Chapter 1 La Mujer de Cienfiegos Cuba (The Woman From Cienfuegos Cuba)
Alicia Sanchez was a young woman from Cienfuegos Cuba. Alicia Sanchez had dark silky wavy hair, cinnamon toned skin color, and dark lips. She was a well-blossomed flower of a well-mixed African, Spanish, and Taino ancestry, which appeared, in her features. When she turned 18 years old she migrated to America in 1982. Like all immigrants Alicia came to the U.S. for a better life, leaving from a sexually abusive home. Before she ran away she promised her 12-year-old sister that she would send for her when she made enough money to take care of her.
Alicia was fluent in English and Spanish, which made easy for her to assimilate when she migrated to the United States. While living in Florida for two years she studied for her green card under granted temporary citizenship as a guest student, attending school for fashion and design. Being an immigrant she could not afford a place to live. She lived in a hostel; a place where she traded work for room and board. She illegally worked as a seamstress in a sweatshop sewing clothes that earned her two dollars a day. Once she obtained her green card and an Associates degree, she moved to Detroit, MI with whatever little money she saved.
The little belongings she had she carried in two large suitcases. The clothes she wore were becoming ragged. The thread to her panties and bras were unraveling. Alicia had sewn her unraveling under clothes ten times over; however, they had reached the limit. Her underwears and bras lost the elastic and could not be worn any further. She could only replace her clothes at thrift and one dollar stores, purchasing six pairs of panties and bras for two dollars. Whatever money she could save she put away for her sisters trip to America.
With the little money she saved over the years, she could only afford a low-income public housing apartment that was literally a box. The kitchen and the bedroom were in the same area. The bathroom was small in dimensions. Just to use the sink, Alicia had to leave the bathroom door open. The plumbing to her bathtub was far overdue for maintenance. The tub did not have knobs and required pliers to turn on the water. Even this had become an issue because the stubs to the hot and cold water were far rusted and could not be turned. Alicia had bought a cheap gardening hose and rigged it to the sink using duct tape to fill the tub with water whenever she wanted to take a bath.
The heat was provided from a rusted coiled radiator that existed since the apartment building was established. The window seal wood was rotted from termites and years of wear and tear. To keep the heat inside the apartment she used a black garbage bags and duct tape to cover the windows during the winter months.
Alicia knew her funds were limited and soon to run out. She quickly sought employment in the cultural district where the Latinos, Jamaicans, and Haitians were crowded into the southeast section of the city. She obtained a part-time job at a beauty salon as Mani pedicurist and another at a Spanish Dry Cleaners.
As a Mani Pedicurist, Alicia obtained her skills at a local salon in Cuba. She needed to make money whenever her father intentionally neglected her and her sister from the common needs; such as food and hygiene product. Even back then she knew how to save her money and more important, conceal it from her father’s knowledge; as she knew he would take it away from her.
As a dry cleaner, her skills as a seamstress were a big advantage for her to obtain the job. However, she was trained in other jobs; such as, operating the machines used to dry clean and steam clothes, working the register, and sorting abandoned clothes that would be later sold to thrift shops.
While sorting through the abandoned clothes, she came across a red satin dress. It looked very elegant which quickly caught Alicia’s attention as she dreamed of making something or buying something for herself someday.
Even though Alicia was making some money, her income was well below the poverty margin, which made it necessary to carefully manage her disposal income. Both jobs brought in approximately $500 a month. With the combination of her rent, utilities, food, and her booth rent at the salon; she was usually left with little over $75 at the end of the month. The food she ate mostly came from church food programs or low-quality items available at her local corner store. She had learned to savor the items from the church which always seem to be in greater variety; whereas, the corner store sold her food that was out of date, high calories, and low in nutrition.
Even though Alicia worried about her financial situation, she could not help worry more about her sister. She felt guilty leaving her sister behind in an abusive environment. She tried to call Yasmin daily; if not, every two to three days to check in on her. The conversations they had were heartbreaking for Alicia.
“Seas paciencia hermana, estoy hacienda lo major que yo puedo ! (I am doing the best I can.) Alicia says to her sister with a heavy Cuban accent”
“Apurate porfavor, padre está empeorando. Él viene en mi cuarto por el noche y me viola. Me hace tener sexo oral! (Hurry please. Father is getting worse. He comes in my room at night and rapes me. Now he makes me perform oral sex.) Alicia’s sister says as she cries over the phone.
“Calmate hermana. Damas más tiempo. Estoy ahorrando lo más que pueda, (Calm down sister. Give me more time. I am saving as much as I can.)” says Alicia.
“Tengo que irme, padre viene.” (I have to go, father is coming.)” Alicia sister quickly hangs up the phone.
Every time Alicia finished talking to her sister, she always felt depressed. What her sister went through with her father; she was no stranger to being abused and sexually molested by her father.
