1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 On today's episode of attention, Oliver will be talking about the efforts to create a new National Museum of the American Latino in Washington DC. Stay tuned. You won't want to miss this episode. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Hello, everyone. Thanks for tuning in to attention. Alva, the podcast for the American Latino Veterans Association. We are so excited to have you join us for this very special episode. I'm your host, Danny Vargas, chairman and CEO of Alva. In addition to these podcasts where you get to hear from inspiring guests, we also have a webinar series. 3 00:00:40,000 --> 00:01:09,000 Well, you'll learn great information on really important topics and keep an eye out for future events by visiting our website, alvavets.org and our social media channels at Alva Vets. We really want to thank our sponsors for these podcasts and webinars, JP Morgan Chase, PMI Wells Fargo, AT&T, T-Mobile and Accenture. Please like, share, comment and subscribe. It really helps us out very much if you can do those things for us. I'm very pleased to introduce our special guest for today, Lili Gil Valletta and Estuardo Rodriguez. 4 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:39,000 I'll introduce you both. Night, guys. Thanks for coming. Hello. All right, ladies first. We'll start with Lili. Lili Gil Valletta is a former corporate executive turned award winning entrepreneur, television business contributor and Ted Speaker. After a 10 year tenure as an executive at Johnson & Johnson, she's a co-founder and CEO of Culture Plus Group, a family of cultural intelligence companies offering market research, business growth strategies and inclusive marketing services to corporations and brands that once successfully tap into the market. 5 00:01:40,000 --> 00:02:00,000 So cultural shifts and diverse market segments to drive business growth listed two times by Inc. 5000 as one of America's fastest growing independently owned companies. The group includes C1. Plus the Choice Plus, the Human Dot Plus and Lili is an independent board director for the global youth retailer Sumis. 6 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Did I pronounce that right? 7 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Yes, you did. 8 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,000 Sumis and RCN television. 9 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,600 She also serves as chairwoman with the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, 10 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,980 investor and operating executive board member for AUA, private equity partners, and advisor 11 00:02:15,980 --> 00:02:18,340 to the FinTech company, Threz. 12 00:02:18,340 --> 00:02:25,280 Her impact works, I apologize, her impact work includes serving as a trustee and scholarship 13 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,680 provider at the Hispanic Service Institution Southwestern Adventist University, mentor 14 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,680 to the Stanford University Latino Business Action Network. 15 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,600 I did that program and member of the World Economic Forum and steering member for the 16 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,520 Health Equity Forum hosted at the United Nations. 17 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:42,520 Welcome, Lili. 18 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,520 Thank you so much. 19 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:50,520 Estuardo is a principal and co-founder at Raben focused on government affairs. 20 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,680 He specializes in direct lobbying on Capitol Hill, the White House and federal agencies 21 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:59,080 in the areas of financial services, technology and telecommunications. 22 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:05,280 Created by the Hill and the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics as a top lobbyist, 23 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,680 Estuardo has also cultivated a powerful network of media relationships and serves in the dual 24 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,640 role as Raben's counsel and on media and communications. 25 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:20,240 Beginning in 2004, 20 years ago, Estuardo launched an effort to gain congressional and 26 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:27,160 White House authorization to build a Smithsonian museum that would exhibit more than 500 years 27 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,600 of contributions and sacrifices of Latinos in the United States. 28 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,040 He currently serves as president and CEO of the Friends of the National Museum of the 29 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:39,560 American Latino, a campaign to create a Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino on the 30 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,120 National Mall. 31 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:46,760 Estuardo also uses his influence and leadership on various nonprofits and industry boards. 32 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:51,160 Estuardo is a member of the Council on Formulations and also serves on the University of Virginia 33 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,200 at Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at Vajibord. 34 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,480 Estuardo and Lili both serve on the Alpha Advisory Council. 35 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,840 Thank you so much for joining us today, guys. 36 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:01,840 Thank you. 37 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:03,600 Thank you. 38 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,240 So just for clarification, say so everyone's level set, the Friends of the National Museum 39 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:12,960 of the American Latino is a National 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring 40 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:14,960 that we can make this museum a reality. 41 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,320 And in full disclosure, I was the previous chairman of the group and I'm now considered 42 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,080 the chairman of Meredith mostly because of all the gray hair. 43 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:27,360 And I had to inherit the big shoes that you left for us on the board, Danny. 44 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:32,240 Well, and I would follow that up, Danny, since you were doing the little disclosures there 45 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,240 that we are not affiliated with the Smithsonian American Latino Museum in any way. 46 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:38,240 Absolutely. 47 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:39,720 It's always an important highlight. 48 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:40,720 Very important point. 49 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:41,720 Yeah. 50 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:42,720 All right. 51 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:43,720 So we've gone through the bios. 52 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:47,800 So let's start by talking about how you each got involved with this important effort. 53 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,760 Estuardo as the senior among us, why don't you go ahead and start how you got involved 54 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:53,760 a hundred years ago? 55 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:54,760 Yeah. 56 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:55,760 Yeah. 57 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,120 I mean, you already started the dating. 58 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,920 So yeah, it's been a 20 year round, which I know I know both of you know this well. 59 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:09,760 It really was just a an opportunity that came upon me and the team during a CHCI, Congressional 60 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:15,640 Hispanic Caucus Institute, lead state of conference where we had our our mother in a Congresswoman 61 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:21,600 Eliana Ross Leighton, now retired from Congress and Congressman Javier Becerra, who is also 62 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,360 retired from Congress and now the secretary of health and human services. 63 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,520 Both those individuals sharing in the vision of what one day could be in the American Latino 64 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:34,280 Museum hosted a conversation where it just piqued my interest and my team's interest. 65 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:37,680 And we decided to, you know, no good deed goes unpunished. 66 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,840 We volunteered to help out. 67 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:43,720 And that took us down this road for 20 years, which of course, you played such an integral 68 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,000 part in that final stage in 2020, which we can talk about more later. 69 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:53,120 But really it was an opportunity to explore how do we talk about our US Latino history 70 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,240 and what role does our national mall have in all the iconic museums? 71 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,600 Because for me, growing up in Washington, I was born in the district. 