Hector Barreto, Sr. was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and immigrated to Kansas City, Missouri in his early twenties. Here, Mr. Barreto, Sr. met and married his wife, saved his pennies from hard labor jobs, and eventually started his own restaurant, named Mexico Lindo, or “Beautiful Mexico”.

Mexico Lindo became a local favorite and Mr. Barreto, Sr. was able to open a second and third restaurant, Casa Blanca and Chico’s, and a construction business. All of which proved to be successful business ventures and testament to his business prowess.

In 1979, Mr. Barreto, Sr. founded the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce along with several other dedicated Hispanic leaders. Together, they realized the enormous potential of the Hispanic business community in the United States and envisioned the need for a national organization to represent its interests before the public and private sectors. Later that year, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) was incorporated in the state of New Mexico, creating a structured organization aimed at developing a business network that would provide the Hispanic community with cohesion and strength. Since its inception, the USHCC has worked towards bringing the issues and concerns of the nation’s more than 1.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses to the forefront of the national economic agenda.

Further, in 1979, Mr. Barreto, Sr. involved himself in politics, which had been an ongoing source of interest for him. Despite rejection in the beginning, Mr. Barreto Sr. persevered and soon realizes his political dreams when he became part of Ronald Reagan’s presidential transitional team. He and his family developed close relationships with George H.W. Bush and family. Today, his son Hector Barreto, Jr., is George W. Bush’s appointed administrator of the United States Small Business Administration.