[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1164-E1165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS OF JUANA BORDAS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 8, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Juana Bordas, a leader in Denver's Hispanic community and a great 
Coloradan. At a time when immigration is so hotly debated and in such 
divisive ways, the story of Juana Bordas is inspiring.
  Juana Bordas was born in El Salvador, but emigrated to the United 
States from Nicaragua when she was just three years old. Her parents 
and her seven siblings made a difficult journey over many miles in the 
hull of a banana boat!
  From these humble beginnings, Juana has gone on to become one of the 
most respected women in Colorado, not only as a member of the Colorado 
Women's Hall of Fame, but also the National Hispana Leadership 
Institute. From this place of stature, she speaks eloquently of the 
importance of embracing one's history--particularly for Latina women 
and their mothers. Juana said that it was difficult as a child to be 
poor and dark-skinned. She acknowledges that there were times as a 
child that she was embarrassed to know that her mother only achieved a 
fifth grade education, mothered eight children and worked in the 
cafeteria of Juana's elementary school. She says that the shame she 
once felt for her mother's history has now become a great source of 
pride. The tremendous courage and sacrifice her mother exhibited have 
been the foundation for her children to lead a better life. Juana calls 
this ``servant leadership.'' She makes the point that instead of 
looking at her mother's experience as subservient, it really embodies 
the qualities of a true leader: hard work, driving purpose, courage and 
dedication to a cause greater than one's own self-interest. Those 
qualities should be admired, embraced and emulated as young Latinas 
strive to achieve their goals. From my vantage point, the example of 
Juana's mother--and Juana's own life--are truly inspiring.

[[Page E1165]]

  In the early 1970s Juana Bordas started the MiCasa Resource Center 
for Women in Denver which continues to this day to help low-income 
Latinas and youth with job training and life skills. As President of a 
multicultural consulting firm, Mestiza Leadership International, she 
travels the country developing diversity in the workforce. She has said 
that, ``my mission is to help with the birth of a multi-cultural 
nation.'' She notes how Latinos in other countries are heads of 
government and industry, and believes that there is no reason why it 
should be different here in the United States. Juana served with the 
Denver Election Commission to register more voters and to put her 
beliefs into practical effect. Today, Latino leaders are emerging in 
public office as never before. Thoughtful and hard-working people like 
Juana Bordas have helped to pave this path of progress.
  Juana Bordas reminds of us of something that should be important to 
every American. Each of us owes an enormous debt to the strength and 
courage of families who sacrificed for their children in order to 
realize the American dream. Our country was founded by such people, and 
that continues to be our greatest strength. As a successful business 
woman, Juana Bordas has given an immeasurable amount back to our 
community in time, skill, wisdom, and by simply being a role model. It 
is with great admiration that I ask my colleagues to join me in 
honoring Juana Bordas, a great American success story and a woman worth 
knowing and learning from. I wish her continued success in the future.

                          ____________________