The 2025 Hispanic Heritage Luncheon was celebrated at noon Wednesday, Oct. 29 at the Amarillo Civic Center Grand Plaza, with a keynote speech and awards presented to top community and business leaders.
Juan Dash Jimenez was named Hispanic Man of the Year, and Ashley Herrera was named Hispanic Woman of the Year. The Heart of the Barrio award went to Benji Baltazar, while America Adame earned Young Rising Star honors.
According to Serena Carpenter, for some reason, the Hispanic Heritage Luncheon had not been happening for several years until some members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce saw an Amarillo Globe-News special tribute to Hispanic heritage.
“Let me give you a little history lesson,” Carpenter said. “It was in 1989 that the first Amarillo Hispanic Heritage event happened. I didn’t know that. And the last one (at the time) was in 1996, and for those of us here interested in history, this is what we found out: In 1996, in our updates, we realized that the Amarillo Globe-News was highlighting Hispanic heritage and leaders in a series. So, we were reading all these articles way back in the day, and they were saying they were honored to be part of the legend. And I had this crazy idea to restart the game. So, it’s 2014 when we reinvented what had not been done since 1996, and it was really awesome.”
Carpenter mentioned it to several people, and they decided to bring it back and it has been happening ever since then. The purpose of the honors is to acknowledge Hispanic residents who break through boundaries, of their own and of society. The 2025 keynote speaker, Dr. Leslie Ramos Salazar, PhD, titled her presentation, “Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges.”
In addition, 22 fall scholarship recipients were named during the event, which is its main mission. “The efforts of the Hispanic Heritage Luncheon leads with the purpose of providing college affordability to students who have hopes and dreams that begin with attending college but lead to a lifetime of success in our community through Los Barrios de Amarillo Scholarship,” according to program information provided by the group.
This year’s scholarship recipients are Leonardo Avila, Ngan Kim Thi, Michael Velasquez, Catherine Vo, Miriam Camargo, Korbin Cole, Kevin Garcia, Xitlali Garcia, Abby Gaytan, Dayana Gonzalez, Caitlyn Olmos, Melanie Esqueda, Ellie Galaviz, Kimberly Fox, Zayden Ramirez, Paula Castaneda, Sofia Pantoja Rodriguez, Joel Ruiz Benitez, Giovanni Tarango, Mackenzie Leach, Garrison Magloughlin and Syvihanna Miranda Sutton.
Music was provided by Angel Coronado, and Caprock ROTC served as color guard during the National Anthem. Tatyana Kapriz Aguilera of Wesley Community Center provided the welcome and Los Barrios De Amarillo history, while Dr. Priscella Correa of West Texas A&M University introduced keynote speaker Dr. Salazar.
Keynote speech: From barriers to bridges
Salazar said she came from deep Hispanic culture: “It is so unique how big our heart is, our spiritual beliefs and faith.” As a young girl, she remembers how at times, they couldn’t scrape together enough money to pay bills and had to reach out to family and friends. She also remembered how they would go to Dollar Tree or Dollar General and buy little gifts that felt so special. The main point of her speech was to inspire young people to get an education. Salazar said she went to college in Long Beach, California, and there was only one Hispanic teacher with 1,500 students. She later attended Arizona State University, and it also had only one Hispanic teacher. Salazar challenged young people to look at the barriers and face them.
She said the internal barriers people can face include motivation; looking at yourself and challenging yourself, your actions and thinking; pushing yourself; and believing in yourself. On the other hand, systemic barriers include distractions such as social media, but the millions contributed by Hispanic people to the United States’ overall income equal power. Socio-economic barriers for Hispanics can include lower wages and going into lower paying occupations, Salazar said. But, knowing Spanish is a very valuable tool today and can be a way into a better profession.
To build bridges, Salazar encouraged attendees to seek mentorship, as mentors can be helpful in encouraging youth and seeing talent, as well as seek ways to provide mentorship and support. She told the crowd to never give up the path of opportunity and to contribute to leave a powerful legacy to others.
Amarillo 2025 Hispanic Heritage Awards
After the keynote speech, awards were given to several outstanding community members:
- Hispanic Man of the Year – Juan Dash Jimenez
- Hispanic Woman of the Year – Ashley Herrera
- Young Rising Star – America Adame
- Heart of the Barrio – Benji Baltazar
- Special Recognition / los Barrios De Amarillo Lifetime Achievement – Sarena Carpenter and Jennifer Gallardo
- Business Community Service – Education Credit Union
At the end of the event, people were encouraged to take floral arrangements and take photos at the provided colorful, floral backdrops.
