NHCC's Zack Quintero selected to participate in U.S. Hispanic Leaders Program

For the second year, the National Hispanic Cultural Center is once again represented at a prestigious program in Spain.

Zack Quintero, NHCC executive director, took part in the U.S. Hispanic Leaders Program (Programa de líderes hispanos), which highlights young Hispanic leaders in the United States and brings them to Spain to foster greater collaboration between the two countries.

Quintero said he is humbled by the honor because it gives him a chance to join fellow Latino and Hispano American leaders in the partnership between diplomacy and the arts.

“My hope is to bring together more connections for the Center through visual and performing arts alongside key historical documents related to our home state of New Mexico,” Quintero said. “We have high-profile projects taking place here at the center in genealogy, education, and artistic programming that will require strong connections to other governments and I am excited to be working on behalf of our fellow New Mexicans to get these connections made.”

Quintero and the NHCC have been working on the “The Legacy Project,” which aims to preserve the Spanish dialect in northern New Mexico.

Quintero spent time in the program with Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office for Civil Rights U.S Department of Health & Human Services; Teresa Acuña, deputy director for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Good Jobs Initiative; and Dennis González, vice president of Strategic Initiatives for Voto Latino.

Upon completion of the program, all participants will be invited to join the Association of Hispanic Leaders.

The Hispanic Leadership Award program is paid for in full by the Spain-US Council.

Founded in 1998, it was established as an initiative of the Government of Spain to build a network of political, cultural, business, and academic leaders who can connect with their Spanish counterparts.

This year, the program includes a seven-day trip to Madrid and Bilbao, offering leaders a chance to broaden their knowledge of the country and identify opportunities for future collaboration.

In 2022, Jadira Gurulé, NHCC Visual Arts Program manager, was selected to participate in the program.

“The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs prides itself on not only identifying leaders in their respective fields, but also empowering those leaders to grow and develop new skills,” says Debra Garcia y Griego, Department of Cultural Affairs Cabinet Secretary, in a statement. “We’re incredibly proud of Zack for representing NMDCA and New Mexico on the international stage.”