HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH – “HISPANIC LEADERS”
NOTE FROM EDITOR: Every Fourth of July, Carnegie Corporation of New York celebrates a group of remarkable Americans — all naturalized citizens — who have enriched and strengthened our nation and our democracy through their contributions and actions. This year, the Corporation honored 34 individuals from 32 countries and a wide range of backgrounds, including local leaders who work in education, the arts, law enforcement, public service, health care, and small business ownership, as well as community-based advocates for education equity, climate change, food security, and programs for the homeless. Source: https://www.carnegie.org/awards/great-immigrants/2022-great-immigrants/
LINA HIDALGO
Judge and Chief Executive, Harris County, Texas (Colombia)
Lina Hidalgo never thought about running for office until the angry and often ugly divisiveness of the 2016 presidential election made her change her mind. “I decided,” she said, “that actually what I wanted to do was change government from within, that that was more effective. So many of us were galvanized.”
In 2018, at age 27, she beat an 11-year incumbent to become the first woman and the first Latina elected as Harris County’s County judge, who serves as the presiding officer on the Commissioners Court, the county’s main governing body. The Commissioners Court oversees the $5 billion budget of the nation’s third largest county, which encompasses the city of Houston and a number of neighboring communities. Hidalgo sought the role with the specific goal of ensuring that county funds are spent in alignment with the community’s values and priorities.
“When I sit at the dais, I think I bring my perspective not just as a woman, not just as a young person, but also as someone with this lived experience of [being] an immigrant, of having different perspectives from different places,” said Hidalgo, who was born in Colombia and also lived in Peru and Mexico before moving to the United States when she was 15.
Hidalgo, who has a joint law and public policy degree from Harvard and NYU, previously worked as a medical interpreter, volunteered for the Texas Civil Rights Project, and advocated internationally for press freedom. In her current position, she has worked to make voting easier and meetings more open and inclusive. Moreover, Hidalgo has steered Harris County through multiple natural disasters while championing proactive solutions like flood mitigation and smart development standards to reduce future risks.
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JORGE CAVERO
Doctor and Professor, University of Illinois College of Medicine (Bolivia)
While some people put money in the stock market, Jorge Cavero said he prefers to invest in scholarships for Latino students.
“My gain is to see them finish their studies, graduate, do their specialty and watch them take care of their people,” he said.
For more than three decades, the Bolivian-born doctor has helped Latino students access medical education by investing about $1 million in scholarships and programming. He also established Cavero Medical Group, a community health center on Chicago’s southwest side that provides bilingual and culturally appropriate primary health services in predominantly Latino neighborhoods. Cavero also serves as clinical assistant professor in the department of internal medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
“I think I draw a lot of passion from going to the office every day,” he said, “seeing working-class people and their struggles, their everyday lives, and you see these people really trying to do the right thing for their families, really trying to push ahead and live the American Dream.”
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LORENA GARCIA
Chef and Founder, Chica Restaurants (Venezuela)
Only a handful of the more than 4,000 restaurants on the famous Las Vegas Strip are run by female chefs, so Lorena Garcia knows that she has got to stand out. At her restaurant Chica, she does that by embracing her Venezuelan roots.
“One of the things we have is understanding who we are and what we represent — which is the Latin community — and through our flavors and our culture, being strong and believing that this is what we do,” she said. “It’s worked so far.”
In addition to running Chica restaurants in Las Vegas, Miami, and Aspen, Garcia has moved her food operations into several airports. She has appeared on Top Chef Masters, America’s Next Great Restaurant, and multiple shows on Univision and Telemundo. The author of two cookbooks, she has developed both a cookware collection and Doña Rosario Latin Delights, a dessert line named after her grandmother.
Garcia also started Big Chef, Little Chef, a nonprofit that helps kids and their families learn the importance of healthy eating. She is an ambassador for No Kid Hungry and helped launch Project Garcia — named after her brother — which funds research for glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer.
While she initially studied law, Garcia eventually discovered her love for cooking, and advises those who want to pursue culinary careers to be prepared.
“With preparation, I think that you can conquer all,” she said. “This is a country of opportunities and I’m an example of it.”
Twitter:@lorenagarcia; Instagram: @cheflorena; Website: https://www.cheflorenagarcia.com/
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AQUILINO GONELL
U.S. Capitol Police Officer and Congressional Gold Medal Recipient (Domincan Republic)
In testimony before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Aquilino Gonell said, “As a child in the Dominican Republic, I looked up to the United States as a land of opportunity and a place to better myself. From that moment I landed at JFK in 1992, I have tried to pursue that goal.” The first in his family to graduate from college, he joined the U.S. Army after graduating and eventually became a police officer.
Gonell was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as one of the group of law enforcement officers who responded to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. He sustained multiple injuries during the events of that day, which he described in harrowing detail to the House panel. Running out of oxygen at one point, Gonell feared for his life. The attack, he said, was “like something from a medieval battle” — scarier than anything he had experienced in the 545 days he served in Iraq.
“As an immigrant to the United States, I am especially proud to have defended the U.S. Constitution and our democracy on January 6,” he said. “I hope that everyone in a position of authority in our country has the courage and conviction to do their part by investigating what happened on that terrible day and why.”
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KAREN ZACARÍAS
Award-Winning Playwright and Founder, Young Playwrights’ Theater (Mexico)
When she moved with her family from Mexico City to Boston as a 10-year-old, Karen Zacarías often felt lonely. Her peers taunted her because of her accent, her braids, and her embroidered Mexican shirt. Struggling with how to react, she went home and wrote down how she thought she should respond — creating imaginary dialogues and inventing backstories for the kids who were mocking her.
Today, Zacarías is — year after year — one of the most widely produced playwrights in the United States.
“Theater is not about offering solutions, but about setting a stage, it’s about listening and it’s about really, at its core, about not feeling alone,” said Zacarías, whose mother is Danish and father is Mexican. “When theater works, it’s about community, and when it really works, it’s about communion.”
With plays produced by dozens of leading theaters across the country, Zacarías has won many awards for her work, including the National Latino Playwriting Award, the Francesca Primus Award, the New Voices Award, and the Steinberg citation for Best New Play, among others.
An inaugural resident playwright at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Zacarías has taught playwriting at Georgetown University. She founded Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT), an award-winning company that produces plays written by young people, inspiring them “to realize the power of their own voices.” YPT also conducts arts education and professional development programs, and developed AROW (Abolishing Racism and Oppression in the Workplace), an initiative that helps other organizations build “antiracist and anti-oppressive structures and practices.” Zacarías also cofounded Latinx Theatre Commons, which promotes Latino equity in the theater.
“I like not being put in a box,” she said. “I think all of my plays are about breaking some kind of expectation or stereotype.”
Website: http://www.karenzacarias.com/
