized with no command; they were at the coliseum without radios, they didn’t have a way to communicate with the Sheriff. It was like Keystone Cops. Everybody was going every which way but nobody knew why. The fire department was at terrible risk— it was really hard for them to put out the fires because there were snipers.

Some buildings were left to burn. Buildings were left to burn in my neighborhood.

Finally, it calmed down.”

NO STINKIN’ BADGES NECESSARY “When he called I thought someone was playing a joke— he said, ‘this is Tom Bradley, I’d like you to come work for me”’.

She summed up her relationship with LA’s five-term mayor Tom Bradley in one word: “Fabulous. A man of few words but unbelievable doer.” Linda laughs. “I remember one time I had to fill in for him to make a speech— he couldn’t make it so he asked

if I would do it— and I said, ‘what should I say?”’, and he says, ‘Make it short.’

When she ran for office, she had his support.

“It was the gamble I took, and Bradley said, ‘You have nothing to lose by trying.’ He was great.” After losing her bid for mayor, Griego typically saw the bright side.

“So I lost but you actually come out a winner anyway because you get to meet so many people. And right after that is when I went to Rebuild LA after the election in ’93,” she says. “I could still do what I set out to do—just not through elected office.”

THE LAST TEN MILLION ARE ALWAYS THE HARDEST: MLK COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

“The last five years I’ve spent working to reopen a new Martin Luther King Community Hospital.”

Sometimes even Linda Griego gets frustrated.

The ‘underfunded’ but badly needed hospital is just about to open its’ doors again thanks to the tenacity of the foundation’s board—Griego’s brainchild.

“It became clear that this hospital needed a foundation for the things that the county was not going to put into the hospital. So…example: the OB center the county plan had 5 beds. But it became very clear to us that we would need a properly sized OB center of 17 beds. A maternity ward— the whole thing.”

“Something like 95 percent of women who had births at the old MLK came through the emergency room. So the need was great. It was going to cost around ten million dollars and it’s hard to raise 10 million with the legacy of the old hospital. People were like, ‘Wait ‘til you open then come see us— because we don’t believe it’s even going to get open.”’

“So there was a lot of negativity getting the funds in the beginning quite a task. But! We set out to do it. Foundation, great board members. We were determined to raise this money. The dilemma was the construction crews were on site, so we needed the money— now. We did we raised the 10 million—in fact we raised more than that cause they needed an MRI machine, and we had two sold out luncheons last year and this year on MLK’s birthday and this brought in an additional one million eight hundred thousand from 650 people at each lunch. It established the hospital as a real thing—the hospital is done.”

THE BUCKET LIST OF A DO-ER, NOT A DIVA Tall, lean and fit, with a calm, confident, magnetic spirit; Linda Griego is a happy collision of genetics, sturdy New Mexican stock and the glow that a lifetime of good work and fulfilled dreams gives a person.

Her survival skills honed from an early age, Griego was guided by her adored abuela, Aurora Griego, who raised her. Linda’s love of learning and wisdom came therefore from a reliable and worthy source of life, tried and tested by fire. As result, there is something regal, yet low key about Linda Griego.

L AT INO LE A DE R S

“MY GRANDMOTHER WOULD ALWAYS SAY… ‘WALK THROUGH THAT DOOR…AND LEAVE THAT DOOR OPEN. NEVER CLOSE IT BEHIND YOU. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE THAT NEEDS YOUR HELP. JUST BECAUSE YOU’VE MADE YOUR MONEY OR BECAUSE YOU’VE ACHIEVED A LOT—IT’S NOT OVER.”’

Years of power and responsibility rest lightly on her strong shoulders; she has been there and done that —and that too— time and again, but there is no world-weariness about her to spoil the effect.

She stays energized with Pilates, fresh, light food, and big goals. Like a career monarch born to the throne, she accepts the price of her accomplishments without complaint —and is willing to fail— if it means that she can try again. It is an appetite for service and life that keeps her shining.

Her 14th floor condo’s view of Downtown LA’s skyline is a tribute to the rebirth of the area many wrote off as uninhabitable. A spacious, modern comfort prevails with an earthy color scheme of tans and blues; natural materials and warm functionality. It is casually elegant; no laurel-resting monument, no walls full of plaques or dusty awards she must have accumulated in her 66 years.

There is zero pretention. It’s a streamlined approach to life filled to the brim with fresh goals and meticulous strategy.

Griego has taken good care of her family in New Mexico and become the matriarch after the death of her beloved abuela, Aurora, at age 93. Married 45 years, She explains “We were never blessed with children, but we practically raised nieces and nephews, we’ve been though the parenting experience— the car wrecks and things burning.”

