May. 6, 2005
http://www.azcentral.com/news/opinions/columns/articles/0506ext-teclocol0506Z4.html
They're stay-at-home moms, soccer moms, stand-by-your-man moms, blue-collar moms and professional moms. They can do it all.
They have been at the center of the Latino universe for centuries. Oh, maybe the history books don't show it, but who do you think told the explorer Cortez he was good enough to sail across the oceans and help settle the New World? Who do you think told Cesar Chavez how to say si se puede? Who do you think cleaned and dressed Ricky Martin before he got into Menudo?
Mom, mother y mami.
Today, Latina madres are still the ones who dress and educate the
kids while papi is at work. They cook and clean, wash clothes and
buy what we eat. Sure, there are plenty of power couples and two-income
Latino households out there, but don't kid yourself, women - mothers
specifically - are still the ones holding our homes together.
They're our daughters' best friends and our sons' inspirations. Their
influence is much wider than you'd suspect.
Being a mother is full-time job, but being a mother in a rapidly
changing, modernizing, technology-filled world where the rules change
daily is even more difficult. It really is getting harder for a mom to
be a mom.
While Latino moms are loved, they're also ignored at the same time.
Unfortunately, they are all too often on the wrong end of
domestic-violence situations. Because of Mexico's desperate economic
situation and this country's inability to come up with an immigration
plan, moms south of the border often go years without seeing their sons
who come here to work.
In Phoenix, mothers are still the primary parent who attends school
meetings. Ask any counselor, whether it's in English or Spanish, it's
Mama who is there, if anyone is there at all.
A mother's role in her family's education cannot be underestimated. A
Pew Hispanic Center study says that Latino "parents can often be an
important source of motivation and information that promotes high school
completion. Only 51 percent of Hispanic children have mothers who
themselves have finished high school, in comparison to 93 percent of
White children."
So if you ever thought educating young Latinas (and future moms) was not
important, think again.
In The Republic last weekend, Neal R. Peirce, an expert on cities
who has thoroughly examined Phoenix, wrote that education should be at
the top of this city's agenda if it wants to continue to develop and
become a great city. Specifically, he said we must find out how to
"break the barrier of low school completion by Hispanic kids, who tend
to lag so seriously."
My mom, who was part of a migrant family that moved back and forth
between Texas and California, was "allowed" to drop out of school
because, really, she was needed out in the fields and educated girls in
the 1950s were not a priority.
Lucky for me, she changed her way of thinking, got a GED after having
three kids and earned a couple of medical certificates she uses at her
job as caregiver for the elderly. My sister graduated from high school
and received a bachelor's degree to teach. We would not have done it
without our mom's persistence.
Mothers are special and are much, much more than good at making
tortillas and caldo.
In Phoenix, Latino moms could well hold the key to making this city a
better place for all of us by simply making sure their kids go to class
and finish school.
I wish all moms out there a very happy Mother's Day and hope that
everyone remembers all the hard work and sacrifice they put in every
day.
arizonarepublic.com.