#VLPowerSummit: Business and Community Leaders, PepsiCo's Javier Farfan, and the Godfather of Hispanic Branding and Inventor of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Richard Montañez [Part V]

This is a continuation of #VLPowerSummit: Voto Latino Launched it's Four-City Leadership Tour in NYC on April 11-12, Exclusive Interview with CEO Maria Teresa Kumar [Part I] ; #VLPowerSummit and the #VLInnovatorsChallenge: Voto Latino's President and CEO Maria Teresa Kumar Shares the Development of the Tech Contest [Interview] [Part II] ; #VLPowerSummit: Breakfast Plenary, Business and Community Leaders, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and Unidos Latinos [Exclusive] [Part III] and #VLPowerSummit: NYC Leadership Tour Kick-off Event, Lemon Andersen and Establishing History Through Personal Stories and Poetry [Exclusive] [Part IV]

Lemon Andersen left the stage after sharing three poetry selections at the Voto Latino Power Summit on April 12; Andersen being just one of many impressive individuals to make an appearance at the engaging affair. The NYC Power Summit event was the first part of a four-city tour on leadership, which aimed to reinforce the importance of social confidence, networking and leadership. Andersen's poetry reading somehow addressed that fact, while it still managed to move and tickle an audience, who'd woke early, and were ready to ingest the insight of the great successes gracing the stage. CEO and President of Voto Latino Maria Teresa Kumar returned to the stage, this time to introduce the Bronx Borough Director for Mayor Bill de Blasio's office Edwin Garcia, who spoke on behalf of de Blasio and thanked everyone for attending, and for being instruments for political change. When Garcia left the stage, Kumar introduced a corporate advocate and one of the first supporters of Voto Latino -- lending his voice to the original PSA campaigns when they originally launched on MTV -- Javier Farfan, who was the senior director of cultural branding for PepsiCo, but announced that he is now the head of music, entertainment and cultural marketing at PepsiCo Beverages.

"I'm here, very honored, to introduce a friend, mentor and colleague, Richard Montañez. But, I also wanted to say that I'm honored to be here with such great leaders; and supporting Maria Teresa, and the Voto Latino team for everything that they've done...the dedication.... and energy. I remember the struggles in the beginning, getting that stuff done...supporting an organization like this, and getting Pepsi to actually believe in the movement, and hopeful that we'd work together for years to come. But, I'm not going to do a traditional intro [for Montañez]... I'm a marketer, so I have to create slides for everything I do. [Montañez is] going to talk a lot about himself, so I'm just going to use three words to describe Richard. The first word is courage; and with Richard, it's really about him taking risks in the corporate world. The second I have up there is inspiration. Inspiration and the words of encouragement that he gives all the Latino business leaders at PepsiCo, and around the world and around the country, informing them of what he's able to do," said Farfan, who Montañez would later say is likely to be the president of Pepsi one day. "And, the last word that I'll say for him is commitment... he's dedicated to really encouraging the Latino movement, in such simple ways and has been a huge progression. But, it really took that courage and inspiration to get out there."

Montañez was then beckoned to the stage by Farfan. Montañez already had a smile on his mustached face. The incredible man, who's been christened "The God Father of Hispanic Branding," is a best-selling author, the inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, the CEO and owner of Adelante Public Affairs & Communications, a former janitor, and an acclaimed motivational speaker. He stepped onto the stage with gusto, putting the hundreds of Millennials to shame with his unbridled energy at the early hour.

Montañez, author of "A Boy, A Burrito, and A Cookie," took to the stage, and applause rang for a long while before he spoke. He praised previous speakers before he dove into his own personal story; one that began in a Southern Californian town called Gausti, a town that had one industry: wine; and two types of immigrants: Mexican and Italian. There, he lived on a farm migrant labor camp, which employed him as a child.

"You know, I love... I love with a passion being Latino. There's no question. I love being Mexican... but, I wouldn't mind being Puerto Rican," Montañez said with a bright laugh. "That sounds like a lot of fun. I love being Latino, because there's no other group like us! The beauty that we have... our culture... our culture is one that inspires people. Look at our leader, here," Montañez said, referring to Kumar. "This is what I've always said... and I'll say it again... ladies, this is for you, I'm going to tell you... and it's going to change your life. When God created the Latina, he was showing off!"

