In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we sought out some of our wonderful Hispanic sisters to give us a little insight to their life as a Hispanic Woman in Roofing. Today we have answers from Cindy Rivera representing Zopatec, Aztec, & Mayan!
Name and Title
Cindy Rivera—Assistant Branch Manager
SRS Distribution Inc.
1101 E. 6th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
What do you embrace and love most about your culture?
What I love most about my culture is our inherited Zapotec, Aztec, & Mayan (mixed with Spanish) traditions, rituals, and history.
Some of them are;
Family focused culture, Meal customs, Alebrijes, Dia de los Muertos ritual,
Aztec calendars, astronomy, indigenous spirituality, detailed architecture such as pyramid-shaped temples and so much more.
What is something you want others to know about your heritage?
I want others to know that I admire all of my ancestors. Even though we come from a very, and I mean very humbled background (where at some point we used to run out of food), They instilled in me to be brave, to challenge statistics, to dare to dream of a better future, to be fearless, to shine, but most of all to Love and be humble. I Love being a Hispanic Woman.
Have you faced any challenges in your life because of your ethnicity?
Yes, I have, although I am very proud of my ethnicity, I did have to work through some limiting belief systems and faced many types of prejudice. I became a very young single teen mother of 3 by age of 18 and faced many challenges.
Who has been an inspiring figure of Hispanic descent throughout your life? My father
How or why has this person made an impact?
He taught me the true value of life. Because of many of his teachings I have transformed into the woman I am today. He used to say “Mija, don’t worry about the things you can’t control or the things you can’t change or resolve today. Take care of situations and learn from life lessons as they come (be present), then just make better decisions.” He was the Best!!!
Despite the hardships, I was the first one in my family to graduate High School and go to college. He cheered me every step of the way. I have lived a very gratifying life experience.
I am very grateful and want to share this with all of the Powerful NWIR
What is your favorite way to celebrate your heritage?
My favorite way to celebrate my heritage is by representing it. Speaking, reading and writing my native language. By gathering with family and sharing our stories, traditions, rituals, culture, and history.