LLA Admin

August 29, 2022 – San Jose Spotlight: ‘There’s always hope’: How Eddie Garcia fought for Latinos in Silicon Valley

May 26, 2022 – Mercury News: Cheech Marin honored in San Jose for Latino arts advocacy

May 2, 2022 – KRON 4: ‘Cheech’ Marin to receive lifetime achievement award in San Jose

September 15, 2021 – San Jose Spotlight: Latino leaders urge San Jose residents to take part in redistricting

January 24, 2021 – San Jose Spotlight: East San Jose’s political power is rising — a movement years in the making

Message from LLA’s Co-Chairs:

As we move forward in 2022, it’s important to look back to 2021 to see how far we’ve come.

After spending nearly a year in 2020 advocating to our Governor for the appointment of a Latino to US Senate, in 2021 we celebrated our collective win with US Senator Alex Padilla as our Ollin recipient during last year’s gala. We welcomed Gustavo Arellano from the LA Times to our Día De La Raza event and celebrated the graduation of Cohort 11 with the Orgullo Awards for resiliency during the pandemic to our community leaders.

Thankfully, we are now moving out of two years in a pandemic and toward recovery and our future. And finally, we joined a coalition of organizations to better advocate for our communities during the redistricting process.

As an organization, we will continue to promote that OUR representation matters at every table, big or small, and we are proud to see so many community members and leaders support us – at nearly 100% revenue growth from the previous year because they know … ¡Es tiempo!

We invite you to join us as we continue to move forward and focus on Leadership, Partnerships and Advocacy work through our strategic plan.

In Community,

Erika Bustamante & Mayra Flores
LLA Board Co-Chairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2022

Latino Leadership Alliance Presents Cheech Marin with Ollin Award

San Jose, Calif.–On Wednesday, May 25 the Latino Leadership Alliance will present actor, activist and Chicano art supporter and advocate Cheech Marin with its prestigious Ollin Award.

Marin, who is most known for his part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, is opening what is being called the world’s largest Chicano art collection -The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture – on June 18, 2022 in Riverside, California where more than 700 pieces of Chicano Art will be housed.

The Latino Leadership Alliance was founded in 2009 by a group of dedicated community leaders who believed in strengthening Latino leadership, with the goal that Latino’s will be fully represented in leadership roles and positions throughout the Bay Area.

“After collectively surviving the last two years of a pandemic,  we are celebrating our arts leaders who create, curate and celebrate the beauty of our communities daily – many of whom are still struggling to recover,” said Mayra Flores, LLA Co-Chair. “Cheech’s efforts to not only support but center and uplift Chicano art through his museum serves as a leadership example we want to honor.”

Cheech will receive the Ollin Award during LLA’s 5th Annual Gala on May 25 at The School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose, 5PM, and will deliver the evening’s keynote address. Joining him will be Jessica Paz-Cedillos, co-executive director of The School of Arts and Culture, Rosanna Alvarez, co-founder of East Side Magazine, and many more local visual and performance artists.

“Art is an essential part of our society and it can help and inspire leadership,” said Erika Bustamante, LLA Co-Chair. “We are excited to celebrate both, art and leadership, at our Gala and we are thrilled to be able to honor Cheech and his efforts with our Ollin award.” 

The Ollin Award is LLA’s lifetime achievement award, stemmed in the Nahuatl word for movement, steeped in MesoAmerican Indigenous cultures and intertwined with the stages of human life: To be a great leader, one must always move to grow, learn, support, and break down barriers to create new paths for others to join. 

The Ollin has been presented for five years. Previous recipients include California’s first Latino United States Senator Alex Padilla (2021), former Santa Clara County Supervisor and the first Latina San Jose City Council member and Vice Mayor Blanca Alvarado (2020), Latino Leadership Alliance co-founder and former East Side Union High School District Trustee Eddie Garcia (2019), Stanford University Professor Emeritus and one of founding scholars of the field of Mexican American history and Chicano Studies Dr. Albert Camarillo (2018), and Actor/Producer, Founder of Centro Legal de La Raza, and Founder of the National Association of State Latino Chambers of Commerce Tony Quintero (2013).