72 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:02,880 Going to the National Mall was like a weekend activity. 73 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:04,720 We just went through different museums. 74 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,160 Never once that occurred to me that my story was missing. 75 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,280 You just go through these museums and are just amazed by all the storytelling. 76 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:17,960 Well, thankfully someone specifically, Raul Izaguirre, back in 1994, decided that there 77 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,600 was something missing and it was important to highlight that. 78 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,880 And I was just lucky enough to be there to pick up the baton and have been doing it ever 79 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,760 since with amazing people like both of you. 80 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:30,400 So you started when you were 10 years old, right? 81 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:31,400 Exactly. 82 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:32,400 Pretty much. 83 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,920 Don't do the math because nobody will believe it. 84 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:37,920 Exactly. 85 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,360 Time flies and when you're having fun, as they say, and we've been having a great time 86 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,880 and hopefully now nearing the end, right? 87 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:45,360 The last page here. 88 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:46,360 That's right. 89 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:47,360 That's right. 90 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:48,360 How about you, Lili? 91 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:49,600 How'd you get involved? 92 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,360 Well, I have both of you to thank for that beautiful journey that started. 93 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,280 I was trying to look up the date. 94 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:57,280 My goodness. 95 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:02,560 I should know this, but it feels like it's now about six years since it started. 96 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,200 But you know, in the work that I do, working with big corporations, trying to influence 97 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:12,360 their budgets and their business plans as it relates to addressing the fast growing, 98 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,360 shifting demographics of our country, which Latinos, of course, are driving more than 50% 99 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,560 of the growth of all population. 100 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,320 It made sense to lean into an agenda like this one. 101 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:26,000 And you know, you get invited to a lot of events and I got invited to something that 102 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:27,960 was related to the friends. 103 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:32,000 And right away, I think as Eduardo jokes about this, you said, Danny, this was kind of like 104 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:33,680 chatting amongst amigos. 105 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,400 I'm going to go into the amigo kind of side of the introduction of how I ended up on the 106 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:39,400 board. 107 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:45,360 Apparently, I was very bold in asking people for money. 108 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:50,160 So as a businesswoman that unapologetically wants every corporation of every person to 109 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:55,640 really pour in their dollars into our communities, I got the pleasure of attending one of your 110 00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:01,000 events when both of you, of course, were at the helm, you as the chair, Danny, Eduardo, 111 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,720 as the CEO of the organization. 112 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:08,360 And I, in my roundtable, just started volunteering for just asking people for money. 113 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,600 Because, of course, we need to get this great effort funded. 114 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:17,840 And maybe you both were auditioning me for a position on the board when it was like, 115 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:19,880 well, that lady seems quite interesting. 116 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:24,120 I'm very unapologetic about looking for supporters. 117 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:30,760 So long story short, you know, thank you and thank you both because I know you are my padrinos 118 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:36,560 in this process for considering my name as a member of the board initially. 119 00:08:36,560 --> 00:08:41,600 And fast forward later, when Danny was terming out of his position as chair, which by the 120 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:47,840 way, he's still on the board as our chair emeritus, then I was given the great opportunity 121 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:53,800 to be voted in as the transitioning chair that took that role from Danny. 122 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,000 And here I am now. 123 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,040 And gosh, you guys talk about two decades. 124 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:02,040 Probably five years or more feel like a blink. 125 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:08,320 So I got the benefit of coming in into the stretch that felt like the last mile of a 126 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:09,680 marathon. 127 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:14,640 And I think we're still in that last mile, maybe not, maybe just a few meters, not a 128 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,640 full mile to the to the finish line. 129 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:18,640 But that's how it was. 130 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:25,000 I was at an event, loving the mission, giving my heart without expecting anything in return. 131 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:26,000 And here we are now. 132 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,240 Yeah, I see. 133 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,840 I know, right? 134 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:35,760 I seem to remember some of those casual conversations about you coming onto the board. 135 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:43,360 Yeah, you guys recruited me because I just ask people for money. 136 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,360 Money is the life's blood. 137 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:51,840 I was telling I was telling Danny, I remember that we had barely just met. 138 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:57,440 We sat down at dinner and then in the conversation piece, you stood up and made the pitch for 139 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,440 the whole museum. 140 00:09:58,440 --> 00:09:59,440 Oh, yeah. 141 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,240 I was like, wow, I don't need to do anything here. 142 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,280 Just met her and she's doing an amazing job already. 143 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,280 Oh, I can't leave, no. 144 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:08,800 You know what? 145 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:09,800 It makes sense. 146 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:14,560 I guess we're back on, like, like, maybe myself together here. 147 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:16,360 We're back to recording, right? 148 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:17,360 Yes. 149 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,240 Let's be, well, I disconnected myself. 150 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:21,240 Hold on. 151 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:22,240 I disconnected myself. 152 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:23,240 All right. 153 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,120 So, yeah, it's like, maybe we can pick it up now. 154 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:28,280 It's like, you never know who's watching. 155 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:33,920 So everyone, be at your best at all times straight from the heart without expecting anything. 156 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:34,920 Something may come about. 157 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:40,840 And all of a sudden, I took the biggest shoes in the house with Danny transitioning that 158 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,560 chairmanship, which I'm enjoying greatly. 159 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:44,560 So here we are. 160 00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:46,120 Well, everyone's doing a great job. 161 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:51,400 For me, I started, I got involved, I think, in 2007, not nearly as long as a stuardo, 162 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:57,680 but that's when I had heard about the bill that was being bandied about to create a commission 163 00:10:57,680 --> 00:10:59,720 to study the feasibility of this museum. 