[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10668-S10670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE IN NEW MEXICO

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 
contributions of Hispanic Americans to New Mexico and this great 
country. I am so proud that New Mexico leads the Nation with the 
highest Hispanic percentage of population of any State, 42 percent. Of 
the 50 counties nationwide where Hispanics made up a majority of the 
population, 43 were located in either New Mexico or Texas. Today New 
Mexico received the news that five of our own have been named to 
Hispanic Business magazine's ``100 Most Influential Hispanics'' list. 
It is no surprise that our State has produced tremendous representation 
of Hispanic accomplishments on the national scene in the past year. It 
gives me great pleasure today to acknowledge the many ways Hispanic New 
Mexicans have made a national name for themselves and our state in 
military and government service, the arts, education, business, sports, 
and many other fields.
  As our Nation focuses on fighting terrorism around the globe and 
keeping our homeland safe, we are indebted more than ever to those 
serving in our military. Currently, more than 100,000 Hispanic 
Americans serve in our Nation's armed forces, making up about nine 
percent of our military. Thirty-eight Hispanics have attained the 
Nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. Five Hispanic New 
Mexicans have earned this medal serving in the United States Army, 
three in World War II, including Private Joseph P. Martinez, of Taos; 
Private First Class Alejandro R. Renteria Ruiz of Loving, NM, and 
Private First Class Jose F. Valdez, born in Governador, NM; and two in 
Vietnam, including Army Specialist Fourth Class Daniel Fernandez of 
Albuquerque, and Warrant Officer, then Sergeant First Class, Louis R. 
Rocco, of Albuquerque.
  April 2002 marked the 60-year anniversary of the horrific Bataan 
Death March, a calamitous event that involved 1,817 New Mexicans, with 
fewer than 900 returning home. Memorials were unveiled in Albuquerque 
and Las Cruces to commemorate the brave veterans of this horrific 
ordeal, many of whom were Hispanic. In fact, several of the veterans on 
which this memorial was based were Hispanic natives of Southern New 
Mexico who survived the march, Private First Class Jose M. ``Pepe'' 
Baldonado, and Staff Sergeant Juan T. Baldonado. One of the veterans of 
this 65-mile forced march and labor camp internment, Ruben Flores of 
Las Cruces, passed away this year just before the memorial was 
unveiled. I am pleased that this year we have created a lasting tribute 
to thank these members of the New Mexico National Guard for their 
gallant service and valorous sacrifice under conditions too horrific 
for words, and today I salute them once again.
  It has been fantastic for New Mexico that several of our citizens 
have been appointed by President Bush to serve in important capacities 
in the Federal Government. But it is also terrific for Hispanics around 
our nation that many of these individuals happen to be Hispanic. We are 
seeing greater representation of Hispanics in appointed positions and 
as candidates in elections around the country, and I'm proud of the New 
Mexicans who are blazing the trail in government service.
  Just to name a few, I am thinking of Lou Gallegos, now Assistant 
Secretary of Agriculture for Administration; Dr. Cristina Beato, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human 
Services; and Roberto Salazar, head of the Agriculture Department's 
Food and Nutrition Service. President Bush has also named two qualified 
Hispanic New Mexicans to serve in the federal judiciary: David 
Iglesias, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico and 
Judge Christina Armijo of the U.S. District Court of New Mexico.
  I am so proud of New Mexico's place on center stage in the world of 
Hispanic arts and culture. A center for Hispanic culture for centuries, 
Santa Fe has recently drawn renewed attention with its Museum of 
Spanish Colonial Art. Last month, the Wall Street Journal provided an 
in-depth look at the unique contributions of this institution to the 
preservation of Hispanic culture in an article titled Arte Hispanico, 
saying, ``Though Spanish-colonial artworks are in the collections of 
many major museums, the Santa Fe museum is uniquely focused on 
illustrating the cultural connections among people of Spanish descent, 
showing, for example, how Baroque influences in style and artistic 
method traveled first from Spain to Mexico and then to New Mexico . . . 
''

[[Page S10669]]