Watch the full 2021 LLA Gala, and Ollin presentation, here: https://youtu.be/1KYRN3xaCGk 

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June 21, 2021

To Honorable Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, and Council Members Sergio Jimenez, Raul Peralez, David Cohen, Magdalena Carrasco, Dev Davis, Maya Esparza, Sylvia Arenas, Pam Foley and Matt Mahan:

The Latino Leadership Alliance (LLA) reaches out today to stand in solidarity with the 700+ vendors of The San Jose Flea Market otherwise known by the Latino/a/x community as La Pulga. The displacement of these vendors and negative impact on the lives of thousands of people of color in San Jose should be enough to give pause to this plan, however, we understand that this is a land-use issue and not a social one. And as such, we believe that a public engagement process in a land-use deal of this size should be open and transparent to allow equitable access to the vendors and the community impacted.

We all just witnessed a very public and inclusive three-year-process with the Google project – the largest in our city’s history – that allowed for community and stakeholders to sit at the table and created wins for all involved. And as the second largest land-use deal in our city, we believe that this project, and the vendors impacted, should undergo a similar process to ensure that the City of San Jose is treating all of its projects equitably and taking seriously the issue of displacement of communities of color.

Further, it is our hope that the Council weighs the real value of economic mobility and stability this property offers its vendors and their employees. This economic engine running in District 4 is real and its impact is ensuring that thousands of Latino/a/x, Vietnamese, and so many other communities of color can provide for their families.

The impact of how we proceed today will be felt by countless future generations of people of color in San Jose. We hope that you have the strength and courage to hit pause on this project to ensure the best and most equitable outcome for all involved.

In Community,

Latino Leadership Alliance

Latino Leadership Alliance Presents US Senator Alex Padilla with Ollin Award

San Jose, Calif.–On Wednesday, March 24 the Latino Leadership Alliance presented the first Latino US Senator to represent the great state of California with its prestigious Ollin Award.

“This award is an honor and truly humbling,” said US Senator Padilla. “It is a testament to the work of countless people who have opened up the doors of opportunity and everybody played a part in helping me get here as the first Latino US Senator from California.”

The Latino Leadership Alliance was founded in 2009 by a group of dedicated community leaders who believed in strengthening Latino leadership, with the goal that Latino’s will be fully represented in leadership roles and positions throughout the Bay Area.

In 2020, LLA joined a statewide coalition of 32 Latinx organizations to advocate for the appointment of a Latino/a to the US Senate and were pleased to see Governor Gavin Newsom appoint the longtime champion for the Latino community in California.

“Es tiempo. It’s time for the Latino community to have the representation it deserves at all decision-making tables, including in the highest levels of government,” said LLA Board Chair Lennies Gutiérrez. “Honoring Senator Padilla offers us an opportunity to spotlight not only the possibilities but also the real impact felt on the ground by each and every member of our community when our lived experiences are included.”

The Ollin Award is LLA’s lifetime achievement award, stemmed in the Nahuatl word for movement, steeped in MesoAmerican Indigenous cultures and intertwined with the stages of human life: To be a great leader, one must always move to grow, learn, support, and break down barriers to create new paths for others to join.

The Ollin has been presented for five years. Previous recipients include former Santa Clara County Supervisor and the first Latina San Jose City Council member and Vice Mayor Blanca Alvarado (2020), Latino Leadership Alliance co-founder and former East Side Union High School District Trustee Eddie Garcia (2019), Stanford University Professor Emeritus and one of founding scholars of the field of Mexican American history and Chicano Studies Dr. Albert Camarillo (2018), and Actor/Producer, Founder of Centro Legal de La Raza, and Founder of the National Association of State Latino Chambers of Commerce Tony Quintero (2013).

Watch the full 2021 LLA Gala, and Ollin presentation, here: https://youtu.be/1KYRN3xaCGk

LLA Stands with the Asian American & Pacific Islander Community. #StopAsianHate

We are horrified that yet again we are seeing violence against our Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) brothers and sisters, this time in Georgia. We stand firmly next to the AAPI community and will not stay silent. Your pain is our pain. Your struggle is our struggle. These racist attacks amongst communities of color cannot continue to happen.

We, as a country, cannot stand by and watch while group after group of Americans are targeted by hate and bigotry. We cannot accept that as a result of these vicious actions entire communities are living in fear. We must be better than this!

We stand in solidarity with the AAPI community demanding justice, including that the long history of Anti-Asian rhetoric and xenophobia in our country is addressed.

¡Ya Basta! Hate and violence against one is hate and violence against us all.

The Latino Leadership Alliance