164 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:01,160 So I talked to my member of Congress. 165 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:05,120 I said, well, if this passes, can you help get me appointed to this commission? 166 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:08,120 Because I would find it fascinating. 167 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,960 So that's how I got involved through the commission those days. 168 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:16,960 And we'll go through the history in a few minutes, but before we go through the timeline 169 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:22,320 of events, why don't we just take a moment to talk about, from your perspective, why 170 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,160 is this museum important? 171 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:26,160 Why is it vital? 172 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:27,160 Sure, sure. 173 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:28,160 I don't know. 174 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:29,960 Lily, do you want to go first? 175 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:30,960 Sure. 176 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:36,120 I think you kind of said it in the introduction, Danny, and is Duardo's bio. 177 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:44,840 There is over 500 years of contributions of American Latinos to every aspect of American 178 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:47,120 society, history. 179 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,200 And in fact, there's so many fun facts, many that I've learned through this process. 180 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:57,400 And from you, Danny, that we think history started with Plymouth Rock and the arrival 181 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:02,200 of the pilgrims and all that stuff, when St. Augustine, Florida really is the oldest 182 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:09,280 city settlement in the United States, and that is a Spanish city. 183 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:14,080 So we were speaking Spanish here as the first foreign language before English. 184 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,560 And a lot of people don't know that, and our kids need to know that complete telling of 185 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:19,480 American history. 186 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:25,880 And that matters a lot because as we continue to grow into a fast approaching majority minority 187 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:30,360 nation just with the sheer numbers of shifting demographics and birth rates and what we're 188 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:36,520 seeing, roughly by the year 2040, we will be at that new status of a new America. 189 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,240 And forget about ethnicity and labels. 190 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:43,160 We're American, and we love our country, and we want to be able to understand where we 191 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:48,560 come from, what has contributed to the ethos and the essence of who we are, and you cannot 192 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:54,080 tell American history without it including Latino history. 193 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,600 Because I just told you that fun fact about St. Augustine, and there's many more, by the 194 00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:58,600 way. 195 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,360 And I think, you have a lot of fun facts with some of the members of our community that 196 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:09,680 have been crucial as early as the Revolutionary War, and fast forward to today. 197 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:17,200 So anyhow, I think it's important because as Americans and as the world, we need to continue 198 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:24,000 to protect and preserve the stories that shape history, to honor and elevate that, and also 199 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:30,080 for that new generation of majority minority Americans to see themselves in the history 200 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:36,320 books and in the whole ways of iconic institutions like the ones we have in Washington, D.C., 201 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:42,560 that the world needs to feel, embrace, and continue to be proud of. 202 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,560 I think Lily has said it all, really. 203 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:49,960 I would just underscore, we don't know, we don't know. 204 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:54,840 The identity piece of the conversation that we have as a community, not just as a Latino 205 00:13:54,840 --> 00:14:00,880 community, but as an American society, when we point a finger at each other with assumptions 206 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:07,240 or presumptions of what we believe that the other is about, it creates the divisions. 207 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:13,800 Even within our Latino community, not knowing what we don't know is part of the problem. 208 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,840 When you go through a museum and you spend the time going through a museum, whether it's 209 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:23,880 an elementary school or if it's a college age group, there's always going to be a moment 210 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:29,120 where you just look and stare and go, wow, I had no idea. 211 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:36,480 That spark is what ultimately leads to change because understanding more allows you to step 212 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:37,720 back and fully grasp. 213 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,640 I was just talking to somebody the other day. 214 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:48,120 So many times, we fill in the gaps with our own story of what we believe the other person 215 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,800 to be about because we don't know. 216 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:55,040 We do that with politics, we do that with entertainment, we do that with celebrity. 217 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:56,960 We don't know them, but we're like, oh, you know what? 218 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:58,280 Here's what I think they're about. 219 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:02,920 Here's what I, and that's part of also the cheese and my culture, but it's the truth. 220 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:10,120 It's you fill in gaps, and the museum allows us the opportunity to push pause on that, correct 221 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:15,280 the narrative, whether it's now attention or not, or good intention or not, correct 222 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,000 the narrative with actual facts. 223 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,200 One of the things Danny, you and I talked about for many years as we navigated the halls 224 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,200 of Congress on the Republican side of the Democratic side is that the museum was not 225 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:27,640 a civil rights issue. 226 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,040 The museum was not a left issue or right issue. 227 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:37,480 It was an American issue, and you rightly underscored the patriotic role of 500 years 228 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:38,480 of history. 229 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,720 That's part of correcting the narrative. 230 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:46,400 That's part of filling the gaps with facts, replacing the, you know, filling the blank 231 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,480 thing that many people do when they don't understand a specific community or when we 232 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,040 don't even understand each other, because as you know, even within our own community, 233 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,720 we paint each other in a certain way because we don't know. 234 00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:58,720 So we make assumptions. 235 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:03,880 So this to me is more than four walls and a ceiling. 236 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:08,720 It's about course correcting so that we can better be inclusive and celebrate what makes 237 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:10,560 us truly strong. 238 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:11,960 You know, I totally agree. 239 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:12,960 And you talked about narrative. 240 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:15,200 I think that's super important. 