In honor of Women’s History Month we wanted to celebrate the younger Texas Latinas that have been working behind the scenes on the national level of politics that are usually left out of mainstream media. We see you and recognize your “chingona-ness” QUE VIVA LA MUJER!
XOCHITL HINOJOSA (hometown Brownsville) – XOCHITL, THE QUEEN OF COMMUNICATIONS. HINOJOSA WAS A FEDERAL APPOINTEE OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND THEN BECAME PART OF WOMEN’S HISTORY, SERVING AS NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF COALITIONS PRESS FOR THE HISTORIC HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. XOCHITL IS NOW THE NEW COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE.
XIMENA GONZALEZ ROJAS (hometown Brownsville) – XIMENA SERVED ALMOST THE ENTIRE TERM OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AS PART OF THE OFFICE OF FIRST LADY, MICHELLE OBAMA. SHE EXITED AS A POLICY ADVISOR ON THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON WOMEN AND GIRLS. XIMENA NOW WORKS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
AMBAR CALVILLO-RIVERA El Paso – PREVIOUS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND SERVED ON THE 2013 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL COMMITTEE AND WAS A POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT FELLOW FOR THE 2012 OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. CALVILLO-RIVERA RETURNED TO TEXAS AND IS NOW THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CAMPAIGNS FOR VOTO LATINO
JACLYN URESTI Corpus Christi – THE NEXT REINA OF TEXAS POLITICS. JACKIE PREVIOUSLY WAS PART OF THE HISTORIC HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, HILLARY FOR AMERICA AND THEN RETURNED TO TEXAS AND BECAME THE STATE DIRECTOR FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. UNDER JACKIE’S EFFORTS, TEXAS SAW THE CLOSEST MARGIN FOR A DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE. JACKIE IS NOW THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS.
YOL-ITZMA AGUIRRE El Paso – SERVED AS NATIONAL LATINO MEDIA SPECIALIST FOR A HILLARY CLINTON PAC IN THE HISTORIC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. AGUIRRE RETURNED TO TEXAS AND WAS THE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR JUDY CANALES TEXAS 23RD CONGRESSIONAL RACE. MOST RECENTLY BECAME PART OF TEXAS HISTORY AS OUTREACH ON THE TEXAS GOVERNOR’S RACE FOR THE FIRST LATINA AND LGBTQ DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE, LUPE VALDEZ.
CYNTHIA CANO El Paso – BELOVED ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS AS WE ALL WATCHED HER IN HER SIGNATURE SHADES WORK BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE HISTORIC U.S. SENATE RACE FOR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE BETO O’ROUKE. PREVIOUSLY CANO WAS A CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DIRECTOR. HOWEVER O’ROUKE JUST ANNOUNCED HIS PRESIDENTIAL BID, WHICH NOW MAKES CYNTHIA A NATIONAL DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER ON A PRESIDENTIAL RACE.
HERSTORY MADE!
FIRST LATINAS FROM TEXAS ELECTED TO U.S. CONGRESS
ON ELECTION NIGHT 2018, VERONICA ESCOBAR AND SYLVIA GARCIA BECAME PART OF TEXAS HISTORY. ONLY A HANDFUL OF LATINAS HAVE EVER SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND NONE HAVE EVER BEEN FROM TEXAS…UNTIL NOW.
FORMER COUNTY JUDGE AND NEWLY ELECTED CONGRESSWOMAN, ESCOBAR REPRESENTS ONE OF THE LARGEST BINATIONAL BORDER CITIES, EL PASO. A FIERCE LATINA, SHE HAS QUICKLY BECOME A VOICE AGAINST THE RACIST POLICY OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND HAS STOOD UP TO HIS CONTINUOUS ATTACKS ON THE BORDER AND SPECIFICALLY ON THE SUN CITY.
CONGRESSWOMAN GARCIA IS NO STRAGER TO HISTORIC FIRST. SHE HAS PAVED THE WAY FROM LOCAL OFFICE, TO THE TEXAS SENATE, ALL THE WAY TO UNITED STATES CONGRESS. ALREADY A PROVEN LEADER AS A STATE SENATOR, THE NEWLY ELECTED CONGRESSWOMAN COMES TO THE TABLE READY WITH A LONG HISTORY OF FIGHTING FOR PROGRESSIVE CHANGE THROUGH POLICY. SHE HAS REPRESENTED ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE AND THE 4TH LARGEST CITY IN THE NATION – HOUSTON – AND HAS FOUGHT FOR EQUALITY OF ALL, IMMIGRATION RIGHTS, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HAS BEEN A CRUSADER OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS, INCLUDING PASSING THE ‘RELATIONSHIP PRIVACY ACT’ WHICH OUTLAWS REVENGE PORNOGRAPHY AND THE ‘TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING’ BILL WHICH REQUIRES HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING FOR COMMERCIAL DRIVERS.
SEMA HERNANDEZ Houston – THE SOCIAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST MADE HISTORY IN THE 2017-2018 MIDTERM ELECTIONS BY BECOMING THE FIRST DEMOCRATIC LATINA TO RUN FOR THE U.S. TEXAS SENATE SEAT. SHE RAN A FULL GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN, WITH ONLY A FRACTION OF THE MONEY THAT HER OPPONENT HAD SEMA STILL SWEPT THE ENTIRE SOUTH TEXAS REGION, WINNING OVER 200,000 VOTES – WHICH IS AN UNPRECEDENTED NUMBER OF VOTES FOR A FIRST TIME CANDIDATE. ULTIMATELY HERNANDEZ CAME UP SHORT IN THE PRIMARY BUT SHE DID IGNITE THE SOUTH TEXAS VOTE,WHICH NO ONE WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION THE WAY SHE DID. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR SEMA IN THE FUTURE, SHE HAS ALREADY ANNOUNCED SHE IS RUNNING IN 2020.
NOBLEZA MAGAZINE 