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Salsa, Soul and Spirit
Leadership for a
Multicultural Age
As far back as I can
remember, I would be
lifted in my father’s
arms dancing to the
salsa beats of quick,
quick, pause; quick,
quick, pause. He would
count seven beats in all,
and tell me that when it
is repeated there should
be an empty space, like
the zero that my Indian
ancestors from Central
America discovered. The
salsa beat was a magnet.
I could never resist the
fusion music that blends
African drums, American
Indian rattles
(maracas), Spanish
guitars, Moorish sounds,
and Caribbean rhythms.
It is no coincidence
that salsa is also the
spicy, hot condiment
that gives food flavor
and brings zing to the
palate. Salsa adds a
little variety to the
rice and beans that are
an everyday staple in
Latino cuisine.
Salsa is a great
metaphor for diversity.
Just as no two
individuals are alike,
every batch of salsa is
unica. Each cook makes
salsa in a particular
way, with a little of
this and a little of
that. Traditional Latino
cookbooks include in
their recipes a
guideline called al
gusto (to your liking or
taste), reflecting that
you must be flexible and
adaptable to tend to
people’s needs and
preferences. This is one
of diversity’s golden
rules. |
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*Salsa is now America’s
favorite condiment,
having surpassed in
popularity the more
homogenized and sugar-laced
ketchup in the early
nineties.
The salsa dance craze is
sweeping the nation as
young and old discover
the pleasure of moving
to the Latin beat. But
for many, salsa is more
than a dance or a racy
condiment. Salsa is a
way of life. Tener salsa
en la vida is to fully
enjoy life, by
treasuring family,
relationships, work, and
community. Salsa is the
spice of life—the,
energy, vitality and gusto!
Latinos are also
stirring the salsa into
American leadership.
They have the highest
participation in the
labor market of any
group that is tracked by
the U.S. Census and are
the fastest growing
small business sector.
Today, Latinos in the
U.S. have the eighth
largest gross national
product in the world.
Their core values
include faith, family,
hard work, honesty,
sharing, inclusion and
cooperation. It could
well be that Latinos
will make their most
significant contribution
in the realignment of
America’s values.
Raul Yzaguirre, the
long-time activist that
led the National Council
of La Raza for over 30
years, surmises that
“Latinos live America’s
core values of family
and hard work. Instead
of asking us to change
our name and culture and
to assimilate, Latinos
should be saying ‘you
should become more like
us.’ We espouse an
America that lives up to
its values. America is
the best country in the
world—but it cannot
become a true world
leader unless it
embraces all people.
America will become more
American when Latinos
are fully integrated at
all levels of our
country.”
 Latino
leadership reflects a
social and celebratory
nature, a community-oriented
approach and a people-centered
process. These qualities
are becoming valued
traits of 21st century
leadership. Latino
values and worldview are
also in alignment with
those of Black and
American Indian cultures
who emphasize
collectivism, generosity,
mutual help, extended
family, and the common
good. All three cultures
center on group welfare
and value reciprocity.
These core cultural
dynamics, as well as
their history as
colonized people, are
common denominators that
have shaped leadership
in these communities. By
identifying such points
of convergence, Salsa, Soul, and Spirit puts
forth a multicultural
leadership model and
identifies eight
principles that have
emerge from Black,
Latino and Indian
cultures and histories.
Leadership theory in the
last century was largely
culled from white male
perspectives that
centered in dominant
culture values and was
Eurocentric in nature.
Not surprisingly, then,
American leadership has
had a cultural and class
bias that does not
authenticate or
represent the leadership
practices of people of
color. This cultural
nearsightedness has
fashioned many
leadership methods not
suited to today’s mosaic
world.
Our growing
multicultural nation and
global community
challenges America’s
ethnocentric value
system and leadership
perspectives. Salsa,
Soul, and Spirit offers
a more culturally
inclusive leadership
form that honors the
unique gifts of diverse
cultures. Integrating
these practices into
American leadership will
transform the purpose of
leadership to one that
focuses on all people,
cultivates community,
and builds the good and
just society.
By
Juana Bordas |
