Latino leaders say there is no need to have a single leader or group who represents the entire community and organizes political demonstrations. But, they say, it is about time that more and various Latino groups, from political to social clubs, start meeting and working together. It also might be beneficial to collaborate with organizations in other states, they say.

"We need to be united and send that signal," said Daniel Argueta, a spokesman for the Brown Berets of Salt Lake City, a community and education advocacy group.

In other parts of the country, some advocates say the mixed messages surrounding the boycott showed a need for a unified front and the movement's own Cesar Chavez, the charismatic leader who started organizing farm workers in the 1950s.

"We need to take this critical mass and organize it. Marching is not enough," said Armando Navarro, coordinator of a California umbrella organization that helped plan Monday's march and boycott. "We need to harness this power."

With so many organizers pushing their own plans for the May 1 rallies, and no single group at the forefront, there was not a unifying national plan. And there were conflicting signals from various leaders questioning whether a boycott disrupting the economy would do more harm than good.

An estimated 400,000 people marched in both Chicago and Los Angeles, but fewer than 10,000 turned out in cities including Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix, which all have large Latino populations.

In Utah, there are about 250,000 Latinos. But on Monday, roughly 10,000 people attended events statewide in support of immigration reform that would allow undocumented families to legally live and work in the United States.

Argueta, 26, said he was pleased with the participation, but thinks the boycott and demonstrations would have been larger if Latino groups would have united on what action to support on Monday. Some Latino leaders called for a "no-buy day" in Utah, while others urged people to boycott work, school and shopping.

"It sent a message that we're divided, but we're all for the same cause," Argueta said.

He said younger Latino activists, including high school and college students, are trying to find a way to initiate change and organize events while respecting veteran Latino activists.

"It's not hurting us, but it's not letting [the Latino movement] grow to its full potential," Argueta said.

Francisco Salazar, president of United Hondurans of Utah, said he plans to initiate meetings with other Latinos groups to talk about how they can support each other and organize more cultural celebrations.

He said he and about 70 of the group's members marched at Monday's Walk for Liberty at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City that drew about 7,500 people.

Salazar, who moved from Honduras to Utah five years ago, said Latinos need to educate themselves about U.S. laws and the legislative process as well as on how they can create change in the American culture.

"We're living in the American society - we need to integrate but not lose our values and culture," he said.

At least one leader says Latinos already are working with each other, and "we're constantly talking to each other."

Michael Clára, a spokesman for the Utah Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force that is made up of 30 Latinos, said it is up to Latinos in each state to decide what is best for them when it comes to initiating change and that it's not necessary for Utah to work with other states.

"Their actions have to reflect the society they live in to be effective," said Clára, who participated in Monday's boycott.

Still, immigration-reform leaders nationwide are torn over how best to keep the momentum going. The grass-roots flavor of the recent demonstrations has generated excitement and publicity, but empowering an umbrella organization or dynamic figurehead could galvanize the effort the way Chavez did for farm workers and Martin Luther King Jr. did for the civil rights movement.

"It's always good to have a figure that melds it together," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, a major organizer and supporter of rallies.

"But right now, we are seeing hundreds of leaders coming together. Many of them are people nobody had ever heard of," Medina said. "This organic organization will outlive any one charismatic figure."

jsanchez@sltrib.com

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The Associated Press contributed to the report.