  Likewise, this article highlighted New Mexico's role as home to the 
Spanish Colonial Arts Society, saying, ``For more than seven decades, 
the society has purchased historic and contemporary Spanish-colonial 
artworks and sponsored markets and competitions among living artists, 
fostering what has grown into a vibrant commercial market for 
traditional Spanish-colonial arts. Some 300 artists in New Mexico alone 
continue to make art like their ancestors did . . . Many of the artists 
participate in the Art Society's annual Spanish market, which drew 
about 70,000 colonial art aficionados to Santa Fe's plaza earlier this 
summer.''
  Finally, I would be remiss if I did not recognize once again the New 
Mexican who brought home a National Medal of Arts for 2001, writer 
Rudolfo Anaya. President Bush honored Rudolfo with this award earlier 
this year for his accomplishments such as his well-known novel ``Bless 
Me, Ultima,'' and his work to inspire and promote other Hispanic 
writers. Rudolfo is a New Mexico treasure, and I want to thank this 
fellow New Mexican for the fine work he has done.
  I would now like to recognize another citizen of our state who has 
had a hand in inspiring the next generation of New Mexicans. Hispanics 
make up the fastest growing part of the nation's public school system. 
Earlier this year, we enacted the most comprehensive education reform 
law in decades, the No Child Left Behind Act, which will help give 
teachers and schools the tools and resources they need to do their 
jobs. Joseph Torrez, the principal for the third through fifth grades 
in Tucumcari, NM, provides a shining example of how our teachers and 
principals hold the key to ensuring that no child is left behind. In 
honor of his outstanding contributions to the community and the 
education profession, the Department of Education and the National 
Association of Elementary School Principals selected Joseph as the 
National Distinguished Principal for New Mexico.
  Joseph created an after-school program providing recreational 
activities and assistance to children at risk of failing in school, as 
well as job training for their parents. He also helped children at his 
school become in new community opportunities, such as helping the 
homeless and visiting senior citizens. I appreciate Joseph's great 
contribution to his community, and this New Mexican has certainly 
earned the national recognition he has gained.
  New Mexico is leading the pack by leaps and bounds in Hispanic 
business ownership. Hispanics own 21.5 percent of all firms in our 
State, the highest percentage of any State, or a total of 28,300 
businesses, according to the latest figures released by the Department 
of Commerce. Not surprisingly, Hispanic New Mexicans made an impressive 
showing this year in the business honors bestowed by the Minority 
Business Development Agency, MBDA, of the Department of Commerce.
  I want to take this opportunity to commend Deborah Valenzuela Baxter, 
President and CEO of Integrity Networking Systems, Inc. of Albuquerque, 
for gaining the prestigious title of Minority Female Entrepreneur of 
the Year. Under her leadership, an enterprise that began as a two-man 
operation has blossomed into a highly motivated staff of 40 with 
revenues of over $20 million in 2001. Carlo Lucero, President of 
Sparkle Maintenance, Inc. of Albuquerque was named 8(a) Graduate of the 
Year, after his firm this year put its 36 years of experience in 
commercial janitorial and building maintenance service to work in a 
contract for the high-tech clean rooms of Sandia National Laboratories.
  Finally, this year marked the retirement of a national great from New 
Mexico, whose achievements charted new waters for both women and 
Hispanics in the United States. Nancy Lopez, a Roswell native and one 
of New Mexico's favorite daughters, won 48 titles on the Ladies 
Professional Golf Association, LPGA, tour, and was inducted into the 
LPGA Hall of Fame in 1987. Nancy is a luminary and a pacesetter whose 
accomplishments give testimony to the power of dreaming big and working 
persistently.
  I mentioned that today Hispanic Business magazine announced five New 
Mexicans selected for the ``100 Most Influential Hispanics'' list. I 
have recognized several of their names already, but allow me to include 
for the record the magazine's list of New Mexican leaders who have 
blazed the trail in business and their fields: author Rodolfo Anaya; 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, Assistant Secretary for 
Administration Lou Gallegos; LPGA golfer Nancy Lopez; Director of 
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, Roberto Salazar; and Eufemia Lucero 
of the U.S. Postal Service.
  In honoring our State's Hispanic heritage, we should be very proud of 
the New Mexicans whose accomplishments have garnered the national 
spotlight and appreciation within our State because of the ways they 
have enriched our lives. I have no doubt that the best is yet to come. 
I ask that the October 17, 2002 Albuquerque Journal article ``5 New 
Mexicans make top-100 list'' be printed in the Record.
  The article follows.