241 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:19,520 The other thing that I think is important is as you step back a little bit, I've always 242 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:25,480 said that you can't know where you're going unless you have a better sense of where you 243 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:26,480 came from. 244 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,600 You can't shape your future unless you understand your past. 245 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:34,080 And I think it's really important that we make sure that we fill in not only the gaps, 246 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:39,480 but also the, you know, the data points and the information, you know, Latinos have been 247 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,880 vital to the building, shaping and defending of this nation from the very beginning. 248 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:48,720 I talk about our military contributions quite a bit, you know, from, you've mentioned it 249 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,840 lately from Spanish general Galvez and over 10,000 Spanish troops that came from the new 250 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,000 world, from the Caribbean, from Central America to help stem the advance of the British from 251 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:02,480 the South allowing China, Washington to win the war of independence, you know, to the 252 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:07,720 first full Admin land States Navy, David Farragut during the Civil War, who said, damn the torpedoes, 253 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:12,600 full speed ahead to the 200,000 Latino troops in World War I to the half million in World 254 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:19,400 War II, to the 65th Infantry Regiment during Korea, the Burin caneers of Puerto Rico setting 255 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,760 the gold standard for the bravery of a combat unit to the thousands of Hispanic surnames 256 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:28,480 on the Vietnam, Fenris, Morrill, Wall and the young Latinos and Latinos who served in 257 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:32,920 sacrifice on our behalf in the battlefields of Afghanistan, Iraq or the 60 plus Hispanic 258 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:38,840 Medal of Honor recipients or the current 25% of the United States Marine Corps active duty. 259 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:40,960 Latinos take a back seat to no one in the defense of liberty. 260 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,720 All these stories need to be told and they need to be embraced and we need to be proud 261 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:49,000 of them, you know, so this museum is going to be super important because and I think 262 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:55,320 it's important that we share the fulsome story, the good, the bad and the ugly, because it 263 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,960 really is part of our identity as a nation. 264 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:04,360 So kudos to you guys for continuing the effort and we'll get it done. 265 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:06,920 I know. 266 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,440 But it's probably important for us to go through a little bit for our audience who doesn't 267 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:17,600 know about the museum effort to go through the timeline, you know, starting, I guess 268 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,240 1994 story, do you want to take a crack at them? 269 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,240 Maybe Lily fill us in on some of the details as well. 270 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:25,240 Great. 271 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:31,680 So yeah, as I hinted at in the beginning of my remarks, you know, Raul and Saguirre, 272 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:37,320 central to the creation of National Council of La Raza now Unidos US, he was the one who 273 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:44,520 organized a group of Latino Latino leaders to question the Smithsonian about why there 274 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:49,720 was nothing within the Smithsonian that truly highlighted the diversity, not just even Latino 275 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,200 history, but just broader diversity. 276 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:57,720 The Smithsonian took it upon themselves to conduct their own research and presented that 277 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:03,800 report willful neglect that highlighted a lack of diversity across the Smithsonian. 278 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:09,680 And through that report, several recommendations came from it again, 1994, where they first 279 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:15,360 suggested the possibility of creating a Latino center to conduct studies around exhibits, 280 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,360 the recommendation to create natural museum at some point. 281 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:23,320 And then a number of other recommendations focused on hiring and diversity within the 282 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:24,400 Smithsonian itself. 283 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,360 So 10 recommendations in total. 284 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:36,000 It was sad that 10 years later, you had barely begun to chip away at those actions that were 285 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:42,240 suggested or recommended, and finally, in 2004, 10 years later, when Congress and the 286 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,400 Senate and the other states later introduced that bill. 287 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:52,360 And even with that 2004, to not even get the first piece of legislation through until 2008 288 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:57,160 to create the commission where Danny Vargas steps in with so many of our allies and friends 289 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:03,800 to study around the support that a future Latino museum would have. 290 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,200 And then you're moving on from there to present that commission report, which you should obviously 291 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,120 talk more about since you were on the commission. 292 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:11,800 But this is a longer process. 293 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,000 When people talk about creating a museum, it is not something that, oh, let's just pass 294 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,000 the bill. 295 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,800 It took the African-American Museum almost 80 years, 80. 296 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:23,840 They went through four different commissions. 297 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,560 So going in their eyes wide open, it really wasn't this exciting thing like, oh, we're 298 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:28,560 going to get it done tomorrow. 299 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:29,560 It's like, let's hope. 300 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:35,440 We don't end up in a long slog the way the African-American Museum had. 301 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,920 We had amazing support, bipartisan from the very start. 302 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,720 And that's really the energy we've been trying to prove out. 303 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,880 And then the 501C3 was founded when? 304 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:55,840 So the 501C3 actually came along at the same time when the 2008 National Museum of American 305 00:20:55,840 --> 00:21:00,680 Latino Commission bill went through. 306 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,320 That's when the Friends organization went from being an informal advisory group made 307 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:12,080 up of 2040 Latino organizations to an official 501C3 with a board structure and fundraising 308 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,480 operation because for those four years, we had no idea what was going to happen. 309 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,720 We had no idea if this was going to be something we just pushed through within the four, within 310 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:21,680 two Congresses. 311 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:27,280 And then realized quickly in 2008, we needed to formalize all of the work so that we could 312 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,840 see the marathon to the end. 313 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:30,840 Right? 314 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,240 And it's been an exciting time ever since. 315 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,800 But hopefully, hopefully, we'll get this done. 316 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:39,760 So I'll talk about the commission just briefly. 317 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:46,240 I was fortunate enough to be appointed to the commission by Congress, but we came together 318 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:51,080 for the first time in September of 2009. 319 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:57,280 And it was 23 of us from very different backgrounds, people like Eva Longoria, Milo Estefan, et 320 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,720 cetera, Republicans, Democrats, and business people, arts people, et cetera. 