From the Publisher: In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, La Voz will highlight organizations or individuals that have been instrumental in improving the state of Colorado. For the next five weeks, Citywide Banks, a Division of HTLF Bank, is the sponsor of the 5-week series.
HISPANIC HERITAGE SERIES – PART III
To Juana Bordas, Latinos can revitalize the American Dream or the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
“When Latinos become leaders, their responsibility is to help others. We represent marginalized people, we represent people who are still not equal and still doing all the hard lifting with construction, food service, gardening and landscaping, essential workers during COVID,” she said. “We have to treat every person with respect, and we need to see the potential in every person, whether they’re a carpenter or whether they’re the head of the company. We treat everyone with respect, and Latinos can revitalize the American Dream.”
The daughter of immigrants, Bordas knows what it’s like and what it takes to achieve the American Dream. After arriving in the United States from Nicaragua on a banana boat, Bordas became the first person in her family to go to college. After graduating, she joined the Peace Corps and worked in Chile where she helped women form work cooperatives so they could feed their children. Her commitment to the U.S. Peace Corps earned her the Franklin Williams Award for her life-long commitment to advancing communities of color.
In Denver, Bordas’ work and efforts to make a posi- tive impact on the city’s Latino community is still heavily felt today at the Mi Casa Resource Center — a nonprofit organization Bordas helped co-found. Today, the Mi Casa Resource Center works to advance the economic success of families with limited opportunities and is headquartered in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood.
“We’re really proud of the fact that (the Mi Casa Resource Center) is now the largest Hispanic serving organization in the state and a testimony to what we can do as a community if we invest in ourselves and volunteer. I think that’s what’s really important,” said Bordas. “It was great to have the founders, I was there the first 10 years. But it has continued because of the support it’s gotten from our community.”
As La Voz continues to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we highlight Bordas who helped form a crucial resource for Colorado Latinos and who now works as a successful author.
In 2013, Bordas released her book “The Power of Latino Leadership: Culture, Inclusion, and Contribution.” The book details principles that illustrate the inclusive, people-oriented, socially responsible, and life-affirming way Latinos have led their communities.
On Cesar Chavez Day next year, on March 28, Bordas will release the second edition of her book.
“It’s a valuable book to get today, especially those who say it’s Hispanic Heritage Month, I want to learn more,” she said.
Bordas added that she is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by making informational videos about Latino culture on her TikTok (@juana_bordas) and Instagram (bordasjuana). Her book is available to purchase on Amazon.