"A few years ago, a magazine ranked me as one of top five most influential Latinos in corporate America, and I thought, 'what does that really mean?' To me, this is what it meant... it meant being able to give back to my home, first. See, I've had leftovers my whole life, growing up... but when it comes to our children, [their] going to get the best! Being exposed to things like [the Power Summit]... it rubs off on you," he proclaimed with a sweeping gesture with his arms. "I want to say this: the invitation to success was never mailed to my house, never went to my barrio. But, guess what? I heard that the invitation to success that was mailed out... so like a typical Latino... I crashed the party. Where's Your Invitation? I didn't get one, but I showed up anyway! Don't be offended if you're not invited, just show up!"

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"PepsiCo finally realized, they said, 'Make a nametag for Richard Montañez, because you know he's coming anyway.' Actually, just give me a pen and a marker, and I'll make my own name tag. I challenge anybody trying to stop me from going where I want to go. I tell you the same thing, young people, you don't need anyone's permission to be great," said Montañez. "And, if you feel like you need it, I'm here to tell you that you have my permission to be great. Young people, fall in love with yourselves. Someone once told me, 'Richard, you're so full of yourself.' And, I said, 'I AM!!! Why aren't you?' Because, here's what happens... when you fall in love with yourself, you feel free to be yourself. Be free to be who you were created to be. Don't change. You have a destiny in this world."
Montañez shared that his destiny is to inspire, and wanted to inspire attendees; breathe life into them, like the Greek origin of the word suggests. He shared that sometimes he's on his last breath, and an inspirational person enters the room, bringing air into it. Staying away from people who intend to discourage, and staying close to those who encourage and inspire is key. Finding people who recognize your short-comings, but bring out your qualities can help you to transform your life.
"I quit school at such a young age; it's one of the only things that I regret. I was working full-time at 10 years old. Ten years old, I was working full-time. I don't have a formal education, but I read one book a week. When I started in Frito-Lay in 1976, back when none of you were born, I couldn't read or write. But, today, I tell people I am proudly the most brilliant, uneducated person you'll ever meet," Montañez said. "Couldn't read or write, no education... yet, I teach leadership classes at universities throughout the country. I've spoken at the United Nations, I've been invited to speak in every country around the world. I've had lunch with every U.S. president for the last twenty years, but I don't have a formal education."
While there are individuals present to inspire, there are also those who are present to undermine you. No matter what room you're in, Montanez shared, there will always be someone trying to steal your destiny. He stated that these people are sometimes overt or covert, someone younger or older...a stranger or a friend. For Montañez, it was once a student at an LA university. After asking a number of intrusive questions, the student loudly questioned during a workshop, "Mr. Montañez, all of my professors have PhDs, where did you get yours?" In which case, he responded, "I have a PhD, I've been poor... hungry... and determined."

"Listen young people, creating history is just a matter of seeing and perusing what others can't and won't. Everything created has a step-by-step protocol, and sometimes, you just have to break out in order to break through," said the man who's worked with both federal and state government agencies as a consultant.

Identity is a part of destiny, a point that Montañez reiterated through his time on stage, encouraging everyone to love who they are and let that evolve into confidence. Montañez's identity and personal story involves generations of grape-picking and living in a one bedroom home. The kitchen was across the street, and the bathroom was down the street; his family lived in one room.

At that age, he was bused to an all-white school, where all the children spoke English, and he could not. The green bus that carried him and the seven other Latino children to the white school made them feel more alien, as the other children were granted normal, yellow buses -- and it didn't dawn on Montañez until years later that this was another tactic to make them feel different; society's continuous strike to remind the children that they were not the same, this occurring before he even knew what discrimination was.
When he arrived to school and the teacher spoke, he and his Latinos peers were unable to understand what was said. This led to him anticipating the school bell; and when it rang, Montañez hurried to the cafeteria with his brown bag in hand. Unfortunately, the first time he opened his sack and took out his food, he caught the glances of everyone in the lunchroom.

He had a burrito, and in 1962, those outside of the Latino community were totally unaware of what a burrito was. Montañez remarked, "it wasn't Taco Bell who introduced burritos to the world, it was me and my mom." Montañez put his burrito away, later returned home, and begged his mother to make him a bologna sandwich and a cupcake, like the other children had, because he didn't want to be different. Montañez's mother, being a "marketing genius," told him that it was important for him to be who he was, and packed him two burritos for the following day, one for him and one to share with a friend. He took those burritos to school and shared one with a friend, and the day after he was selling burritos for twenty-five cents apiece. That type of innovativeness followed Montañez throughout life, and would help him transition from an attendent at a car wash, to a gardener, to a janitor at the Frito-Lay factory, which would change his life.

Follow Richard Montañez on Twitter at @RPMontanez and on Facebook. Tweets by @RPMontanez

Tweets by @Fritolay