Liliam López found herself in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Times Square in New York on June 25. The Cuban-American, president of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, then saw her face on the screen of the Nasdaq Tower.
López had come a long way not only from Miami, where she founded the Chamber in 1994 in a borrowed office with a printer and a borrowed computer, but a long way from the Viñales valley, in the province of Pinar del Río in Cuba, where her father had a farm that he lost during the Gerardo Machado government (1925-1933).
It was a surprise. López had gone to New York to interview David Wicks, vice president of Nasdaq, for “A Business Minute with Lily Lopez,” a show by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that emerged during the pandemic to communicate with Miami businesses and the more than 1,600 Chamber members. When the conversation was over, Wicks and Nasdaq CEO Alex Sánchez, who had served as a contact for the interview, guided her down a hallway.
They didn’t give her any hints. It wasn’t until López stepped outside that she saw herself on the Nasdaq screen. For 10 minutes, her smiling face presided over the corner of Broadway and 43rd Avenue. The logo of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of South Florida was front and center.
“That gives you hope, it excites you, because as a woman and Hispanic, I have struggled. It is difficult to overcome the barriers,” López told el Nuevo Herald.
In Miami-Dade it is difficult for the “powers” to recognize a Hispanic woman, said López. She, along with other female leaders like Aida Levitan, who was included in Forbes magazine’s “Fifty over 50” list, have long been calling for a greater female and Hispanic presence on the boards of directors of organizations and companies in Miami.
“Sometimes it is easier to feel support in the Hispanic chambers of commerce in other states, which are smaller and are not seen as a threat to the big powers,” says López.
‘My Hispanic roots are important’
López had learned from the best when she decided to co-found the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SFLHCC) in the mid-1990s. She had worked at the Spanish-American League Against Discrimination (SALAD) with attorney Osvaldo Soto and educator and president emeritus of Miami Dade College, Eduardo Padrón.
López’s command of Spanish led her to give lectures and speak on behalf of SALAD on Miami radio. She worked on campaigns to get out the Hispanic vote under her mentors, Padrón and Soto, who was also a key figure in the Cuban American Bar Association (CABA), the organization of Cuban-American lawyers in Miami.
“I have always felt that my Hispanic roots are important. How can you have a Hispanic last name and not speak Spanish,” says López.
Her pride in her heritage leads her to one her most treasured anecdotes about her father. She was invited to give the speech to graduates at Miami Dade College about 18 years ago and she wanted to give them hope and learn to be resilient. She then gave the example of her father, who had lost everything three times and had managed to get back up every time: First the Viñales farm during Machado; then the numerous cafes, restaurants and car businesses that the Castro regime confiscated and finally in Miami, where like so many exiles he had to start washing dishes.
“Pipo, stand up so they can recognize you,” she remembers telling her father, who stood up with his straw hat and guayabera. Applause broke out and at the end of the event everyone wanted to meet her father, who had continued standing during the speech.
Opportunities for Miami businesses and students
López believes in giving opportunities to small businesses in Miami, which can belong to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce by paying a modest membership fee. This offers them, among other benefits, the chance to attend Chamber lunches, where they can network.
There many find out that they can apply for help from the Elevate Together program which offers $5,000 grants to businesses with fewer than five full-time employees.
“Most businesses go bankrupt in the first year, and we tell them not to forget to apply,” says López, who advises anyone who wants to create a business to focus on something they are knowledgeable about.
“I recommend that you work on that point first to get to know it well. Otherwise I don’t recommend it because you will fail,” she says, emphasizing that it takes “a lot of practice, knowledge and many hours of work to succeed.”
In 1996 López established the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which has provided more than $1 million in scholarships to low-income students in Miami-Dade. They have taken them to visit the headquarters of Facebook, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines and Boeing.
“They have been in the factory where only the millionaires who buy airplanes go,” says López, explaining the joy she feels when one of the students tells her “they now feel like they have a future in life.”
López always asks that there be Hispanics in the delegations that serve students in different cities, so that young people can be inspired by their achievements.
“It is important to put Hispanics in senior positions in large companies, and that when they get there they do not forget their roots,” she says. “You should not forget about young people, either.”
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