Feliz Día de la Independencia GUATEMALA!

Latino professionals Learn From The Winemaker by Adrian Perez

Dressed casually, as if going to a fall wine tasting event, Alex Sotelo walked around politely, introducing himself and listening to ways the 25 Hispanic professionals introduced themselves to him as they enjoyed a cup of coffee and exchanged business cards. The monthly meet-up event held by the Hispanics Mean Business group in San Francisco, California, was featuring Sotelo as the guest speaker to share experiences and tips for improving business. With the majority of attendees dressed professionally, Sotelo was not hard to miss. But it was his message that made him the star of the day.

"Good morning," he told the group once everyone was seated. "My name is Alex Sotelo, I am a winemaker that happens to be Hispanic."

His introduction left some in the room chuckling while others looked a bit puzzled.

"How you introduce yourself is very important," he told the now attentive group. "Many of you told me your name and didn't tell me what you do until after I asked. This is a missed opportunity."

For the next 20-odd minutes, Sotelo shared a variety of tidbits that not only made sense on making a sale, but explained how he got his wine to be served at the White House.

"Many people ask me, how did you get the White House to serve your wine? And, I tell them like I am going to tell you, they look for you," he says. "They get lots of wine sent to them, and they throw it away."

Instead, Sotelo says, he has allowed for people and his product do all the promotion for him. He does not have a wine tasting cellar, but does attend many events where he pours his wine and where key people have learned of his products.

"The key for me is having a good product and having the infrastructure ready to handle the load," Sotelo told the group. "But I did not release my product to Latinos first. Instead I sold it to a small network of people who enjoyed wine and I knew could help me grow. Today, Latinos make up 45 percent of my business."

Sotelo's initial strategy worked, getting him on the cover of the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, eventually leading to some members of President Barack Obama's staff contacting him to be one of a few vintners whose products would be featured at the White House.

"Mr. Sotelo is a humble man and a good dancer," says Mayra Bautista, member of the Marin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and HMB. "I met him at an event and we danced. I introduced him to some friends as a great dancer when he told us he was actually a winemaker."

The Mexican-born Sotelo became a winemaker at age 25 after working in the industry since his teenage years. As he explains it, education is a very important foundation to have, but becoming a professional at what you do is more important. Providing a good product and service is good, but becoming unique is what helps promote any product or service.

The Hispanics Mean Business is led by Sofia Keck and meets monthly. For more information, visit www.meetup.com/Hispanics/.

For more information about Sotelo Wines, visit www.alexsotelocellars.com.

About the author - Adrian Perez is a writer and publisher of the only online publication dedicated to public policy and government from a Latino perspective, The Latino Journal. Adrian currently manages four daily updated blogs: The Latino Journal; The Latino Business Review; Vida de Oro/Life of Gold; and the Latino Med Journal, and publishes The Latino Journal E-News every week, reaching millions of readers in the U.S. and beyond.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and Ambassador of Mexico Arturo Sarukhan celebrate the inaugural “Labor Rights Week” by Jessica Lopez

The U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and the Ambassador of Mexico Arturo Sarukhan today celebrated the inaugural “Labor Rights Week” that will take place from August 30th to September 4th in 14 cities across the United States.

Labor Rights Week is an important opportunity to ensure that the Mexican community and Mexican workers in the United States are aware of their labor rights. It is a new initiative that brings together the Embassy of Mexico and its consular network in the United States, the U.S. Department of Labor, local authorities, unions, religious groups, and community based organizations with the common goal of better informing workers from Mexico and elsewhere of their rights. Framed around Labor Day, the Labor Rights Week will multiply outreach initiatives developed jointly by participating organizations (through leaflets, posters, press conferences and forums).

“In the past few years, a growing number of immigrant workers were subject to abuse under a mantle of fear that was created by unscrupulous employers that used immigration status to threaten deportation if workers reported discrimination, wage and hour or health and safety violations. We recognize the leadership of Secretary Solis in this issue and believe that joint efforts like Labor Rights Week will strengthen our ability to protect the rights of our nationals abroad,” said Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan.

“Today we renew our commitment to protecting all workers and welcome this continued partnership with the Mexican government,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “These efforts will help ensure that all workers are treated fairly and will empower them to seek assistance.”

Joe Hansen, President of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) said, “Our communities and neighborhoods are better, safer places to work and live when all workers know and exercise their rights. Semana de Derechos Laborales is a perfect way to empower Mexican national workers with information and promote full participation in the civic fabric of our nation. The UFCW has been a union of immigrants for more than 100 years and this weeks’ program helps ensure that a new generation of workers has the resources to have their voice heard on the job.”

Events for this inaugural Labor Rights Week will be held in the following cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Washington D.C.

These events include: a National Opening event held today in Los Angeles where Secretary Solis was joined by local and community leaders; an information telethon on Labor Rights in Dallas; the unveiling of a permanent Labor Window in the Consulate of Mexico in Chicago with the presence of Joe Hansen, International President of the UFCW; the screening of a film related to labor rights in New York; Community Fair in Phoenix; and workshops on Labor Rights in most participating cities and consulates, among others.

Jessica Lopez
Comunicacion Social / Press Attaché
Consulate General of Mexico in San Francisco
jlopezm@sre.gob.mx
consulado.mexico.sf@gmail.com