Values Are at Core of Freedom

By Amy Sowder • Photography by Ernst Peters

When hard times blow your way, you have to be like a palm tree and bend with the wind.

That's Alci Maldonado's philosophy. The state secretary of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and chairwoman of its local chapter believes you have to be flexible -- except when it comes to your core beliefs.

"At every turn, maintain your values," says Maldonado, who works mostly as a Republican volunteer but also as an interior designer.

Maldonado's coffee-colored eyes flash as she says she'll strive toward that goal until the day she dies.

U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam says Maldonado's volunteer work for his campaign is only part of what she does in the community. "She's a bundle of energy," he says.

Maldonado sparkles with exuberance and warmth, whether chatting about her penchant for cheesecake, her fondness for antiquing or her passion for politics.

The Colombian native and Lakeland resident since the mid-1970s says you have to have faith in the government, especially during insecure times. It starts with what her father always told her: You have to give your trust to get trust back.

She listened.

Maldonado trusts former President George H.W. Bush, who co-founded the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and was its chairman. She trusts his foresight in giving a voice to Hispanics, whom she calls the "Silent Giant."

She says Hispanic-Americans' longstanding loyalty to the Republican Party comes from their shared ideals -- God, family and country.

Maldonado's own appreciation of this country's system stems from her father's example. Her family fled Colombia's capital when Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, the populist Liberal Party president-elect and her father's political ally and business partner, was assassinated. His death sparked the largest urban riot in Latin American history, and the Maldonados didn't want to be there to witness it. They went to Miami.

Family comes first for Maldonado, who will drop a critical engagement at a moment's notice to be at the side of one of her four children at a time of need.

She's the mother of a lawyer, a lawyer-to-be, a psychologist and a businesswoman and she learned from her own parents the importance of education and independence.

After Maldonado's father coached her for a spelling bee and then couldn't make to the bee, her mother calmed her childhood anxiety and told her something she'll never forget: "Remember, we don't own your father. Nobody owns anybody."

Maldonado has instilled in her own children the importance of not only voting but also participating more actively in the political process. Her son David, the lawyer, is vice chairman of the RNHA.

Her tastefully bejeweled hands gesture to emphasize a point as she refers to the Constitution. "Grass roots is `by the people.' I think it's the beginning and the end." Gathering people to stuff envelopes, volunteer in phone banks and plan receptions is Maldonado's grass-roots specialty.

After attending the Hispanic Leadership Summit at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Miami last April, Maldonado forecast a more fulfilling future for a country of involved citizens.

"We cannot deny our roots, and we must not," she says.

She's passionate about her beliefs, possessing a smooth dichotomy of steadfastness and flexibility, like a Florida palm that survives the storm and flourishes in the sunshine.