The Miami Herald

December 14, 2002

People in the Arts
By Gail Meadows

Miami artist-lawyer Xavier Cortada, whose energy is enviable, recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he unveiled Stepping into the American Dream, a 96-inch-by- 96-inch mural he painted for the White House Conference on Minority Home Ownership.

President Bush’s goal is to have 5.5 million new minority homeowners in the nation by 2010.

Cortada, whose works have been displayed in cultural venues worldwide, included images that represent downpayment assistance and mortgage financing and the like.

”This mural is a representation of our commitment,” said Mel Martinez, secretary of Housing and Urban Development.