An Explanation of Culture through a Promotora's Eyes

by Kelsey Leach       

serving at South Bay Community Services, California                                

Chula Vista Promise Neighborhoods/South Bay Community Services is a pleasure to work with. I have not spent much time with community members because I have been busy finding out were my place is within the school, doing behind the scenes tasks and trying to create new programs to help students.  However, I did participate in South Bay Community Services Homeless Count.  This allowed me to get to know Teresa, a Promotora, a little better.

Promotoras were started in Latin America in 1950’s, according to Implementing a Promotoras Comunitarias Model by Sylvia Esqueda. Promotoras were created to help people navigate the healthcare system. The Promotoras of Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood help educate parents in numerous ways so they can fully support and provide for their children. They build a sense of comfort to a community that comes together like family. They help bridge a gap between the white dominant cultural practices and the Latino community.  Her work as a Promotora helps parents become more involved in their children’s education. This makes a big difference in children’s academics by providing them with parental support which they need to help them thrive.  Teresa helps build a bridge that allows the predominantly Latino neighborhood to understand the importance of education. She works within a schools system structured around the cultural norms of a white middle class society to break down barriers that often leave behind minorities such as Latinos.

We started off on a journey that would further help me understand my role as a new community member in Chula Vista working with South Bay Community services to help children succeed. It was very early in the morning but it was time to go count the homeless in the south Bay Region. I was fortunate enough to be paired with Teresa and another Promotora to count the homeless in one of the neighborhoods of Chula Vista.              

It was great to be shown a different part of Chula Vista than I am use to while driving around looking for sleeping homeless people. She told me about the different parts of Chula Vista as we continued driving around looking for homeless. Her knowledge of the area was great because it helped improve my awareness of Chula Vista.  Teresa pointed out good restaurants as we drove and happily shared about the streets that she had lived on. We even had a brief discussion about Mexican breakfasts.  It was so helpful to get to know the area in which the students, I am helping, live in. I also learned about Teresa’s background and personal story of her upbringing which seemed to be similar to many students in the area and the same cultural background my mom had come from.

Although racism may not seem as prevalent when you are minority today, it still exists in our lives. Many families within this community are bilingual or speak Spanish within their home often making it challenging for children entering schools were English is the standard.  She made me think about many of the obstacles that Castle Park students face on a regular basis because of cultural differences.

My identity is something I have always struggled with considering I am of a mixed background. I am half Latina and half white, but look white.  I identify myself as Latina, but no one else knows that unless I share my background. On my mom’s side of the family my grandmother is from El Salvador and my grandfather was from Mexico City. My grandfather was never an American Citizen. In the 1950’s my mother grew up in a household with parents who did everything to raise their children as middle class white people. Spanish is both my grandparents’ native language, but was only spoken by my grandparents when they didn’t want their children to know what they were saying. Prejudices ran very high in the 1950’s and it was easier to not stand out as Latino, from the brief conversations I have had about it with my mom and grandmother.  I really enjoyed hearing Teresa’s story of her family and how they embraced their cultural background. She had cousins that took place in protesting for Hispanic equality in LA during the 1960’s. All of this made me understand my own family a little better and all the hardships the people of this area have suffered. It helped me better understand what the children within Castle Park Elementary face today.

I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to get know Teresa a little better. She has helped me understand the cultural background of the people I am serving and the area in which I am living in. I hope to work with her in the future.