LATINA VOICES OFMY FAMILY

Q: What was the environment like growing up?

A: When I was a child, it was nice. I mean, we had our own house with a swimming pool and a basement full of toys that we played with. We went to church every Sunday.

Q: What is your favorite memory of your mom?

A: I would say growing up, just watching her clean Saturday mornings. We were never close, but I remember her being happy. When we would be cleaning on Saturday mornings, she would be singing to Julio Iglesias. She would always put on that blue handkerchief on her head and put on a little bit of makeup. She would be cleaning and singing and then when we were done cleaning, we would go food shopping. We weren’t alone, but I was the closest one to her. I was the one always attached to her. Everywhere she went I went.

Q: Who is a female figure you look up to the most and why?

A: Abuelita. She had been through so much herself. She carried herself with so much class and poise. She put God first and still had time to hug and kiss us, which is something that my mom couldn’t do. You could never tell what she was going through because everything abuelita had, she took it off her back and gave it to anyone who ever needed it.

Writing: Gianna Rodriguez

Copy Editing: Grace Maneein, Caroline Kostuch

Layout: Mary Renfroe

My Titi Wendy grew up in Santiago, Dominican Republic, where she was raised on the notion that nothing is more important than church and family.

Q: What was the environment like growing up?

A: It was humble. A farm. Everybody was pretty close-knit, we were always together.

Q: What is your favorite memory of your mom?

A: I know this sounds crazy, but we would have to carry clothes on a donkey to the river. When I was seven or eight, We would wash clothes in the river, the moms and kids. My mom would wash clothes with a rock while us kids got in the water and did slip and slides.

Q: Who is a female figure you look up to the most and why?

A: There’s two. Even though she’s younger than me, I always looked up to my little sister Yohanna. Even though we went through a lot together as young adults, she stayed on track and always pushed me. She told me I can go back to school and have a career, husband and kids. I also look up to your mom, Delia. She taught me what family is supposed to be like. She taught me what sacrifices need to be made as a parent.

My Puerto Rican grandma Linda was born and raised in New York. She was the only daughter, which meant her dad was tougher on her than her brothers.

Q: What was the environment like growing up?

A: I had my mother, father and brothers in a small apartment in Harlem. It was good. There were always some arguments in the house with my father. It was just one of those things.

Q: What is your favorite memory of your mom?

A: All I know is that we were very close, my mother and I. A lot of memories came with the whole family, especially during the holidays.

Q: Would you say you’re now the woman you had hoped to be?

A: Yes. If I hadn’t met grandpa so early in life, things would be a lot different. I’m happy with how my life turned out.

I see femininity in my family when they tell me stories like these. There’s peace in listening to my mom tell me about her favorite dress as a kid, my titi Wendy washing clothes in the river with her mom and my Grandma Linda reminiscing about her family apartment in Harlem. All the women in my family are their own jewels shining, caring for each other.

Ether is the essence of the heavens themselves, a symbol of the infinite and boundless expanse that stretches beyond the world of mortals. It is the embodiment of the divine, an ethereal substance that flows like a river of pure light through the cosmos. Ether lies the endless possibility for growth and transformation within us all, a realm of boundless potential that awaits all brave enough to explore its mysteries.