How Miami’s hustle culture got this educator on President Biden’s radar — and Lady Gaga’s

Miami educator Horacio Sierra has a voluminous library of songs on his digital device and delights in sharing his annual 100-most-played-songs playlists with followers of his social media accounts.

Lady Gaga has figured prominently on Sierra’s lists since her 2008 debut.

Now he’s rubbing shoulders with the pop superstar in the halls of Washington.

Sierra and Gaga have been appointed by President Joe Biden’s President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Sierra, now 39, was appointed as a member, while Gaga, 37, is named a co-chair.

Who are some of the president’s appointees?

The mid-April announcement by the White House finds the music fan and the music superstar joined by names including Oscar-winning producer Brian Cohen as Gaga’s co-chair and Sierra’s fellow members George Clooney, Jon Batiste, Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, former Congressman Steve Israel, and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh.

The 24 appointees include a mix of musicians, educators, scholars, actors, art historians, philanthropists and activists.

READ MORE: ‘Margaritaville’ goes to Washington. Jimmy Buffett’s song is in the Library of Congress

“As a college professor, I see my appointment as the administration’s recognition of how the Humanities are an essential part of a well-rounded education,” Sierra told the Miami Herald in an email interview.

Sierra, president of the Miami-Dade Cuban-American Democrats, is a tenured English professor at Bowie State University in Maryland where he created in-person and online courses such as Graphic Novels, Studies in Popular Music, Queer Cultural Studies, Shakespeare & Film, and U.S. Hispanic Literature.

The University System of Maryland awarded Sierra its Excellence in Teaching Award for his commitment to experiential education. His research on English and Spanish Renaissance literature was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Sierra’s editorials on humanities education have been published in The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant and The Baltimore Sun. His poems on the intersections of history, geography, and identity have been published in The William & Mary Review and other publications.

“When we study classic and innovative works of literature, art, and music, we are invited to contemplate the human condition and how we can create a more peaceful and prosperous society. By representing Florida on this committee, I plan to promote and support our uniquely polyglot arts scene,” Sierra said from Miami where he lives with husband Dallas Clay Sierra.

What the Arts Committee does

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities was founded in 1982 during the Ronald Reagan administration to advise the president on cultural policy. The first lady historically serves as honorary chair and the Committee selections are appointed by the president.

According to the White House, the Committee advises the president and the heads of U.S. cultural agencies. These include the Librarian of Congress, National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, the Secretary of the Smithsonian, and the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The members advise the president on policy, philanthropic and private sector engagement, and other efforts to enhance federal support for the arts, humanities, and museum and library services.

From Miami to Washington

The hometown writer and educator has had his name out there since he was a teen and for longer than, dare we say it, the Oscar-winning songwriter Gaga.

“Miami may be a glitzy and flashy city, but we locals know that it’s a working class city where the entrepreneurial spirit is part of our DNA,” Sierra said.

“When you write about Miami’s artists, politicians, and everyday citizens, you’re writing about the American Dream. We’re a city of Caribbean immigrants and Northern migrants. We’re all hustling to lead fulfilling lives. So, I’d say that hustle is what inspires me to have a strong work ethic and seize every opportunity that presents itself to me,” Sierra said.

Sierra was first published in the Miami Herald at 16 when the paper had a features page called Yo! Herald, written by South Florida teens and overseen by Herald editors, like the Herald’s current food editor Connie Ogle.

“He was interested in so many things and he really could do everything. He stood out among all the kids that came through that program,” Ogle said.

“He’s one of those people who’s interested in the world and that wasn’t always the case with teenagers. To have him representing the arts, I can’t think of any anyone better,” Ogle said. “He’s the kind of kid I knew would go on to great things. But I didn’t know what those things would be because he could have been a writer. He could have gone into politics. He could have gone into the arts. He could have gone into any number of things and he probably would have been successful. So I’m really proud of him.”

From Cher to Columbine

Some of Sierra’s earliest features for the Herald in 1999 included reviews of the era’s biggest names.

Sometimes the 16-year-old wasn’t into everything his Miami Coral Park Senior High classmates were grooving to on the CD format. Of the Backstreet Boys he wrote in one of his first published pieces: “We all know the songs, we’ve all seen the videos, and unfortunately sometimes we can name all the members. But A.J., Brian, or Kevin, it doesn’t really matter — their names are as interchangeable as their bland songs and videos.”

Often times, he was right on the trends of the time, as when he recognized Lady Gaga precursor Cher’s unlikely comeback at age 52 with 1999’s biggest hit, “Believe.” “Cher is cool because of her music. For me, it’s about the music; it’s always been about the music. ... Her age is just a minor footnote to the great music she puts out.”

And sometimes, at 16, Sierra, son of Coral Park Senior educators María and Horacio Sierra Sr., was entrusted by Herald editors to weigh-in on more serious national topics.

In December 1999, Sierra wrote a column for the Herald on the Columbine High School massacre. Two high school seniors murdered 12 students and one teacher at the Colorado school earlier that year.

“The school violence that students witnessed in 1999 forever affected schools and security,” Sierra wrote. “Though the deadly rampage witnessed live on national television from Littleton, Colorado on April 20, is most entrenched in the nation’s mind, several other shootings and copycat threats at schools throughout the nation, including Dade and Broward, changed school policies. ... Only the future can tell if newly implemented safeguards will be able to curb school violence. All one can do is hope for a peaceful 2000,” Sierra wrote.

He would also write about Miami Springs for the Herald’s Neighbors section when he was at the University of Miami and served as an editorial intern at Ocean Drive en Español.

Sierra’s message from Miami

“Try everything,” Sierra says.

“Miami’s hustle culture allowed me to try my hands at being a journalist, an educator, a political activist, an op-ed writer, a community organizer, a poet, a scholar, a theater critic, a trivia host, a micro-influencer, an NEA grant reviewer, and even a tour guide.

“Because why not? We shouldn’t waste our talents on pursuing just one goal,” Sierra said. “And that’s what the arts and humanities teach us, to be well-rounded. To be a Renaissance man and woman. Don’t limit yourself. Rejections come and go, but you’ll eventually find success if you’re willing to perfect your craft, promote yourself, and do good work.”