Very connected to the history of her people, Linda has one foot in the past; her heritage; raising the bar of engagement, and one in the future.

Her family has 400 years in New Mexico and her attachment to the land is absolute. She has a ranch and an even big dream.

She’s going to build a town.

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL STAY Griego knows that not everyone has a magic flying carpet waiting to transport them to DC, L.A., or even Albuquerque. On her bucket list is rebuilding Chama, a small New Mexican town, as a picturesque, prosperous place where artists and locals can own businesses and thrive, not just survive. Her idea of retirement is to build a village for Latinos to own, to share.

“I’d like to bring businesses there, train people to open businesses, to put my money there. And I will.”

“There are these beautiful little villages, but none of the young stay there.

The high dropout rate and health is really, really bad— they’re just a lot of needs. It’s like the opposite of LA in terms of size, the town I’m speaking of, Chama is population of 1200 people. Compare that to ten million in LA but the systemic impoverished neighborhoods are no different. They are just more rural—but the needs of kids staying in school are the same. The community would incorporate a lot of the arts. A lot of artists live there. Chama, when you’re driving in, has two dilapidated, abandoned, buildings on either side of the highway. Maybe I can create micro lending to allow people to fix up their cafés and shops…that’s a dream, I’ve always had, and I will do. You give back more than you get.”

BOARD SURFING “I remember an interview I went to with an LA trustee for a foundation and the topic was about rebuilding. He asked, ‘well, do the gangs let you rebuild?’ I said it never occurred to me to ask them. The question was so off 48 • April / May 2015

base it took me aback! That question got me interested in getting on that board because it told me how out of touch someone could be that wields a lot of power through philanthropy. This was the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.”

Griego joined and worked on that board for 12 years. Her City Hall experience and mayoral run opened the vaults.

“Because of the visibility you get; First Interstate Bank asked me to join their board of directors. I had never even thought of something like that— I mean I couldn’t even get a loan when I was getting my start so to be asked to go on a bank board was pretty amazing.”

“I was the first woman to go on their board.

Great bank, great executives and then there was a Wells Fargo hostile takeover three years later. So for ten years I was serving on bank boards. That one went away then I went on the Tokai Bank and then Tokai was merged with San Juan and that was sold too…there were bank mergers—a lot of bank mergers at the time. A lot of consolidation.”

“Board service is extremely rewarding but you have to be prepared for good times and bad times,” Griego says. “My grandmother would always say…

‘Walk through that door…and leave that door open. Never close it behind you. There is always someone that needs your help. Just because you’ve made your money or because you’ve achieved a lot—it’s not over.”’

THE

LI ATINA S S U E

for weets S

the soul

Story by

Victoria Infante

Photos by Kevin

Fany Gerson, a chef and author of culinary

books, is taking the Big Apple by storm with her artisanal Mexican doughnuts and paletas.

Kane

FANY GERSON, AN AUTHOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS ON FOOD, PROUDLY SHOWS ONE OF HER ARTISANAL DOUGHNUTS, AT HER SHOP, “DOUGH,” IN BROOKLYN.

latinoleaders.com

experience “IT MIGHT SOUND CHEESY, BUT WE DON’T SELL A PRODUCT. IT’S THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE, THE CONNECTION WITH THE CLIENT.”

THE OUTSIDE OF DOUGH, FANY GERSON’S PLACE IN BROOKLYN.

F

any Gerson’s parent’s had a fit when this Mexican Jewish girl told them that she wanted to study cooking— a sort of sacrilege in a clan whose members have mostly been writers, professors and intellectuals.

“They didn’t like it at all.

My parents stressed that a lot,” tells Gerson. “The funny thing is that they did not want me to take law or engineering. They wanted me to study art.”

In an effort to dissuade her, they suggested to Gerson to study cooking in Mexico City, where she is originally from. If she remained adamant after that, she could go to New York, a place where she always wanted to live.

“They thought that this would be a passing fad but it was quite the contrary,” she says.

50 • April / May 2015

FANY GERSON SHOWS THAT BAKING AND COOKING IS AN ARTFORM.

Fifteen years ago, Gerson packed her bags and moved to the Big Apple to study at the Culinary Institute of America. After graduation, she worked in several restaurants as a pastry chef, until the idea of writing a book left her sleepless. With the help of an agent, she got a contract with a top Publishing house to write, My Sweet Mexico.

