LATINIZATION REQUIRES LATINEDUCATION
By Victor Escalante
“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” Richard L. Evans
A meme among Latinos in the know postulates that if we were like other minority groups that work together in a supportive collaborative way we would be a more powerful political and economic block. We are now the “new” African American ethic group but the rapid advances among Asians are expected to leap frog both groups and leave them in the dust.
So what will it take for Latinos in mass to lay aside our individual differences and support one another? A shift in consciousness; a realization that our personal hopes and dreams will only happen by working together as a tribe. According to a Nielson study, if Latinos were a standalone country they would be one of the top twenty economies in the world. So we have the purchasing power but that is meaningless if we don’t put that to good use. How? We can start by building brand equity through advanced education of our children to fill the demand of future leaders.
Enter Melissa Salas Blair. She could be a Latina homemaker, a retail sales clerk or a service industry worker. Nothing could be further from the truth Melissa is a business owner, half Irish half Mexican born in Japan to a military family. She is another “wise” Latina with a BA in Business Marketing and dual Master’s degrees in Hispanic Studies and Public Administration. At age seventeen, she charted her career path and her destiny by enlisting in the Navy earning an honorable discharge four years later, as an E4 service woman. Growing up in El Paso Texas, she had to swim against the tide of a border town barrio mentality and family expectations.
Miss Salas is a growing breed of the entrepreneur business women taking matters into their own hands and breaking with the tradition of being a stay at home moms. She is bi-cultural, bilingual, and very dedicated to her son’s career path.
Melissa is on a mission to advance and promote the Latino brand by mentoring and paying it forward by helping young Latinos become active and engaged in politics. Her company Puentes Research and Communications Inc. works with political groups, and the private and public sector to create winning strategies. Some of her current projects include business development and market research.
In her opinion, Latinas can have their cake and eat it too and she is living proof of this being a proud single parent, educated professional, with a rich bi-ethnic culture. Experts warn of the serious deficit of Latino leadership at every level. She is doing her part by putting her “granito de arena”. The moral of the story mis amigos y amigas is, It’s the dawn of a new era. Mañanaland will be put to rest only when we act today to help one another and do our part paying it forward.
