Lin-Manuel Miranda says he began writing the musical, In the Heights, when he as a nineteen-year-old college student. After a couple of friends from Wesleyan University offered to help produce the show, Miranda took his idea first to a regional theater in Connecticut, and ultimately to Broadway, where in 2008, it won four Tony Awards,…
Photo Credit: Antonello Marangi / Shutterstock.com If you believe, like most scientists, that climate change is largely man-made and poses an existential threat to humanity, then you probably feel a pretty strong sense of urgency about doing something about it. Especially if you are a young person. Greta Thunberg embodies that sentiment probably more than…
People have been asking me what do I think about Michael Bloomberg entering the presidential race. I have to say that I’m not sure. Bloomberg supporters point to his success as mayor of New York and the fact that his wealth makes Donald Trump’s seem paltry. However, I can’t see the base of the Democratic…
If the era of Donald Trump has taught us anything, it is that America wants a different brand of political leadership. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this means petty and corrupt, but I think it means candidates and ideas that break the mold. That’s why it’s always disconcerting to see Democratic and Republican…
It’s fun to win, and with the NBA’s best record at 20-3, LeBron James has been doing plenty of winning. James is also enjoying the success of his HBO series, The Shop, and his many other television and film projects. Two years ago, the scuttlebutt around the sports world was that James was moving to…
A couple of weeks ago, I met with Latino business leaders in New York City. This past week, I was in Dallas doing the same. The thrust behind the meetings is to start to build a network of Latino business professionals who could assist us in building our program and spreading the word about our…
I’m big believer in the concept of original thought. While I admire people who can run a business, play an instrument, or perfect a process, I have always been more interested in people who write the music, invent new technology, or essentially have the ability to create something that is totally original. Some of us…
Last summer, I participated in a fundraiser for Congressman Tony Cárdenas in San Fernando, CA. We raised about $12K from a network of Latino small business professionals. The congressman was pleasantly surprised…Why? Because even though he is one of the strongest Latino advocates in government, Cárdenas told me that more than 95% of his political…
This week, the media was dominated by the impeachment hearings. While I am going to save my opinion on the subject for another time, watching Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and Fiona Hill testify convinced me of two things: First, knowing that there are smart, dedicated people like this in our government gives me confidence that despite…
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren think billionaires shouldn’t exist. This has caused some well publicized indignation on the part of some famous billionaires like Blackstone’s Stephen A. Schwarzman, who countered by saying “Maybe Bernie Sanders shouldn’t exist”. In fairness to Sanders and Warren, I don’t think they are calling for the elimination of anyone in…
I have been thinking a lot about what Latinos really want, and perhaps a better question is what do they really need. Everything I do with NAHREP, The Hispanic Wealth Project, and L’ATTITUDE is about answering those questions. We talk a lot about creating a new narrative for the Latino community. Not an easy undertaking,…
The NAHREP National Convention is moving to the Spring (March 16-18) and will take place concurrently with our Housing Policy Summit. The move is designed to bring more business content to the first part of the year, and make room for our new Fall convention focused on Sales Mastery, Real Estate Skills and Wealth Building,…
The Washington Nationals completed their fairy tale season by winning the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Manager Dave Martinez brought the city its first baseball championship in almost a century in only his second year. The success of the Nationals mirrored the unlikely achievements of the Toronto Raptors, who won its…
I love buying gifts for people, and enjoy it even more when it is unexpected. In other words, I love seeing family and expressing our love for each other – I don’t love the obligatory gift giving that comes with the holidays. I do it, but I don’t love it as much. I know that…
I’ve been talking about leadership a lot lately. It’s an interesting topic because the qualities that create a great leader are sometimes difficult to define. The concept of emotional intelligence has become better understood in recent years and there are some good books on the subject. Great leaders have vision, integrity, good communication skills, and…
I spent the Friday in El Paso with my friend Beto Pallares. Beto is an amazing guy. He holds several degrees including a BA from Brandeis and a PhD from UTEP. He manages a $150M venture fund for one of the wealthiest families in all of Texas. He also sits on eight corporate boards, but…
USA Today published an article about the term “LatinX” this past weekend. You should read the article yourself, but it essentially blasts the term as a progressive-led assault on the Spanish language itself. The article initially resonated with me and I decided to post it on FB on Friday to see what others thought. Once the comments…
After much consideration, I have decided to name my podcast “Latin Privilege”. I’m doing my research right now, but plan to launch immediately after the first of the year. Much like this blog, we will be discussing business, politics, sports and entertainment. I’m looking forward to it and hope you will join me.
I try to avoid writing about politics every week, but with Syria and impeachment proceedings, the last couple of weeks have likely been the most consequential in the Trump presidency. Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria caused more backlash from his own party than anything else he has done to date. That decision…
I think I mentioned in a prior blog that I enjoyed the movie Crazy Rich Asians. It was a fun, feel-good, romantic comedy, and I must admit I like those movies a lot more than action films. Even though the movie is fictional, it helped perpetuate the image that Asians are a wealthy population. Conversely,…