“It’s a presentation of the culture of sweets in Mexico,” Gerson explains, who travelled across at least 20 states in Mexico as preparation to write the book. “For example, there is a chapter on convent candies, another on sweets made up from fruits, some candies of yore. It has some historical and cultural content.”

In 2010, the year her first book was published, she had the grand opening for “La Newyorkina,” which started as as an artisanal ice pops place and now it also makes and distributes Mexican candy.

That same year she became a co-owner of Dough, an artisanal doughnut place. Both shops are located in Brooklyn.

magic

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, MY FAVORITE PLACE WAS THE KITCHEN. WE HAD A COOK. THE TRUTH IS I THOUGHT SHE WAS MAKING MAGIC.”

BEYOND CHOCOLATE: FANY GERSON DEMONSTRATES HOW COLORFUL HER DELICIOUS DOUGHNUTS ARE.

CLIENTS WAIT FOR FANY GERSON’S DELICIOUS BAKED GOODS AT DOUGH, AN ARTISANAL DOUGHNUT SHOP WHERE GERSON, THE AUTHOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS, DOES HER MAGIC.

Gerson and the other co-owners of “Dough” “It’s something that always attracted me. I always have big plans for the doughnut shop (they have had a sweet tooth,” she says had offers to open branches in Japan and Dubai) with nonchalant laughter. and to sell the brand after it has been well established. But Gerson intends to keep la Newyorkina.

Today, Gerson is not “I could not part ways with it,” says Gerson, 38, who only a well-known chef, but splits her time between the two businesses, spending also a respected author. My IN THE BACKGROUND, FANY GERSON IS HARD AT WORK, BAKING HER SOUGHT AFTER DOUGHNUTS AT DOUGH, AN more of the summer months with the iced pops and Sweet Mexico was followed ARTISANAL SHOP IN BROOKLYN. the cooler ones with the doughnuts.

by Paletas, a book that includes recipes on how to “It might sound cheesy, but we don’t sell a product. make ice pops with exotic flavors such as sour cream, It’s the whole experience, the connection with the client. There are some plans of cherry with tequila or strawberry with horchata. making it grow, little by little, with a five-year project of having several stores and Another book is on the way, which hones in on having it become a known brand.” pops and other cold treats from Mexico.

For Gerson, it’s easy to explain why she has such a passion for food.

In the end, as a writer of several books, Gerson’s life “When I was a child, my favorite place was the kitchen,” she admits. “We had a has not been too different from her intellectual family. cook. The truth is I thought she was making magic.”

That is, in addition to her entrepreneurial spirit.

Magic time was every day at noon, when Gerson’s dad would arrive home from “I still can’t believe it,” she confessed. “To go into work. So commenced the delicious family ritual of sitting at the table to grub. a bookstore and see it [My Sweet Mexico] or to see “Without realizing it, in Mexico one is always surrounded by colors and flavors of people standing in line for half an hour waiting for a inspiration,” Gerson says. pop or a doughnut,” Gerson says. “I can’t believe it.”

In addition, Gerson’s weakness has always been food. latinoleaders.com

L AT INO LE A DE R S

D

iana Vela’s story starts different A communication major, Diana craved sharing a meaningful message, but from most. she left a low-paying media gig in L.A. for a lucrative opportunity in Irvine in In what appeared a backward dethe development of commercial real estate. She stayed barely four years. cision, her parents — an American “I wasn’t fulfilled at all,” she explains, in her home in Phoenix, AZ. “I decided to go back into media, and I went for it.” mother and Mexican father — left Her new salary was one quarter of the real estate pay. To make ends meet, the U.S. for Monterrey, Mexico in she moved to a smaller apartment, ate out less, lived on a tight budget and pursuit of a better life. To them, worked more hours. the best life for their five children wasn’t in a land of “I remember my mom and sister saying, ‘You’re crazy,’” Diana remembers. money and opportunities, but in a place with strong “It was the best thing I ever did.” family values.

After one year on the job, she was promoted and continAfter marrying a man from “WHEN I FOUND WHAT ued to climb the ladder in subsequent years until becomher hometown, Diana folI LOVED, IT WAS NOT A ing the executive director of Guadalupe Radio, a Catholic lowed her parents’ upsidedown footsteps by trading JOB ANYMORE BUT A station transmitting 24 hours per day in multiple cities. material goods and others’ “When I found what I loved, it was not a job anymore but a MISSION OF SERVING expectations for true fulfillmission of serving and helping,” she says. “I got paid to make AND HELPING,” SHE SAYS. a difference ment. She is now the Presiin Hispanic communities.”