321 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:06,600 But we came together as a family pretty quickly and traveled around the country getting input 322 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,520 from citizens and experts. 323 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:14,880 And we finally came up with our report that we delivered to President Obama in May of 324 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:17,080 2011. 325 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:21,800 And unlike, so the Wolf of Neglect report, that was its title, the title we chose for 326 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,960 our report was to illuminate the American story for the benefit of everyone, Latinos, 327 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:31,240 non-Latinos, Americans, and those visiting our country to get a better sense of who we 328 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,800 are as a nation. 329 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:35,600 And we had three basic findings. 330 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,560 One was a clear and pressing need for the museum. 331 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,920 Two, it really should be part of the Sonia institution because we had an option to make 332 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:42,800 it a very private museum. 333 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,720 And three really ought to be on the National Mall, America's backyard. 334 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:52,920 And then in the fall of that year of 2011 was the first time that an authorization bill 335 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:58,720 was introduced in Congress, and that's when I joined the Friends Group Board. 336 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:03,560 And then that effort continued to try to get that bill passed, to try to get cosponsors. 337 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,720 We can get into the machinations of how to get a bill passed in Congress, all the sausage 338 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:09,960 making in a little bit. 339 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:16,280 But I didn't become chairman of that 5.163 until December 2016, when it became clear 340 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,840 that we needed to diversify the board in terms of political makeup. 341 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,200 We created the Chairman's Advisory Council. 342 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:30,400 We built this national coalition of partners, over 100 organizations, to be able to help 343 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:31,400 us. 344 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,680 And we got the bill passed in December of 2020. 345 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,000 We'll talk about the details in a little bit. 346 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,520 But then we handed the baton off to Lili, and Lili, you take it from here. 347 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,120 Yes, I did. 348 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:47,400 You know, I want to underscore something, because I didn't get to appreciate the power 349 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:56,320 of coalitions and the work that you do as Duardo and Reuben does on advocating and lobbying. 350 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:01,720 You know, I have been always the corporate type, and yes, I still have to influence and 351 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:06,520 lobby for projects in front of a board or executives. 352 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:13,240 But my goodness, the effort that it takes to get stuff passed and done and the consensus 353 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:19,760 and the sponsorship for a bill, and let's think about it, it's been multiple iterations 354 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,520 of bills and approvals in the 20-year tenure of this project. 355 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:31,160 It is, first of all, a remarkable effort that I pay homage to all of you that have been 356 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,320 there from ground zero day one. 357 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:41,720 But it also reminds me that the work is never truly, truly done until it's done. 358 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,120 And I know there's been questions about, and thanks for the clarification, as Duardo 359 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:50,160 was like, but the Friends is not associated with the Smithsonian organization. 360 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:55,920 And in a way, that is the very reason why it needs to exist, because it is an entity 361 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:02,960 parallel to the efforts that allows for that independent voice, that, you know, shaking 362 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:10,000 up of the trees that sometimes you need to do to get people's attention, to engage Republicans 363 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:16,080 and Democrats and community organizations and advocacy groups so that we can all sink 364 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,760 to the same tune and create a sense of urgency. 365 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,920 Because otherwise, out of sight, out of mind. 366 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:31,040 So even if a commission is done with its work, even if a bill is drafted by a few sponsors 367 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:38,560 that are there right behind it, without the work of the Friends for advocacy, we couldn't 368 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:43,320 get the milestones passed beyond that one first move in the next step and the next step 369 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:44,320 and the next step. 370 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:50,200 So sure enough, I come in and we got what, which was very, you know, it was like a birthday 371 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:51,440 gift for Danny. 372 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:58,240 We got the signature for the, for the bill that finally makes all of this effort and 373 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:04,200 all of these assessments and all of these feasibility studies and it declares that yes, indeed, 374 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:10,120 we will have a museum because we need it and it's important for American history period. 375 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:13,480 And we thought we were done. 376 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:18,120 And here we are still in existence and sometimes we're asked, we're like, what do the Friends 377 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:19,120 do? 378 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:21,400 It's like, well, we're not done until we're done. 379 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:27,320 So even though you may have a bill, that is really where officially the work of this 380 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:34,480 Smithsonian as the entity, the agency, the curator of the work starts. 381 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:39,080 So we may be handing a baton, but we still don't know where the work starts. 382 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,040 If we don't know where the museum is going to be. 383 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:47,320 So this is where we're at and people ask over and over all the time, where are we? 384 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:54,160 We need to make sure we have the location, the best location and this Smithsonian has 385 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:57,880 already recommended a few and Eduardo can give us details around those. 386 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,080 But yes, has to be on the National Mall. 387 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:08,400 And we also need to get back to the powers of being in DC to bless the location as the 388 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:09,400 location. 389 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,320 Hence why the work of the Friends continues. 390 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:17,120 And by the way, not to just not to make it more complicated as maybe those of you listening 391 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:20,840 are trying to track the time was like, oh my goodness, it's a lot of pieces. 392 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:26,760 But there's also a women's museum in parallel happening as our effort is undergoing all these 393 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,320 milestones. 394 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,800 So we're not just talking about making sure we have the right location for our Latino 395 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:38,480 museum, but also for the women's museum because that gets approved. 396 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,640 And it's already been deemed as such by the Smithsonian. 397 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:43,640 It's a bundle project with twins. 398 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,640 We're birthing twins. 399 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:53,800 So that adds another layer of complexity, if I may call it that, because there's even 400 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:59,880 more parties involved and not one, but two locations to be vetted and to be approved. 