European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 19, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Patricia Caraballo a cuban american Sells fruit and vegetables from a truck by the Roadside in Miami s Little Havana. Hispanics moving up in business by Hilary Stout new York times businesses owned by hispanics Are now moving out of latin neighbourhoods and into the mainstream especially in cities with Large hispanic populations. According to the United states hispanic chamber of Commerce hispanic businesses numbered about 340,000 last year and had revenues of about $20 billion. They include military contractors travel agencies Banks and Auto dealerships. The chamber predicts revenues of More than $25 billion by 1990. The hispanic business Community of 10 to 15 years ago is nothing compared to what it is today said Linda Rentz Mayo executive director of the Ibero american chamber of Commerce. Last year the nation s 25 million people of diverse hispanic backgrounds the fastest growing sector of the population had a purchasing Power exceeding $134 billion. The biggest Success has come in Miami where Middle and upper Middle class cubans with skills experience and Money have risen from Bank tellers to Bank owners and from car buyers to car dealers. We have one thing that unfortunately other minority groups Don t have our parents came from the upper Middle class said Raul Masvidal a cuban immigrant who owns the Miami savings corp., a holding company for several financial institutions. In other cities people of hispanic background have been less successful. In new York for instance Only 8 of every 1,000 own their own businesses compared with 35 of 1,000 in Miami. Part of this is economic the population in new York tends to be largely puerto rican and to have less capital and education than the cubans of Miami. Despite the advances hispanic businesses still represent Only a Small segment of the american business Community. It s a mistake to look at growth figures and see that All is Well said Charles k. Kamasaki director of policy analysis at the National Council of la Raza a coalition of hispanic advocacy groups. Most hispanic businesses Are Small and their owners often Lack the resources to grow. And hispanic communities still suffer disproportionately from poverty and limited educational opportunities. But hispanic businesses May make an increasingly important contribution to the american Economy especially As International Trade becomes even More  is Clear that we live in a global Economy Kamasaki said. Hispanic entrepreneurs have a critical role to play in Trade with latin America and other  As a child in Cuba Lombardo Perez thought that one Day he might like to run his own automobile Dealership. When he came to Miami in 1967, he took a Job at a Ford Dealership in Miami. Today Perez owns the fastest growing Ford Dealership in the Southeast metro Ford in Miami. Last year metro Ford had sales of $28 million and Perez expects his Agency which he started in 1983, to have sales of More than $35-million this year. Perez s Story is not unique. Car dealers and service stations Are one of the largest categories of hispanic owned businesses the United states hispanic chamber of Commerce reports that car dealerships represented 13 of the top 100 hispanic firms in the United states in 1986, the most recent year for which statistics Are available. The phenomenon is mainly a result of immigrant drive. Many hispanic immigrants started in Low level jobs at Gas stations or car dealers and then Rose through the ranks.  Are also aided by the fact that Many hispanic customers prefer doing business where Spanish is spoken Perez for instance estimates that More than half his business is from Spanish speaking people. In Miami a majority of All service stations Are owned by hispanic people and hispanic owned dealerships account for about half the cars sold in Dade county according to Richard Tobin president of the strategy research corp., a Miami based marketing research firm. While most hispanic car dealers started at the Bottom some have taken advantage of special Breaks for minorities. For example Victor m. Covarruvias a mexican native was a Salesman at a general motors Dealership in Oakland calif., in the 1970s, when he was invited to join a special program for minorities interested in owning their own dealerships. The 18-month program taught him accounting and dealer management and at its conclusion he was Able to buy into an existing pm Dealership. Since then he has sold that stake and started two dealerships and a Home and camper leasing operation. Had it not been for the special program Covarruvias said he would not have been As successful today. This is not an easy business for hispanics to get involved in Covarruvias said. But the opportunities Are there. Hispanics need to have programs to encourage them to get  banking has been an area of growing Success for hispanic people. Last year 35 of the top 400 hispanic companies were financial concerns up from 11 in 1982, according to the United states hispanic chamber of Commerce. Again the Leader is Miami where about 20 Banks Are owned by hispanics mostly cubans. Many hispanic Bank executives like other Bankers Start with degrees in business or economics and come up through Middle management. For instance Masvidal 46, studied management at the american graduate school of International management in Phoenix worked As a vice president at Citibank in new York and then became president of the Royal Trust Bank in Miami. Now he is owner of the Miami savings Cor which has $300 million in assets and is a holding company for a savings Bank a commercial Bank insurance company and a consumer finance company. A number of these institutions still feel a special Bond to the hispanic Community after All it was often capital from hispanic clients that helped these Banks grow. For instance new York National Bank a commercial Bank that lies in the Center of the South Bronx was started in 1982 by five partners two hispanic investors two Blacks and one White. When it started the Bank had $7 million in assets. Today the Bank has assets of $65 million and draws clients from the neighbourhood. We fill a Niche said Ivan Irizarry a senior vice president and one of the Bank s founders. The growth of the hispanic population is tremendous and you see a lot of entrepreneurs and a lot of individuals and professionals that need financial services. They feel More comfortable dealing with a hispanic Bank and its multilingual  tuesday july 19, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13