“I GOT PAID TO MAKE A dent & CEO of the Catholic DIFFERENCE IN HISPANIC Positive airwaves Association of Latino LeadCOMMUNITIES.” At the station, Diana filled non-stop air time by scouting ers, a national organization based in Los Angeles with talent, designing logos and jingles and programming show chapters in 15 states. formats. Many listeners were poverty-level but contributed But her ascent to success was not without miswhat little they could to keep the non-profit station on the air. takes.

More than a typical station, the site provided listeners with financial education “When I was younger, I knew what I wanted, but and employment opportunities, as well as resources for victims of domestic abuse. then I got sidetracked,” she admits.

Diana’s role with those services was to acquire speakers, craft taglines and That detour came in the form of a work opportuoversee graphic design for posters to give listeners more than an earful — a nity that screamed one word — money. true helping hand.

“At the end, we found what drew people more than financial information or job advice were the ‘human topics’ of learning how to forgive, how to educate your children, how to be a more disciplined person and how to grow in love for your husband,” Diana says.

She reinforced those resources with on-air programming for a full-package deal that changed lives.

“We learned you have to be a holistic coach — helping people with the spiritual, the social and the intellectual parts,” she says.

Diana carries that integrated approach to her role with CALL, which she transitioned into after meeting with José Horacio Gómez, also from Monterrey, when he became elected as Archbishop of Los Angeles. She introduced José to the radio’s offices, and he invited Diana to launch L.A.’s chapter of CALL. Though CALL’s constituents appear successful, with membership including business professionals, civic leaders and upwardly mobile college and seminary students, Diana finds their inner needs echo those of Guadalupe’s listeners.

CALL is now based in Los Angeles, with offices in the large, Archdiocesan center.

Latinos on the rise

DIANA VELA, THE PRESIDENT OF THE CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION OF LATINO LEADERS, SAYS THAT DESPITE THE FACT THAT MANY LATINOS ARE REACHING THE UPPER ECHELONS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY, WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET TO HELP OTHER HISPANICS IN SO MANY LEVELS AND WAYS.

52 • April / May 2015

From her desk at CALL headquarters, Diana watches Hispanics across the nation rise to positions of power and foresees the phenomenon continuing. In her eyes, history is repeating itself — the multiplication and success of Polish and German immigrants in the 1800s is occurring now with Latinos.

Of the 117 million Hispanics added to the mixing pot in the next 35 years, 67 million will be immigrants, 47 million will be their children and three million will be their grandchildren.

With great growth comes great opportunity. The changes Latinos bring reach beyond numbers to qualities like family unity, respect for elders, protecting human life from conception to natural death, virtues of individual freedom, hard work and solidarity within the community.

“I believe have a lot we can offer,” Diana says. “The heart of this nation is going to shift.”

THE

LI ATINA S S U E Diana Vela left

a good-paying gig to create a radio station to help Latinos; she now heads Catholic Latino Leaders across the nation.

Heeding a higher calling Story by

Avoiding society’s traps

Tiffany Roney |

Photos by Courtesy

photo

DIANA VELA, THE PRESIDENT OF THE CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION OF LATINO LEADERS, SAYS THAT LEADERSHIP CONSISTS IN HELPING OTHERS.

Cultural expectations can confine Latinas to boxes too small for their talents.

Diana says it’s worth it to break free.

“There are ‘mine traps’ of what’s expected of you,” she says. “You have to be clear about what you want to do so all decisions are in line with that.”

As a Latina whose work took her away from Mexico; out of the home, where she’s raising two children; and out of real estate, which was higher paying, Diana is familiar with her decisions being questioned.

“Latinas come from a strong family culture, so the mindset of parents or spouses might be, ‘You already graduated high school — why are you doing higher education?’

You’re expected to stay home, have a family and serve your husband,” Diana explains.

“It might sound retro, but it’s true.”

Concern may pour from family and friends as Latinas chart new paths, but Diana has found if you select the right field, your wisdom will be justified.

“It’s okay to try new things and take a different career path. It’s okay to have a family and work as well,” she asserts. “You have to press forward to achieve what you want.”

IN HER OWN WORDS “We work so hard and are on the go so much we hardly ever make time to stop, think and pray. That turned out to be a key in my life. Even with my schedule, I stop, find that inner peace and think over decisions I’ve made. Day to day, we may be distracted with different things, but prayer is what’s made it possible for me to do what I love.”

MY STYLE OF LIFE Story by Laura Reagan-Porras Courtesy photo

The art of serving Laura Hinojosa comes from a political dynasty in McAllen, TX, but she’d rather be known as a public servant.