401 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:01,400 So where are we at? 402 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:02,920 Yes, we have a bill. 403 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:03,920 Yay. 404 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,360 Yes, the Smithsonian has its efforts and we have a director for all these efforts and 405 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:11,160 a board of trustees and all that's wonderful. 406 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:17,640 But we cannot start formally fundraising a daydreaming of a location on daydreaming of 407 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,520 a render if we don't know where that's going to be. 408 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:28,640 So in layman's terms, that's where we're at and the work that continues until it's done. 409 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:33,080 So as Eduardo can give more technicalities about what it takes, but hey, it has to be 410 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,360 bipartisan and it needs to be on the national ball. 411 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:37,360 Plain and simple. 412 00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:43,640 Danny, I would just kind of quickly push in here, follow your lead on it, but I think 413 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:49,240 it's important to highlight that the Smithsonian does have approval for the museum. 414 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:54,120 It just doesn't have approval to build on the national ball where our history is told. 415 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:58,520 Where the 26 million tourists go every year. 416 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:04,840 It does have an executive director in Jorge San Manillo, who is an amazing director for 417 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:10,720 that museum and has spent three decades of his life in the world of museum and arts. 418 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:16,400 He's already fundraising, but as we all know, it's hard to fundraise when you can't just 419 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:20,160 point a finger and say that's where it's going to be, right? 420 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:24,120 That's the charge that he has right now to get this museum going, even if he doesn't 421 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,040 have the official location yet, which is truly commendable. 422 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:34,440 So maybe we take a minute to sort of double click on some of the inside baseball, if you 423 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:41,200 will, to give the audience a little bit of color on how we all got to where we are. 424 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:50,480 So I'll go to 2020 when after lots and lots of effort, we had worked to try to get as 425 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:53,040 many co-sponsors on the bill as possible. 426 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,000 Iliana Ross Layton had retired. 427 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,920 She had been our champion in the house. 428 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,800 And once she retired, we needed to find a new champion on the Republican side. 429 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:08,740 And I remember when we went to meet with Will Hurd in his office, who was a Republican Congress 430 00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:14,560 from Texas, and who's about six foot five, by the way. 431 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:19,320 I remember when we asked him to be our champion and he finally, after a long conversation, 432 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,320 said yes, and he stood up and I looked up and I said, you know, Padre Fili Spiridusanti, 433 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:27,360 you're now a champion of the Republican side. 434 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:33,440 But that began a long effort to get as many Republicans and Democrats as co-sponsors and 435 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,880 the inside baseball pieces, you know, you need to get to two thirds of the house to 436 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,160 be able to do what they call suspension bill. 437 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:43,320 We got to 295 co-sponsors in the house. 438 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:48,360 And in July of 2020, that bill passed unanimously in the house and we turned our attention to 439 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:53,160 the Senate, where we had worked hard to try to get as many co-sponsors on the Senate side. 440 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:58,680 I remember we had three AM phone calls with, you know, fundraisers for Senator Cruz and 441 00:30:58,680 --> 00:30:59,680 things like that. 442 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:08,240 And we went to testify in the Senate Rules Committee, thanks to Senator Roy Blunt. 443 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:13,440 And we in November of 2020, we were able to get the bill on the floor for unanimous consent 444 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:19,080 vote in the Senate and it was killed by one U.S. Senator. 445 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:23,120 We'll say the name, Mike Lee of Utah. 446 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:28,400 So we had to go to plan B. Plan B was to get it included in an omnibus bill. 447 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,240 Well, that took some horse trading. 448 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:36,600 That horse trading included the fact that we needed to not only include language to 449 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:42,640 make sure that the museum would have the political perspectives of both sides, but also keep 450 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:49,080 a portion of the National Mall reserved and restricted from building new museums. 451 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:53,040 That was the only way we were able to get that, our bill included in the omnibus. 452 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:58,800 And yes, it did pass in the Congress on my birthday, December 21st, signed into law by 453 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,080 President Trump six days later. 454 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:07,840 But that's why we are where we are now because yes, we have an authorization bill, but that 455 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,720 portion of the National Mall that would be ideal for both our museum and the women's 456 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,560 museum has been reserved and restricted for both. 457 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,640 So we've got to remove that restriction now. 458 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,720 And that's the challenge. 459 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:25,160 So maybe it's to talk us through how where we are now, how can we get that restriction 460 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:26,960 removed so we can actually move forward? 461 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:27,960 Well, two things. 462 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:32,480 One, I want to go back to Mike Lee for a hot second just to say, could it was to Mike 463 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,800 Lee for doing what he did and that it was a pain in the butt that he did it? 464 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:43,400 But he elevated the visibility and the importance of the museum just by blocking it. 465 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:48,320 He created the opportunity and springboard for so many people to become more aware of 466 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,280 what was happening, become outraged, right? 467 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:56,200 And it affected not just the Latin Museum, it affected the women's history museum too. 468 00:32:56,200 --> 00:33:01,840 So it was double the pressure to respond to Mike Lee and say, look, we're going to push 469 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,000 through on this and let you shut this down. 470 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:10,000 Ultimately, no, we did not want that language that was added in also very bipartisan fashion. 471 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:11,000 We have to acknowledge. 472 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,000 We'll name them as you started naming people. 473 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,520 Senator Manton, Senator Mikowski added that language and that restriction, right? 474 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:25,240 Right now, we're looking at that same playbook from 2020. 475 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,480 Looking at the vehicles that exist before the end of this Congress. 476 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:35,520 As you mentioned, President Trump signed the bill into law, but President Trump had no 477 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:37,280 idea he was signing that bill into law. 478 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,760 There were 600 sub-pieces of legislation in the nominous. 