Growing up in El Salvador was hard, but been raised by my grandmother was war. Don’t take me wrong I loved my grandmother but living in the same household was not easy. With the ups and downs that came with living in El Salvador, there was always a little extra with my grandmother, but that extra helped me become the woman that I am today.
In 1984, I was five years old, during this time, we were experiencing a civil war in El Salvador, things were not easy for my family and I. We were suffering from hunger and money. The only thing that made us survive was the little business that my grandmother hustle for the family. She found ways to make tortillas for living, and that was our meals for many nights.
I remember her getting up early to prep the corn to make corn dough. Somedays, she would get me up as early as her and had me scratched corn kernels to process them by hand to create la masa ( the dough). Sorry people, but we couldn’t afford to own a blenders in El Salvador.
Mi Abuela (grandmother) was a strict person, but learning from her was the biggest gift she gave me about life.
Let me share with you a day I will never forget.
My grandmother was cooking in a Comal, on our outside kitchen made out of charcoal and bricks, trust me no fancy kitchen at all. I remember her putting the Comal to preheat for her tortilla making. She had me looked at her while she made the tortillas by hand, using her precious technique that I never learned. She began putting the tortillas down to the comal, suddenly she grab my hands, put my five year old hands on the heated comal and kept it there as she is screaming at me and telling me “This is how you learn how to survive in this world” “ In order to learn how to make tortillas you cannot be afraid to burn your fingers” This was one of many scary moments I experienced living with her.
While it took me some time to analyze that I was not the problem, I did spend that day wondering what had I done wrong and why I deserved that. I was only five years old but I knew very well that I didn’t want to stay living like this and at times, I would imagine escaping from her house and walking to California. (Kids stuff) I used to dream of coming to California and here I am now.
Many of us are born into environments that we can’t control or get out, but we can control how we move on in life by the choices we make. To run a business, we need leaders who are not afraid to take chances; leaders who are not afraid to burn their fingers while trying to build their empire brick by brick. My grandmother, who rests in peace, was showing me at an early age how to survive in business and in the world. As I sit here to share this story to you all at my 40th birthday, four decades have passed, and I would not change any lessons previously learned. I’m a leader and my main goal is to lead, so maybe someday I can leave a legacy behind. I hope to inspire every young girl who looks like me to never give up and pursue their dreams, no matter how hard and painful it can get.
As always, thank you all for the bottom of my heart. This one is special.
P.S. Dedicated to my Grandmother (Rosa Linda) Rest in peace. Love you always.