With a hands on approach

and a heartfelt desire to make a difference, Laura Hinojosa doesn’t want to be seen as the fifteenth district U.S. Congressman’s daughter, but rather as a public servant with a far reaching message. She currently serves as the Hidalgo County District Clerk in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas.

Both of my parents embodied the service axiom, “to whom much is given, much is required.”’

Laura on Giving Back

Blues for Bucks is a program Laura started with her 75 person staff in the Hidalgo County District Clerk’s Office.

Some team members wanted to wear jeans on Fridays. Laura turned it into a philanthropic opportunity.” The staff Laura on Leadership Style members pay a dollar each to wear jeans Laura’s leadership is well-inon Fridays. The money is collected over formed, decisive and adaptive but the year and given away to a local nonshe is not afraid to admit when profit of the team’s choosing, twice a she does not know something. year. Some team members even volunLAURA HINOJOSA, HIDALGO COUNTY’S DISTRICT CLERK. teer at the local charity on weekends.

She is seen as being “real,” by her SHE HAS BIG PLANS TO SERVE HER COUNTY. “We usually collect approximately staff and the community.

“Like many women, my lead$3,000 each time. The team votes on ership style is generally collaborawhere they want it to go. It has been a tive. But it seems to be quite distinctive for my setting, even joy to see how empowered, staff members feel by giving back. I down to my choice of office furniture. I wanted a round table am very proud of them. I am grateful that they also want to give of so that there would be no “head of the table” but all the ones their own time on weekends such as last month when they manned we looked at, didn’t fit my office. I had to get a rectangular phone lines for a radio-a-thon to raise money to fight children’s table. When visitors to my office are invited to take a seat, they cancer. I sent each of them a thank you note for serving in this way. defer to me, to ask if I am going to sit at the head of the table.

They thanked me for thanking them. Giving is contagious.”

I decline and always choose a side seat because I want them to converse with me equally about their issues. I want to symboli- Laura on Work/ Life Balance cally demonstrate that I serve at the voters’ pleasure and I want “Dime con quien andas y sabemos quien eres.” (Tell me who you surround yourself with and we will know who you are.) It isn’t just a to work out a fair and equitable solution to their issues.” saying we tell our children, it also works in adult life and in the world Laura on Her Leadership Mentors of work. Balancing work and home is always a challenge. Children’s Laura’s father is the minority leader for the Hispanic Caucus needs change and so do the needs at work. Balance for me tends and her mother is a lifelong educator who was also instrumen- to run in cycles. If I do balance, it is because of my team. They are tal in starting Mujeres Unidas, an area non-profit that serves talented, capable professionals who take public service seriously.”

Approximately a year ago, Laura suffered a serious cycling accivictims of domestic violence. dent that left her with traumatic brain injury. After two years of treat“My first and best mentors are my parents. I learned social ment and rehabilitation, she is well and fully functioning although responsibility and gained my work ethic from them. One of she still has hand tremors when she is fatigued. When asked what my most powerful memories is coming home from church she learned from the entire experience, she shares the following. to change clothes to work in that afternoon in a BBQ to raise “Life is a precious gift for which I am incredibly grateful. Every day is a money for the poor. I was nine years old and wanted to play. I didn’t want to go. My father insisted that I go and told we were precious gift and we must work to make each day count. I want to be remembered for making a difference and for trying to do the right thing.” required to serve because we had been blessed with so much.

54 • April / May 2015

MEXICO ENERGY AND BUSINESS MAGAZINE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE ITS ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY! AS WE REFLECT ON A SUCCESSFUL FIRST YEAR, AND MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANS FOR THE COMING MONTHS, WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO INFORMING OUR READERS ABOUT ONGOING NEWS, TRENDING TOPICS AND OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN MEXICO’S DYNAMIC ENERGY INDUSTRY.

We connect national and international investors interested in doing business in Mexico.

Get the latest business and news updates, and information on investment opportunities just a click away.

Visit www.issuu.com/mexicoenergy and check us out! You can also find us in Magzter and Zinio.

For editorial and sales information please contact Jose Escobedo at: jescobedo @ latinoleaders.com

Para más información escribe a: jescobedo@latinoleaders.com jsenderos@petroleoenergia.com

@PETROLEOENERGIA

www.petroleoenergia.com

PETROLEO ENERGIA

MEETING OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDS THE LATINO LEADERS BUSINESS LUNCHEON IN MIAMI Hispanic business leaders of the Miami area said that they were facing new challenges, during the 2015 Latino Leaders Business Luncheon.

