Where is the leader? Henry Cisneros wears many hats, but is perhaps best known for his role as an eloquent orator

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, Feb-March, 2002

CEO/Chairman of American CityVista

San Antonio, Texas

Q. Why does the Hispanic community lack a clear and identifiable leader?

A. There is no single identifiable leader because the community is very diverse, but we do have very strong leadership that is representative of our diversity. We are Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Central Americans, and South Americans. We are Democrats and Republicans. We are regionally diverse. We are liberals and conservatives--so it is extremely difficult to expect that we would have one single leader from all this. What we do have are people that lead various segments of our community, and we also have some crosscutting leaders.

Q. What do you mean exactly by crosscutting leaders?

A. I mean Paul Yzaguirre and the National Council of La Raza, who represent the community broadly, and also members of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus, who speak on Latino issues nationwide, and not forgetting other organizations that have risen to prominence. I see this diversity of leadership as a healthy thing, and it is unreasonable to expect that any one person or organization could represent the diversity of our community for very long. It's just too diverse, and, frankly, more heads are better than one. Our community possesses a rich, deep, energetic, resourceful treasure of leadership, and it's getting stronger every day.

Q. Do you envision that there will be one single leader or organization representing Hispanics?

A. No, I don't think that is reasonable. I don't think it is desirable, and I don't drink it is possible. It is certainly not necessary.

Q. Why is a single leader undesirable?

A. It is undesirable because we are not a society that values the inherent authoritarian dynamic that would come into effect if one person were constantly striving to stay on top, or if one organization were in that role. We are much better off with a diversity of opinion, having people in different camps, and debating ideas strongly. But I do believe it is necessary to create better vehicles for coordination, communication, knowing each other, and for prioritizing our issues--that I do believe is important.

Q. And what exactly are these vehicles you mention?

A. For example, Raul Yzaguirre and I worked together to bring to life something called the New America Alliance, which is the first alliance of Latino businesspeople of substantial resources and families, to try and give back to the community. There is also a group that meets informally called The Encuentro, which is a cross section of Latino leaders front various other groups--Dominican, Puerto Rican, and others. There is a multiplicity of organizations, about 45 of them, who have now joined the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, which a number of us helped bring together for the 1988 and the 1992 elections and has stayed together and is a kind of coordinating point, a Latino voice for multiple organizations.

Q. With all these examples, it would seem that progress is being made?

A. Yes, I think we are as far along as ever in communicating essential messages, prioritizing issues, and finding ways to collaborate. We don't always agree on every point, but as we have said from the beginning of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, the focus is to concentrate on issues we agree on and to avoid issues where disagreement is likely to be divisive. These issues include the embargo on Cuba. Mexican Americans may feel one way; Cuban Americans in Florida will feel another way. Let's not make that an issue that divides us. Let's focus on the common ground that these groups have, such as an agenda for education, small business development healthcare, and so forth. There's much more common ground, and if you were to compile a list of the things we agree on, compare this to a list of things that we disagree violently on, it is about a 3-1 ratio favoring things that we agree on. The more leaders we have, the less likely there will be competition for who's on top, because we discover that there is room for everyone at the table. Therefore, what becomes less significant is ego, the need to dominate; and what we see is the ethic of collaboration. That I think is a healthy process.

Q. Do you see one single leader in a negative light?

A. I do, I see it very negatively. What are the concomitant forces when we accede to a single leader? Jealousies, a fight for dominance, a false belief that one person or organization has all the wisdom or superiority and can speak for everyone. It is patently ridiculous. No one has the breadth of experience to cover this community. Anyone who tried to be in all the places one needs to be would end up running from pillar to post covering issues shallowly. So, I think the model is wrong. We are better off with a multiplicity of leaders.

Q. Do you think the average Hispanic knows who prominent Latinos are, such as Rosario Marin, Hilda Solis, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Raul Yzaguiire?

A. Yes, I certainly do. We have polling that shows that there is a handful of people, probably a dozen, who are known by the average person in the street, and, thanks to Univision, Telemundo, Radio Unica, and our other major media of distribution, they are becoming known more and more.