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 of Commerce in 1994 in a borrowed office with a printer and a borrowed computer, but also from the Viñales Valley, in Cuba’s Pinar del Río province, where her father had a farm that he lost during the government of Gerardo Machado (1925-1933).
It was a surprise. López had traveled to New York to interview Nasdaq Vice Chairman David Wicks for “A Business Minute with Lily Lopez,” a show by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that emerged during the pandemic to connect with Miami businesses and the chamber’s more than 1,600 members. When the conversation was over, Wicks and Nasdaq CEO Alex Sánchez, who had served as the interview’s liaison, led her down a hallway.
They gave her no hints. It wasn’t until López stepped outside that she saw herself on the Nasdaq screen. For ten minutes, her smiling face dominated the corner of Broadway and 43rd Avenue. The logo of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of South Florida was out front.
“It gives you hope, it makes you excited, because as a woman and Hispanic, I have had a hard time. It is difficult to overcome the barriers,” López told el Nuevo Herald.
In Miami-Dade, it’s hard for the “powers that be” to recognize a Hispanic woman, López said. She, along with other female leaders like Aida Levitan, who was included on Forbes magazine’s “Fifty Over 50” list, have long advocated for greater female and Hispanic presence on the boards of Miami-based organizations and companies.
“Sometimes it is easier to feel support from the Spanish-speaking chambers of commerce in other states, which are smaller and not seen as a threat to the major powers,” says López.
‘My Spanish 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 Hispanic-American League Against Discrimination (SALAD) with attorney Osvaldo Soto and professor and Miami Dade College president emeritus Eduardo Padrón.
López’s command of Spanish led her to give lectures and speak on the radio in Miami for SALAD. She worked on campaigns to gain Hispanic voices among 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’ve 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 of her most cherished anecdotes about her father. She was invited to give a speech to graduates of Miami Dade College about 18 years ago, and she wanted to give them hope and teach them resilience. She then gave the example of her father, who had lost everything three times and managed to get back up each time: first the Viñales farm during Machado; then the countless cafes, restaurants and car dealerships seized by the Castro regime; and finally in Miami, where he, like so many exiles, had to start washing dishes.
“Pipo, stand up so they can recognize you,” she remembers saying to her father, who stood up in his straw hat and guayabera. Applause broke out, and by the end of the event, everyone wanted to meet her father, who had remained standing during the speech.
Opportunities for businesses and students in Miami
López believes in giving opportunities to small businesses in Miami, who can become members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce by paying a modest membership fee. This gives them, among other benefits, the chance to attend Chamber luncheons where they can network.
There, many are finding they can apply for assistance through the Elevate Together program, which offers $5,000 grants to businesses with fewer than five full-time employees.
“Most companies go bankrupt in the first year and we tell them not to forget to file,” says López, who advises anyone looking to start a business to focus on something they know how to do.
“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 a lot of hours of work to succeed.”
In 1996, López founded 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 the headquarters of Facebook, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines and Boeing.
“They have been to the factory where only millionaires who buy airplanes come,” says López, explaining the joy she feels when one of the students tells her “that now they feel like they have a future in life.”
López always asks that Latinos be part of the delegations that serve students in different cities, so that young people can be inspired by their achievements.
“It’s important to put Hispanics in high positions in big companies, and once they get there, don’t forget their roots,” she says. “You also don’t forget the young people.”