The event, which took place on January 29th at the Edge Steak restaurant, at the Four Seasons Hotel, was sponsored by 7-Eleven. Over 20 Entrepreneurs, businesspersons and franchise operators participated in the event.

Isaac Padilla, 7-Eleven Franchise Marketing Manager who is based in Dallas, also took part in the event.

Some of the attendees meditated on how the local CubanAmerican business community could better infuse the upcoming generation on becoming better businesspersons, drawing on their vast experience and exemplary legacy.

Some spoke of mentors and their role in businesses as well as in careers. They insisted that mentors were crucial in developing work and career skills, as well as in establishing new businesses.

Others spoke about the discussion on the Cuban Embargo and how it would affect locals.

56 • April / May 2015

ISAAC PADILLA, 7-ELEVEN FRANCHISE MARKETING MANAGER WELCOMING GUESTS.

LEFT TO RIGHT: CESAR MELGOZA, PRESIDENT OF GEOSCAPE, A MULTICULTURAL MARKETING FIRM, JORGE FERRAEZ, PUBLISHER OF LATINO LEADERS MAGAZINE

TERE ALVAREZ-CANIDA, ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZED WOMEN IN MIAMI, DISCUSSING HOW TO ADVANCE WOMEN IN BUSINESS.

“IN BUSINESS YOU NEED TO WORK ON YOUR PASSION; THEN MONEY COMES” - VICTOR FERRÁEZ

latinoleaders.com

PRISCILLA GUASSO, FROM HYATT HOTELS; EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND LATINO BUSINESSES.

INDUSTRY FIRSTS BY 7-ELEVEN •7‑Eleven was the first to … operate 24 hours a day … sell fresh-brewed coffee in to-go cups ... have a self-serve soda fountain … and offer super-size fountain drinks.

•7‑Eleven aired the first televi‑ sion advertising by any convenience store; the animated commercial featuring a singing owl and rooster ran in 1949.

• 7‑Eleven was the first retailer to offer fresh-brewed cof‑ fee in to-go cups, introducing it in their Northeast stores in 1964.

And now is the first retailer to add functional, herbal enhancements to its coffee to go.

VÍCTOR FERRÁEZ, A MEXICO BUSINESSMAN: “WE NEED TO FIND OUT HOW TO WORK WITH TECHNOLOGY.”

•7‑Eleven was the first c-store retailer to give guests “freedom of choice” by offering all major soft drink brands at the fountain.

ROBERTO HERNÁNDEZ, A MEXICAN ENTREPRENEUR ON THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY, LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS.

•7‑Eleven was the first convenience store to sell pre-paid phone cards.

“IMMIGRANTS ARE DIFFERENT AND NEED MORE EDUCATION ON HOW TO START BUSINESSES. IF THEY COULD HAVE THAT TOOL, WE WOULD SEE MORE AND MORE DOING BUSINESS” - JUAN COSIO 58 • April / May 2015

CARLOS ANAYA, A MEDIA CONTENT PRODUCER:” WE HAVE A LACK OF LEADERSHI, HOW DO WE CREATE MORE LEADERS?”

“BI-CULTURAL. THAT’S THE BEST DEFINITION OF LATINOS; IT’S OUR REAL ADVANTAGE,”- MIKE VÁLDEZ, PINTA AGENCY PRESIDENT.

MELGOZA: “SOMETIMES WE TALK AND TALK AND NOTHING HAPPENS. WE NEED TO START MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS.”

JOSE POZOS, RUNNING FOR FLORIDA CONGRESS: “LET’S FOCUS ON SOCIAL CAUSES”

latinoleaders.com

EVENTS

NEW YORK LIFE

LOS ANGELES

A DISTINGUISHED GROUP: ROM LEFT TO RIGHT: MR. CARLOS CARCÍA, CO-HOST OF THE EVENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF NEW YORK LIFE, MS. BERTA MONTOYA, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND SR. ASSOCIATE OF NEW YORK LIFE, MR. HÉCTOR VILCHIS, CORPORATE VICE-PRESIDENT AND MR. JORGE FERRÁEZ, PUBLISHER OF LATINO LEADERS MAGAZINE.

A CELEBRATION OF LIFE Latino Leaders Magazine and New York Life teams came together for a night of excellence in Los Angeles

W

ays to work with the growing Latino community and how to better reach them were just some of the topics that were discussed during the Latino Leaders Excellence event in Los Angeles.

The event, which was sponsored by New York Life, took place at the Yamashiro, a restaurant located in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. The dinner celebrated life, financial well being and improving educational and health efforts in the Latino community.

