Visit us at our headquarters in the East Side of Saint Paul, or at our offices in Minneapolis, Willmar, and Austin.
Office hours. Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Saturday-Sunday: Closed - Click here for holiday closure dates
Visit us at our headquarters in the East Side of Saint Paul, or at our offices in Minneapolis, Willmar, and Austin.
Office hours. Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Saturday-Sunday: Closed - Click here for holiday closure dates
On June 13th, Luis A. Miranda Jr., visited CLUES St. Paul headquarters office during his U.S. book tour and participated in an exclusive in-person live interview of his memoir Relentless: My story of the Latino spirit that is transforming America. The event was presented by CLUES Cultural Engagement program and supported by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico Luis A. Miranda Jr. moved to New York City when he was 18. He is a Puerto Rican political strategist, philanthropist, advocacy consultant and founder of Hispanic Federation.
Ruby Lee, CLUES' President and CEO, welcomed Luis to a private round table with a group of Latino leaders, community members, and CLUES staff to discuss and exchange ideas about Latino heritage and cultural narratives that describe his commitment for Latino community development throughout the country. In this part of the event, Luis Miranda emphasized that youth will be the power of our future, "which is why it is important to share with them where they are from; they need to keep our Latino culture alive, because they will be our young leaders in United States," he mentioned.
Subsequently, we had a reception with delicious Puerto Rican food from El Jibarito as guests arrived to enjoy a special live interview with Luis A. Miranda Jr. where the author shared his personal stories about building community, Latinidad, and family. When Melisa López Franzen, the MC, asked Luis why he chose Relentless as the title of his book, Miranda stated that it is because one of his sons describes him as a "relentless man”. He chose the title with the stories of the Latino community in mind, as he has always been looking to push people to do their best and support them. Luis mentioned in his book that all Latino communities are relentless, because “we are a family with many cultures that fight for equal opportunities. We look for new opportunities in a new country and we continue to develop ourselves without losing "nuestra cultura”.
Luis Miranda highlighted the importance of having a Latinx president in the United States. He wants to witness that because youth are the future, and the Latino power is transforming America around their different cultures, opportunities, support, and leadership. Latino education is important, and we need to keep promoting politics and leadership career opportunities in our Latino community.
He emphasized: “We have many tools that we didn't have before, we have internet, we have TV, we have radio, we have so many ways in which we can communicate. We have a smarter generation of young people than my generation. They are very prepared, they are smarter about the world, they know how the world works because they have had to live in a world that is changing over the years.”
We all had a wonderful afternoon celebrating in community and closed the event with a major book signing of Relentless by Luis A. Miranda Jr.
You can enjoy a recap of the interview and pictures here:
Interview with Luis A. Miranda Jr. video
Luis A. Miranda Jr. Book Tour Photos
“My passion for service led me to the noblest of careers –to serve, to advocate, and to build. It has been a great life, and my greatest privilege has been to share it with so many gente linda y luchadora”
Luis Miranda p. 240-241
Get your copy of Relentless: My story of the Latino spirit that is transforming America book in English and Español.
Please, join us at the next Art and Culture Engagement Activities at CLUES Art Gallery in St. Paul:
FICTITIOUS BY XAVIER TAVERA -A Solo Exhibition-
CLUES Latino Art Gallery: 797 East 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55106
OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS: CLUES Latine Heritage Month Open Call for Art
Please consider donating now to support our mission to advance social and economic equity and wellbeing for Latinos in Minnesota.
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