             [From the Albuquerque Journal, Oct. 17, 2002]

               5 New Mexicans Make Top-100 Hispanic List

                         (By Charles D. Brunt)

       Albuquerque author Rudolfo Anaya, U.S. Department of 
     Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Administration Lou 
     Gallegos, and LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez have been 
     named to Hispanic Business magazine's annual ``100 Most 
     Influential Hispanics'' list.
       Also on the list are Roberto Salazar, who heads the USDA's 
     Food and Nutrition Service, and Eufemia S. Lucero, a longtime 
     administrator with the U.S. Postal Service.
       The magazine's October 2002 edition says nominations for 
     the list come from the magazine's staff, nominees themselves, 
     readers and Web-site visitors. Nominees must be U.S. citizens 
     of Hispanic origin and must ``have had recent national 
     impact,'' the magazine says.
       ``That's something,'' Anaya said of his making the list. 
     ``I think it's kind of far-sighted for a business magazine to 
     include a writer.''
       Anaya said people don't usually think of writers as 
     business people.
       ``We're also part of the economy. I think maybe it's a 
     wake-up call for some of the business organizations here in 
     New Mexico to realize that we're in there punching away,'' 
     Anaya said.
       ``I told my wife I was No. 1'' on the list, he equipped. 
     ``But she told me it was because my name's Anaya.'' The 
     magazine lists its selections in alphabetical order.
       Anaya, widely recognized as the father of Chicago 
     literature, is best known for his New Mexico trilogy ``Bless 
     Me, Ultima,'' ``Tortuga'' and ``Heart of Aztlan'' and a dozen 
     other works. He received the Premio Quinto Sol National 
     Chicano Literary Award for his first novela, ``Bless Me, 
     Ultima,'' in 1972, and the PEN Center West Award for his 1992 
     novel ``Alburquerque.''
       In 2001 Anaya was awarded the National Medal of Arts award 
     by President Bush.


                                Farming

       Gallegos, who herded sheep on his family's ranch near 
     Amalia in northern Taos County as a child, made the list for 
     the second year in a row.
       ``It is kind of a feather in one's hat,'' Gallegos said 
     from his Washington office.
       Gallegos also wrote an article for the same issue of the 
     magazine outlining the prospects for Hispanic farmers in the 
     United States.
       The essence of the article is that, given that the number 
     of Hispanic farmers has doubled in recent years, farming is 
     still a business. The skills necessary to farm successfully 
     have to be upgraded to keep pace, he said.
       For 15 months in 1989-90, Gallegos was assistant secretary 
     for policy, management and budget under Interior Secretary 
     Manuel Lujan, Jr., also of New Mexico.
       Gallegos was Gov. Gary Johnson's chief of staff from 1994 
     until May 2001, when he left for Washington.
       Gallegos also made the magazine's list in 2001.


                              Hall of Fame

       Former Roswell resident Lopez first picked up a golf club 
     at age 8 and learned the game from her father, Domingo Lopez, 
     by following him around Roswell's Cahoon Park Golf Course.
       When she debuted on the LPGA tour in 1978, she won nine 
     tournaments. During her career, she has added 39 more titles. 
     She was named to the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1987.
       Lopez, 45, announced in March that 2002 would be her final 
     full season on the tour.
       Lopez lives in Albany, Ga., with her husband of 20 years, 
     Cincinnati Reds coach Ray Knight, and her three daughters.
       According to the LPGA, Lopez has earned $2.25 million 
     during her career.
       ``Without Nancy and her fans, we would not have a $3 
     million purse today,'' Cora Jane Blanchard, the U.S. Golf 
     Association women's committee chairwoman, told the Journal 
     last summer at the start of the U.S. Women's Open.


                             In Washington

       Salazar, a native of Las Vegas, N.M., was state director of 
     the USDA's Rural Development agency in New Mexico before 
     taking the Washington job.
       He held senior positions with the New Mexico Economic 
     Development Department and the U.S. Department of Commerce's 
     Minority Business Development Agency.

[[Page S10670]]

       Lucero was manager of the Postal Service's Executive 
     Resources and Leadership Development Program for two years 
     before being named human resources director.
       She also has held several management positions with the 
     Postal Service's Albuquerque District office.

                          ____________________