Mr. Carlos Garcia, New York Life VicePresident, was at the event. In addition, Mr. Héctor Vilchis, Corporate Vice President of the same company, was also at the event.

Mr. Vilchis has worked for New York Life for over a decade, dedicating his efforts and those of his growing team’s toward reaching the Latino community. He believes that this is indeed, a good thing.

“Our company is one that is there to do the right thing. We say we are about keeping good going. Life, family, security: our presence in the Latino community is about embracing these values,” he has said in interviews.

60 • April / May 2015

URIEL SAENZ (LEFT), SMILING AT MARCO REA (RIGHT).

Co-hosted:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: CHEF RIVAS, LUPE PÉREZ AND KENIA ROMERO.

“Our company is one that is there to do the right thing. We say we are about keeping good. Life, family, security: our presence in the Latino community is about embracing these values.”— Héctor Vilchis, Corporate Vice President of New York Life.

JORGE FERRÁEZ (LEFT) AND HÉCTOR VILCHIS.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: BRADEN HAMMER, DR. BETTY URIBE AND VERONICA CORONA.

latinoleaders.com

LATINO WINEMAKERS 2015 SHOWCASE @JFerraez_Latino

THEY OFFER SOME ELECTRIFYING WINES

L

AST DECEMBER LATINO WINEMAKERS had their Showcase for 2015. Latino Leaders magazine organized a great event, first ever out of Napa: The event was a fantastic gathering of the most prominent and talented Latinos making wine in the Napa Valley. It is our philosophy to support and promote Latinos in different areas of business and industries, and this one had a tremendous turnout of winemakers and their wines. Here’s my tasting notes for the great wines I was fortunate enough to taste that night at The Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco.

◗

MARIO BAZAN CELLARS

Mario and Gloria Bazán are a terrific duo making excellent wines. Their Sauvignon Blanc is still one of my favorite whites:

Keller Estate “Oro de Plata” Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2012 ($33) 880 Cases made: Apple and Pineapple with white flower notes. Mineral and nicely acidic. Balanced, toasty and fruity. 89 pts.

•Keller Estate “La Cruz” Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 ($45) 800 cases made: Flowery, cherry and clove notes at the opening, followed by rode petal and sweet cherry hints. Silky and velvety with a medium body. 90 pts

◗ MALDONADO FAMILY CELLARS

Hugo and Lidia Maldonado are one of the most recent uprising stars in Latino winemaking. A dynamic duo as well, theirs wines get better every vintage. Hugo really surprised me with his Old Toll Road Vineyard Cabernet:

Mario Bazán Saivignon Blanc Napa Valley 2013 ($25) 200 Cases Made: fresh, floral with guava, papaya and violet notes.

Tropical character, nice body and clean palate. 91 pts

Maldonado Chardonnay “Los Olivos” Vineyard Napa Valley 2012: Citric and apple aromas with some tropical fruit and certain butterscotch notes in a complex, round and balanced structure. Good body, long finish. 91 pts.

Mario Bazán RAMA Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2011 ($35) 650 Cases made: Green pepper, spice and fruity, a little stiff. Nice notes of Cherry, hibiscus flower and red currant. 88 pts

Maldonado Pinot Noir “Los Olivos” Vineyard Napa Valley 2012: Spicy with red fruit, a little green notes and tannic.

Black cherry, violet and tobacco notes. Round and medium body. Nice 90 pts.

Mario Bazán Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009 ($60) 200 Cases made: Fruit compote, and ripe plums. Complex, layered with an ample spectrum of red flavors on the mouth.

Consistent and long finish. 90 pts.

Maldonado Syrah “Los Olivos” Vineyard Napa Valley 2012: big, spicy, with black fruit, black berries and chocolate.

Perfumed, a little stiff but well rounded and complex. 91 pts.

◗HONRAMA CELLARS

Maldonado Cabernet Sauvignon Old Toll Road Vineyard, Calistoga, Napa Valley 2012: Red ripe fruit, expressive, tannic and big. Complex and muscular with character but plenty of red fruit marmalade, cigar box, graphite and mocha.

Exceptional! 95 pts.

Miriam Puentes is the principal talent in promoting and elevating these great wines:

◗

Honrama Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Yountville Napa Valley 2013 ($25) 250 cases made: Green apple, citric, melon and honeydew notes. Medium body with some orange peel and light. 88 pts

◗

Honrama Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley 2012 ($35): Dusty character, with chocolate notes, leather and lots of fruit. Simple, easy to drink and very fruity. 88 pts.