479 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:45,320 He did not read any one of them that I'm aware of because most presidents don't. 480 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:47,320 At the end of the year, they want to wrap it up. 481 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:48,360 And so they just signed it. 482 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,320 The Congress has approved it in both chambers. 483 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:57,720 So absolutely was done in the last year of the Trump administration. 484 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:03,200 Now the work is to make sure that the House and the Senate introduce their bills again 485 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:08,880 to push through that restriction to build on the law, which they have done already. 486 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,960 The House has done theirs, introduced their bill, and the Senate has introduced their 487 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:13,960 bill. 488 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:19,480 They're not identical, so we'll have to word Smith and have these bills match. 489 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:26,640 But it will be an effort to get the House to pass that this year, likely after the elections, 490 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:30,760 because there's not enough time simply to do anything else before the elections, and 491 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,320 then get that over to the Senate from the House. 492 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:40,120 And that's an effort pushed that through, and hopefully we'll have one over by the staff 493 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:44,800 and the operations on the Senate that have concerns about building on the mall, which 494 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:45,800 I think we will. 495 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:46,800 I think we're in a very good space. 496 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:50,760 We're in a stronger bipartisan space than we were before. 497 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:52,160 Yes, exactly. 498 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:54,280 And Danny, also to add, there is precedent. 499 00:34:54,280 --> 00:35:00,960 We're not the first to have to kind of convince the right bodies and entities about lifting 500 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:06,640 a restriction because the African American Museum had to go through a similar effort. 501 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:10,040 And by the way, because I want to put this out there, some people think it's like, whose 502 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,600 agenda is it that want to like block this or that? 503 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:22,720 Well, there are environmental reasons and some big perspectives about like, let's leave 504 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:24,520 it alone, let's not do anything else. 505 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,760 So it's nothing against the women's and Latino Museum per se. 506 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:34,800 It's more of a broader philosophical and principle of like, the mall is already built as it needs 507 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,280 to be period and put anything else on it. 508 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:43,400 So there's a lot of that that I've learned as well through this process of the mastery 509 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:51,400 and need for narrative massaging and messaging. 510 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:57,800 Because anything that could appear sadly in today's society and rapid, you know, social 511 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:03,840 media reaction of people, anything that may appear as a counter to the museum could be 512 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,040 misinterpreted as anti-Latino. 513 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:09,040 And many times is not at all. 514 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:16,360 It's just rules that have been there for many, many years that nobody ever questioned or 515 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:17,880 timing of things. 516 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:21,960 However, as Eduardo mentioned, sometimes it happens the other way around that we happen 517 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:27,800 to get things approved by just bundling them into a bigger, you know, grouping of legislation 518 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:32,720 that happens to go through when we need to and let it run. 519 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:36,480 So anyway, it's there's a lot of moving pieces. 520 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,320 But so we don't get overly complicated what it is. 521 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,760 We got the right support. 522 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:44,760 It is beautifully bipartisan. 523 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:49,720 And there is the language that we need to restrict it, lift the restriction so we can 524 00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:52,120 get the location and move forward. 525 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:55,600 So it becomes a Christmas gift again. 526 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:58,800 Danny, as it happened with you, that would be awesome. 527 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:01,040 December 21st, get it passed. 528 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:02,040 That's right. 529 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:08,040 I would I would be remiss though, if I if I didn't underline and highlight the fact 530 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,600 that we could not have gotten the bill passed. 531 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:16,400 We could not have made the progress that we made without lots and lots and lots of people. 532 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:22,880 You know, the the elected officials, the staffers on Capitol Hill, all of the members of the 533 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:28,560 National Coalition of Partners that I described earlier, the tens of thousands, if not millions 534 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:33,640 of people that supported this effort, you know, we had lots and lots of people engaged 535 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:38,000 with us in social media, call the members of Congress, you know, sending emails and 536 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:44,400 letters and so forth, you know, all of that over an extended period of time, over 26 years 537 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:48,600 from the idea to the bill passage and now beyond that. 538 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:53,240 So this has been such a huge undertaking with so many people to thank. 539 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:57,320 There's not enough time or bandwidth to thank everybody that needs to be thanked. 540 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:01,720 But I'm convinced that there are lots of people that want to be able to help now. 541 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:07,920 So let's take a minute to talk about how people can help now with making sure that we 542 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:11,040 can make this happen and reality. 543 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:17,640 We want to start by pointing where all information is received and reviewed and that is the internet. 544 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:22,840 American Latino Museum.org, that's where a lot of our information is around the current 545 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:26,600 legislation, how people can sign up and get involved. 546 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:31,040 We will get to the point post-election where we will be calling on the community to weigh 547 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:36,560 in, to reach out to Capitol Hill and let folks know this needs to get done this year. 548 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:43,000 We also have opportunities with broader coalitions by industry, whether it's the private sector 549 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,200 or corporate America sending in their letters, whether it's military and veterans sending 550 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:53,400 in their letter as assigned on the opportunity to gather people and build out a huge base 551 00:38:53,400 --> 00:39:00,160 of supporters that are focused on their sector of our society is also just very important. 552 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:05,080 So that people on Capitol Hill realize it's not just about this one small Latino community, 553 00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:09,560 it's about a universe that has contributed across the 500 years and the opportunity for 554 00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:14,760 them to get engaged in lobbying Congress to have their voice heard. 555 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:19,400 That's what we're going to be focused on right after the elections to make sure people are 556 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:21,640 ready to go and we'll get this across the finish line. 557 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:25,920 So AmericanLatinoMuseum.org and of course all the social media handles that are Latino 558 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:34,240 Museum at Latino Museum on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 559 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:39,960 And Danny maybe one more thing, anybody that is watching that is affiliated with a company 560 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:46,200 or a big corporation or happens to have power and influence in a corporation. 