The rumor is that Jorge Mas, founder and Chairman of MasTec, a publicly traded construction and engineering company out of Coral Gables is the odds-on favorite to purchase the Florida Marlins of MLB. If successful, Mas would be the second Latino owner of a major league baseball team after Mexican- American, Arte Moreno purchased the LA Angels in 2003. In May, Raul Fernandez, the co-owner of the Washington Wizards of the NBA, joined NAHREP and the Hispanic Wealth Project at their annual Hispanic Wealth Symposium in La Jolla. I’d love to see more Latino athletes in professional sports, but seeing them in ownership is even more exciting.
I think most Latinos would agree that at our core, we are a generous people. If a member of our family is in need, Latinos as a rule, won’t hesitate to help financially. Family is central to Hispanic culture: our generosity has few limits. Maybe that explains why when it comes to making political donations and writing checks in support of actual philanthropic activities, Latinos come up short….When I interviewed Barack Obama last year at NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE, I pressed him about politicians not prioritizing issues that are important to Latino voters, he politely pushed back by saying…
We hear frequently how Latinos are not a monolithic community. In other words, we are not all the same. We come from different countries, have a variety of political views, and even eat different foods. I get all of that, but I also think focusing constantly on our differences versus our similarities undermines our political and economic power as a community...
This might be my most provocative blog in a while. Let me first state that I am happily married to a beautiful gringa. My kids are half- White and some of my best friends throughout my life have been White, so don’t let the title of this blog throw you.