[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 146 (Monday, October 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO ANNA MARIA ARIAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 29, 2001

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the memory 
of Anna Maria Arias, innovative and beloved founder and editor of 
LATINA Style magazine who passed away October 1, 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, Anna Maria Arias founded LATINA Style in 1994, creating 
the only 100 percent Latina-owned national publication in the United 
States. It boasts a national circulation of 150,000 and a readership of 
over half a million. Ms. Arias was a dreamer who realized her dreams. 
The LATINA Style Magazine motto is ``A National Magazine for the 
Contemporary Hispanic Woman.'' Indeed, LATINA Style is a staple in the 
homes of thousands of female Hispanic professionals.
  LATINA Style has collaborated with the Small Business Administration, 
the Minority Business Development Agency and the local Hispanic Chamber 
of Commerce to create the LATINA Style Business Services which is a 
unique program that connects Latina professionals and entrepreneurs to 
key corporations by holding conferences across the country. Along with 
LATINA Style's focus on career and business, it regularly features home 
and family issues, music, book, and movie reviews, travel tips, 
investment guidance, food and drink recipes, and health advice among 
other things.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Arias' staff states that she ``dedicated her entire 
body and soul into creating and growing LATINA Style into the powerful 
magazine for Hispanic women that it is today.'' Ms. Arias lost a 
difficult battle earlier this month with aplastic anemia that she 
fought for 7 years. When her illness demanded that she forfeit the 
daily managing of the magazine, Ms. Arias delegated Ms. Elena 
Campisteguy as associate publisher, confident that she and the LATINA 
Style staff would propagate the publication's high editorial standard. 
The Style staff and Ms. Arias' widower, Mr. Robert E. Bard, feel that 
Ms. Arias' spirit will guide them in coming years to carry on her 
dream.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning the loss of a creative and 
ambitious entrepreneur who broke boundaries and dedicated her life to 
benefiting Latina women.

                          ____________________