561 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:50,960 While we may not have the beautiful render to point to the location yet, the fundraising 562 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:52,120 has started. 563 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:58,080 So just bringing that up to the awareness of the executives of corporations and making 564 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:05,080 sure that they know that this is one of those critical legacy initiatives and capital campaigns 565 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:07,640 to be put on corporations. 566 00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:09,680 Raiders is critical. 567 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:13,800 And maybe you watching me think, oh yeah, I work for, I don't know, Corporation ABC 568 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:16,400 and I don't know the CEO, it doesn't matter. 569 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:22,840 You can, I'm sure try to get to either achieve diversity officer somewhere, government affairs 570 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:24,960 person somewhere. 571 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:31,160 There's ways and there's the power of LinkedIn as well, but we do want that corporate support 572 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:36,920 sooner than later because then when the time comes for fundraising and the appropriations 573 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:42,880 face of this entire effort, which will be 50-50 paid by the people's monies and by private 574 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:48,800 sector, the more of those corporations that we have already made aware and committed, 575 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:53,520 the better it will be for us to shortcut, God willing, the timeline until we get to 576 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:55,080 the breakdown. 577 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:59,800 Yes, yes, and all that, just to go back to the Smithsonian distinction, all of that fundraising 578 00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:04,960 capital campaign wise, we as you will know, Devin, we turn all that over to the Smithsonian. 579 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:05,960 Exactly. 580 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,040 We don't handle capital campaign. 581 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:12,880 So if you are interested, as Lily said, more than happy to connect folks directly with 582 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:16,080 the Smithsonian so they can have that conversation. 583 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:17,320 Well I appreciate that. 584 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:21,720 And as both of you know, as members of the Alva Advisory Council, you know that our 585 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:26,360 mission is to help Latino veterans thrive and recognize their indispensable contributions. 586 00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:30,400 We do our best to make sure that we're sharing the stories of Latino contributions to the 587 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:38,280 military, but this national museum on the National Mall, as well as its virtual presence, 588 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:44,200 so it won't just be four walls and a building in Washington, D.C., it will be expansive 589 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:46,800 throughout the internet, throughout the rest of the world. 590 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:52,080 It will serve an important role in making sure that we can tell the stories of Latino 591 00:41:52,080 --> 00:41:57,720 contributions to our national defense and security throughout the last 248 years and 592 00:41:57,720 --> 00:41:59,080 into the future. 593 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,560 So that's from a veteran perspective. 594 00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:04,960 That's why it's important to us to make sure that we can support this effort and make sure 595 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:09,680 that it's a reality so that we can not only walk in the doors of this building one day, 596 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:13,280 but also see those stories spread virtually throughout the rest of the world. 597 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:14,280 Absolutely. 598 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:15,280 I can't wait. 599 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:17,280 I can't wait. 600 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:18,280 I'm going to talk to you, Danny. 601 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:20,600 I learned a new fun fact about military. 602 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:26,240 By the way, sorry, shameless plug to something I learned because you never stop learning. 603 00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:34,680 We went to Spain with a friend's delegation and I learned a really fun fact, Danny. 604 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:44,080 You got to add it into your bag of stories that I had no idea that to help our own revolutionary 605 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:50,920 were here in general Washington and everybody else fighting for our freedom here. 606 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:58,400 The criollos, so many of our own ancestors from Peru, Colombia, Mexico, the wealthy Spaniards 607 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:06,400 that were now settled in the Americas were sending money and also smuggling the weapons 608 00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:11,360 in cod crates to help North America in their fight. 609 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:13,280 I found that fascinating. 610 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:14,280 So there you go. 611 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:20,800 We were the angel investors to some extent of the many wars that were fought. 612 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:21,800 I had no idea. 613 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:26,360 Maybe you knew that already, but it was just so fun to learn all these little things that 614 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:33,480 I want our kids to know, our American kids to know that there are those Hispanic American 615 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:40,000 contributions from way back from the very beginning that allowed us to fight for our 616 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,200 own freedom from day one. 617 00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:44,080 So that was kind of a fun fact. 618 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:50,360 I'm Talent and Treasure and as we know we are a diverse community and our veins is the 619 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:56,440 blood of codillos and casiquets and guerreros and that was instrumental in our fight and 620 00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:59,600 our continued service to our nation. 621 00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:02,800 All right, let's wrap it up one more time. 622 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:05,800 Working people go to find out more and help. 623 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:07,480 AmericanLatinomuseum.org. 624 00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:11,680 Please join us there and get involved so we can get this over to finish life. 625 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,880 Thank you so much, Lili and Estuardo. 626 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:15,560 We really appreciate your time. 627 00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:17,880 Lili Gil Valletta, Estuardo Rodriguez. 628 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:22,640 Thank you so much and we're going to make this thing a reality. 629 00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:26,640 And thank you all so much for joining us on behalf of the American Latino Veterans Association. 630 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:28,160 I appreciate you joining us today. 631 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:29,680 We hope you enjoy the content. 632 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:33,680 Please join us for future webinars and podcasts and please keep an eye out for information 633 00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:37,920 on our upcoming events by visiting our website alvavets.org. 634 00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:41,280 Thank you once again to Lili and Estuardo for being our guest today. 635 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:45,360 Thank you again to our sponsors for the podcast and webinars, JP Morgan Chase, PMI Wells 636 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,240 Fargo, AT&T, T-Mobile and Accenture. 637 00:44:48,240 --> 00:44:52,200 Thank you again for joining us and as always, be safe, aim high and thrive. 638 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:53,200 We'll see you next time. 639 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:54,200 Thanks again. 640 00:44:54,200 --> 00:45:12,200 Thank you.