As the daughter of immigrants, I tend to look at “Democracy” through the lens of my parents and my grandparents. I grew up hearing stories of how the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the party that dominated Mexico for 71 years, would go into the “ranchos,” or rural Mexico where my family comes from, and buy people off prior to elections by giving them free washing machines or refrigerators in exchange of votes.
Read moreFeliz año Nuevo! I know this was a rough holiday season for many of us. For me, resolutions, reflections, and all of the usual rituals I do around the New Year were just plain weird. I’m in Southern California, what is now considered the world’s epicenter of COVID outbreaks, so my New Year’s reflection and resolution was just one word: gratitude.
Read moreAs we slowly say goodbye to 2020, it’s important to spend some time reflecting. A lot has happened and I don’t think many of us have had any opportunity to process everything we’ve been through. Personally, I’ve been go go go all year. I, like many of you, lost someone very special to me to COVID-19 this year. To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to process this loss, nor the seismic changes we’ve gone through this year. Over the break, I hope to spend some time just reflecting, making my peace with things and choosing what it is that I want to take with me into 2021. I hope all of you will join me in that. This year has definitely been one of growth and that is the greatest silver lining.
Read moreNoerena here reporting from California, where we are officially in another shutdown. While I am a firm believer that the only way to fix our economy is getting to the other side of this awful virus, I gotta say, I’m worried about our Latino small businesses. We’ve boasted about this before: Latinos have been the driving force behind entrepreneurial growth in the U.S. Over the past decade, the number of Latino business owners grew by 34%, compared to only 1% growth for all business owners. However, the current lack of cash on hand for Latino-owned businesses can result in the loss of over two million jobs if Latino employer businesses have to permanently close before the end of the year.
Read moreHope everyone had a delicious, relaxing and safe Thanksgiving. As for me, since I’ve been moving, I spent the day packing and covered in boxes. Therefore, my Thanksgiving dinner consisted of jackfruit carnitas tacos (don’t hate, it was so good) and some quinoa salad. The meal was delicious “pero nada que ver con Thanksgiving.” I did stick an apple pie in the mix though! How were yours?
Read moreThe Holidays are here! But what in the world does that mean for this wacky year that has felt like a decade? Look familia, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. We usually gather at my parent’s house in Chino, CA, my mom cooks the turkey, I cook all of the side dishes, and my sister bakes desserts. Then, all of the tias and tios come over (my mom is the oldest of 10 and they all live in in the Inland Empire of California, imagínate!) and we end the night playing games and dancing to burn off the calories. With coronavirus cases skyrocketing and my husband and I moving into a new home next week, it’s going to be a tiny two-person Thanksgiving for us this year and I might just be inconsolable. So check in on me.
Read moreWith only 5 days until Election Day, and with our own chapters choosing new boards during this time, it is time for some strategic planning for 2021. The National Advocacy Committee was created to be the advocacy wing of our organization and as NAHREP’s grassroots operation working to advance sustainable Hispanic Homeownership by influencing policy. All of you are the heart behind our mission.
Read moreThere are exactly 12 days left until Election Day. The future pretty much rests in your hands. No pressure though. Just like all of you start your day with intention, you set goals for your sales, you envision an outcome and strive for it, let’s do the same thing for this election. Let’s be intentional about our power as citizens. The worst thing that can happen on election night when the results do not go the way you wanted is to feel that you did not do your part to contribute to the democracy of this country.
Read moreWe are 19 days away from the election. I hope everyone got a chance to watch yesterday’s showdown as the NAHREP familia debated the presidential election around the kitchen table last night. My favorite thing about yesterday’s conversation was that despite NAHREP leaders having completely different political affiliations, they sat down to debate the issues with mutual respect, always coming back to the fact that we are family first.
Read moreI hope everyone had some time to relax after NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE! I’m still reeling off of Deepak Chopra’s meditation and Pitbull, two of my favorite sessions of the conference. And of course, I also hope you all had a chance to see our release of the 2020 State of Hispanic Wealth Report! If you missed it, you can still watch it on demand by visiting the conference hub for the next 30 days.
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