Tom Flores was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past week. He is the first Hispanic quarterback in pro football and the first Hispanic head coach of an NFL franchise. His election to the Hall of Fame was celebrated by Latino organizations such as LULAC and the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. While Flores, whose father immigrated to the U.S. as part of the Bracero guest worker program, advocated for Latino immigrants later in his life, was not known for being a vocal proponent of Latino causes when he was at the peak of his fame. For this reason, I personally know a few Latinos who are not celebrating Tom Flores’ history-making recognition.
How do I feel about Latinos who only show up when it’s convenient or when there is something personal to gain? Well, I don’t know Tom Flores, but this is a scenario I have thought about more than a few times. I remember during the last recession, the only real estate agents who were surviving were the ones who had foreclosure listing accounts (REO). These listing accounts came from federal agencies and major financial institutions. They were very difficult to get and usually went to a select group of agents who had long-standing relationships with these institutions, and even though most of the foreclosures were occurring in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, very few agents of color had these relationships. NAHREP leaders met with FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and every major bank and servicer in America arguing that Latino agents needed to have their fair share of listing and other business opportunities. It was a tough battle and we got a lot of doors slammed in our face. I could write a book about the humiliation and abject racism I encountered during that time. Without question, NAHREP was the reason many Latino agents survived during that time, and a few became millionaires because of the work we did. Between 2008-2012, NAHREP brought dozens of asset managers and loan servicers to our events, and I personally saw hundreds of Latino agents who had never attended a NAHREP event before the housing crisis put on a NAHREP pin and charge to the front of the line.
I decided then, and still believe today, I would welcome any Latino who wanted back into the family regardless of their motive. It is hard enough getting our people under one tent, I don’t have the time or the inclination to speculate why. My hope, of course, is that once they are under the tent, the “Johnny-come-lately” Latinos will stay there, and give back to our Latino community from that point forward – even though I know this won’t always be the case. There are hundreds of Latino real estate agents who never came back to NAHREP once there weren’t any more REO listings to snag, but there have also been many others who have remained connected including some who became some of our best and most ardent members.
We all know who among us are real and who are the pretenders, and make no mistake, I don’t think all Latinos deserve the same things when there are actual opportunities being passed around. However, I also think loyalty tests won’t help us in the long run. We will lose a lot of good people if we go down that path. Most of us eventually figure out who we are. Some of us just take a little longer. I’m willing to give any Latino who wants back onto the reservation the benefit of the doubt…at least until they prove me wrong.
I was watching a podcast recently, and something about it rubbed me the wrong way — but it also got my wheels turning. In this episode, I talk about what I love most about being American, why the system that built this country deserves more appreciation than it gets, and why some of the loudest “love it or leave it” voices go strangely quiet when powerful billionaires openly criticize the very system that made their success possible. This is a conversation about America, double standards, and what real patriotism should actually look like.
This April, the Hispanic Wealth Project is launching its High Net Worth Boot Camp, a 10-week intensive built around some of the most valuable wealth-building education I’ve seen. In this episode, I talk about why so many of us need to shift from a worker’s mentality to an owner’s mentality, why economic success has to move from consumption to wealth building, and why building wealth takes knowledge, work, and discipline. The High Net Worth Boot Camp is designed to help close that knowledge gap with modules on securities investing, real estate investments, buying and selling businesses, asset protection, and tax strategies. If building real wealth has ever felt out of reach or unclear, this is the kind of education that can change how we think and what we build.
The data tells a powerful story: Latinos are driving economic growth in America. If Latino Americans were a standalone country, we’d be the fifth-largest economy in the world, and without Latino homebuyers, the number of homeowners in America would have declined in 2025. So why doesn’t it feel like we’re winning? In this episode, I talk about the gap between growth and perception, why we still don’t have enough strong voices shaping the national conversation, and why purchasing power alone is not enough. Growth matters, but wealth matters more. This is a conversation about leadership, visibility, and what it will really take for our community to turn momentum into lasting power.