Passion and exceptional quality is what emerges from the wines of the two Ignacios (Senior and Junior) Delgadillo. Impressive quality, with wines that are cellared at least 6 years in the bottles before hitting the market:

KELLER ESTATE WINES

Ana Keller, herself, showed up from her family’s beautiful estate in Sonoma and her gorgeous wines as well:

DELGADILLO CELLARS

Delgadillo RED 2009 Napa Valley ($40): Fruity, ample and floral.

Well-structured and medium body. Spicy, young character and easy to drink, with no pretentions, a clean and straight wine. 89 pts. latinoleaders.com

LATINO WINEMAKERS 2015 SHOWCASE Delgadillo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 ($85): Complex aromas with an elegant touch: red ripe fruit, “soft and heavy” with black pepper, chocolate, red currant and great balance. Long finish. 94 pts.

◗

ALEX SOTELO CELLARS

Great winemaker, wine consultant and wine personality Alex Sotello is like no one else promoting not only his wines but also Latino wines from Napa Valley. Alex’s personality is charming and persuading, and his wine stands with quality and passion: Alex Sotello ALMA Sauvignon Blanc Leveroni Vineyard 2012 ($18): Floral and tropical notes, vanilla, green apple and fresh. Clean and fruity, with a medium body. 88 pts.

Alex Sotelo Syrah Leveroni Vineyard Sonoma County 2006 ($38): Toasted coffee aromas, with some green accents, leathery, cocoa and dark fruit. Complex and concentrated. 89 pts.

Alex Sotelo Zinfandel Dalraddy Vineyard Napa Valley 2006 ($40): Hibiscus, cherry, blueberry notes. Plum, coffee and vanilla bean. Well structured, profound and a great personality. 92 pts Alex Sotelo The Big “A” Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 ($120): Complex and fruity; black cherry, red currant and spice. Earthy, tanic, elegant and classic. A Big wine. 93 pts.

◗

FRÍAS FAMILY VINEYARDS

Don Manuel Frías was there, representing his own winery, but also in place of his son, Fernando, who is always on the road promoting his fantastic wines; great quality, great terroir and terrific wines: Frías Red Wine Napa Valley 2008 ($40) 800 cases made: Good floral and fruity notes, good acidity, well structured with chocolate and red ripe fruit hints. Ample and balanced. 89 pts.

Ceja Vineyards Pinot Noir Carneros Reserve 2010 ($42): great spicy and violet aromas, with ample structure, clove and even cinnamon hints. Nice body, silky and still powerful. Layers of fruity notes, like cherry and ripe plums. 92 pts.

Ceja Vineyards Napa Carneros Chardonnay 2012 ($36): Fresh and crisp with green apple and pineapple aromas. Round and fruity with a complex structure and some cream vanilla hints. 93 pts.

Mario Bazán Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009 ($60) Price:$60 Flavors: Fruit compote.

Aromas: Ripe plums.

Impression: Complex.

Structure: Layered with an ample spectrum of red flavors on the mouth.

Why I loved this Wine?

Consistent and long finish.

My rating: 90 pts.

Alex Sotelo The Big “A” Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 Price:$120 Flavors: earthy, tanic.

Aromas: black cherry, red currant and spice.

Impression: A Big wine.

Structure: Complex and fruity.

Why I loved this Wine? Elegant and classic.

My rating: 93 pts.

Frías Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 2010 ($125) 260 cases made: Deep fruit and complex aromas, layered with currant, spice, expresso and plum notes. Succulent, muscular and big. 95 pts.

Frías Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 2012 ($125): Complex and deep. Concentrated fruit forward with chocolate, plum, dark cherry and blueberry. Ample and impressive with a well balanced structure. Elegant. 95 pts ◗ CEJA VINEYARDS Delia Ceja, a relentless heir to the Ceja Vineyards winery, was showing their impressive wines. We need to assess that with each passing day Ceja wines are more available with a wide variety of distributors, restaurant chains and boutique stores nationwide. Not only that, Amelia and her husband, Rafael, with the rest of the Ceja family are doing a tremendous job in promoting their wine all over.

64 • April / May 2015

Ceja Vineyards Pinot Noir Carneros Reserve 2010 Price: $42 Flavors: Layers of fruity notes, like cherry and ripe plums.

Aromas: great spicy and violet aromas, with ample structure, clove and even cinnamon hints Impression: Layers of fruity notes, like cherry and ripe plums Structure: Complex and fruity.

Why I loved this Wine? Nice body, silky and still powerful.

My rating: 92 pts.