Suazo Business Center reps name building to honor Gladys Gonzalez, key in its formation

SALT LAKE CITY — For nearly 25 years, Suazo Business Center has offered assistance to would-be Latino entrepreneurs, helping them pursue their dreams and a better future.

On Tuesday, leaders of the Salt Lake City organization, those who have benefited from its offerings, and others gathered to honor the woman whose vision led to the formation of Suazo in 2002. The structure where Suazo is housed, 960 W. 1700 South in Salt Lake City, was christened the Gladys Gonzalez Building, and a mural was unveiled on its exterior that's meant to honor those who have sought help from the organization.

"Gladys believed deeply that entrepreneurship could be a pathway to opportunity and dignity. She believed people with talent and determination deserve someone in their corner who will help them take the next step," said Silva Castro Bennett, the president and chief executive officer of Suazo. Just as Gonzalez got help many years ago in her business pursuits from Pete Suazo, the center's namesake and a former Utah senator, "the rest of us were able to get help because Gladys stood up."

Tuesday's event served not only as a tribute to Gonzalez, but also as a recognition of the role the Suazo Business Center has played in boosting Latinos and others interested in launching businesses. The nonprofit organization, which moved to the 1700 South building in 2004, has historically put a focus on aiding Latinos but now more broadly focuses on "underserved communities." It also operates in Ogden.

Gonzalez didn't attend due to health issues, but her son, Leo Gonzalez, spoke. The Gonzalez family moved to Utah from Colombia in 1991, and Gladys Gonzalez got her business start in the state many years ago, operating a now-defunct newspaper geared to the Latino community, Mundo Hispano. Later, she launched a marketing agency and expanded into real estate, but ultimately turned her focus to helping others, spearheading the creation of what would become the Suazo Business Center, Leo Gonzalez said.

"What about a place, a center, where minorities, especially the underserved, could go and get answers?" said Leo Gonzalez, noting the sorts of questions his mother posed in coming up with the notion of a business center geared to Latinos. "As everyone knows, we are entrepreneurs; it's part of our blood. How can we help entrepreneurs and minorities get answers?"

Alicia Suazo, widow of Pete Suazo, also spoke, noting Gladys Gonzales' instrumental role in launching the Suazo Business Center.

"She came to (Suazo) with this vision about growing minority businesses from the ground up," she said, and the two of them brainstormed and fine-tuned the vision. "It was just a dream that both of them had envisioned that would happen on the west side of Salt Lake City."

Pete Suazo died in an accident in 2001, and Alicia Suazo thought their vision might fade. But Gonzalez, "through her tenacity, was not going to be deterred," Alicia Suazo said.

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A sign reading "Gladys Gonzalez Building" now hangs over the main Suazo entrance, and a new mural on the building's western wall, called "Legacy of Dreamers," was also unveiled as part of Tuesday's activities.

Marla Love, who created the artwork, said the human figures looking toward a representation of the Salt Lake City skyline in the colorful mural represent "the truth that every person, every single one of you, carries a dream." Seeds in the mural represent faith and "the quiet belief it takes to begin something anew," a nod to the many people who have sought help at the business center over the years.

"I hope this mural takes you on a journey from planting the seed to seeing your name, your vision, your building, your business," Love said.

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