Latina Power

Book review: Latina Power

LATINA POWER! Using 7 Strengths You Already Have to Create the Success You Deserve was written by Dr. Ana Nogales PH.D. with the contribution of Laura Golden Bellotti in October of 2003. The publisher of this book is Simon & Schuster, Inc., a publishing house founded in New York in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Dr. Nogales immigrated to the United States in 1979 from Argentina and completed her doctorate degree in psychology at the United States International University of San Diego, California. She is the founder of the Nogales Psychological Counseling, Inc., and she is also the clinical director of the non-profit foundation, Casa de la Familia. The foundation was established for victims s of crime such as rape, sexual assault, child sexual and physical abuse, and domestic violence . She writes articles for the Spanish newspaper "La opinion " in California where she also has a TV and Radio show, and she has been interviewed for many important newspapers and magazines in the U.S. She is obviously an important woman in the Latino community in the United States, and her work shows her genuine desire to help and improve the Latino Community lifestyle.

LATINA POWER! has 240 pages from front to back. The first page is filled with reviews from newspapers and quotes by important personalities in the Latino Community. The second pages is the title page with the author and publisher information, copyright date (October 2003), and the five cities in which the book was published.

Page eight displays the table of contents which is divided into nine chapters, a bibliography, and an index with their respective page numbers. Page ten shows the names of the women referred to as an example in each chapter.

LATINA POWER!'s writer, Nogales, energetically encourages Latinas to evolve beyond their expected roles and become the women they wish to be by embracing the seven traits they inherit naturally from their Latino culture. The idea for this book came to Nogales after years of doing work in the Latino Community. She noticed how many creative, courageous Latinas have surpassed many obstacles to reach their dreams and be examples for their compeers. She specifically refers to the powerful qualities that women in general have, like unlimited love for their families. She hopes that women who read this book will discover the powerful untapped side to that "givingness" that Latinas inherit from their Latino culture to give to and nourish themselves. Having learned so well how to be giving, Nogales hopes that they can now give some of that attention, love, sacrifice and devotion to themselves.

By sharing her own experience as an example as well as telling the stories of many other successful Latinas, Nogales tries to encourage her readers to identify these innate Latina qualities. She also focuses a great deal on the concept of one's potential. In Latin cultures, women often consider the potential that men have, but never consider their own. Nogales directs her goals to encourage Latinas to be less humble and think more about their potential.

Nogales divides her book into nine chapters. The first chapter functions as an introduction. Chapters two through eight discuss the seven strengths of Latina women. Each chapter is devoted to a different strength and provides an example of an important, successful Latin female figure and how she has utilized that strength to her personal advantage. Each chapter closes with a quiz that readers can take to determine how strong each attribute is in their own personalities. The ninth and final chapter is devoted to encouraging Nogales' readers to share the knowledge and power to encourage other Latina children and women in society to succeed.

The first chapter introduces the reader to the concept of the seven strengths, or seven innate characteristics that all Latinas have. Nogales also talks about her background and what her life was like in Argentina, where she grew up. Nogales was raised in a typical South American family. Her mother had been responsible for everything regarding the home and the children and had never been given the opportunity to study or find a professional identity outside of the home.

Chapters two through eight discuss each of Nogales' seven Latina power strengths. The first , espiritu creativo or creative spirit, is the Latinas' ability to be creative and resourceful in order to deal with the many challenges that they face. For example, a mother may have to invent a way to feed her family of five with only thirty dollars per week. Nogales demonstrates how Latinas can use their creativity and intuition to attain their career goals, whether by starting a business, pursuing an artistic profession or taking risks to reach any dream of self-fulfillment.

Chapter three explores the aguantadora's (survivor's) passionate determination. Nogales is referring to the personal experiences of generations of Latinas who have had to endure hardship. Nogales says that a survivor attitude is essential for enduring life's difficulties and remaining passionately focused on your aspirations. Young Latina girls are typically raised in families of machismo, where they are often victims of physical abuse and unfair treatment. Many Latinas are also sexually abused by their partners. The women will often endure this hardship because they believe that they are somehow protecting their children somehow, and because they have learned to accept violence as part of life. Nogales writes that the survivor's passionate determination can be directed in a different, positive way; Latinas can use their natural tenacity and unstoppable passion in life when pursuing their career goals.

Chapter four identifies the comadre's networking ability ,or comother's networking ability . Latinas have an ability to form strong, and honest relationships where everybody helps and receives help from one other. For example, Latin mothers are accustomed to forming dedicated friendship in order to support and help one another families during difficult times. Nogales reminds her readers that networking is one of the keys to professional success according to career experts.

The diplomatica's discretion, or diplomacy's discretion, discussed in chapter five describes the innate ability that Latinas inherited to be diplomatic when dealing with many divergent opinions in extended families. Latinas are the often the neutral balance in the middle of many different opinions and needs in a extended family, and they are therefore responsible for maintaining the peace. Nogales relates the Latinas' negotiating and peacekeeping skills to the abilities that politicians and career diplomats have to cultivate, encouraging women to envision themselves in those professional roles.

Chapter six talks about the atrevida's courage, or ristaker's courage. Taking the easiest path is not the way that Latinas go through life because they have to be brave and take risks in order to survive. Latinas fight to never let their children suffer. For that reason , many Latins are willing to do whatever is necessary in order to provide their children with a better life than their own. Nogales proclaims that this virtue is necessary to have the strength to change something in greater society for the better.

The malabarista's balance, or multitasker's balance, in chapter seven, is the Latinas' natural ability to balance their responsibilities and manage their time and energy. In Latin cultures, women must divide their devotion between work, family, friends and their spiritual life, never taking time out for themselves. Nogales urges her readers to use their talents at balancing busy schedules in the work force, and to also push to spend more valuable time alone in order to clear their minds and refresh their spirits.

In chapter eight, Nogales discusses la reina's (a diva's) confidence and strength. In Latin America, women have inherited a cultural status as "la reina del hogar," which means "the queen of the household." Every Latino man acknowledges the status his mother holds within the family, and sons and daughters often look to their mothers for guidance and nurturing. What Nogales desires is for her readers to take the confidence and value that they feel as women in the home, and shift those feelings of strength towards the pursuit of their own personal interests.

The ninth and final chapter, titled "Sharing Your Power", was written to encourage Nogales' readers to reach out to empower other Latina children and women in society. She says that one trait that many of the most successful and talented Latina women interviewed for the book share is a spirit of generosity. Nogales writes, "Being a successful Latina involves teaching our daughters to set goals, to enjoy the process of learning, to face challenges, and to value their accomplishments." Nogales encourages her readers to be role models for the younger generations and to give of themselves for the greater good of society through their professional lives, such as through the careers of politics, art or journalism.

LATINA POWER! is an effective and successful book because of its structure, Nogales' writing style, the clear examples and the interactive element of the activities and quizzes at the close of each chapter. Nogales' organization of the book's chapters along with her use of clear and simple language make the concept of the seven strengths very easy to follow and understand. By providing case studies and examples of successful Latina women with leading roles in society, Nogales reinforces the similarities shared amongst all Latina women and demonstrates how Latinas can use their innate qualities to pave their own ways toward self-fulfillment. The activities provided at the end of each chapter bring Nogales' concepts to life by inviting each reader to consider her own personal situation and focus on the ways in which she would like to move forward.

I relate this book and the author directly to me because I have been an eye witness of all the difficulties that my mother, as Latina, has been through all her life. The first word that comes to mind when I think about my mother is "fighter". She worked fifteen hours per day running my family business, dealing with employees, buying material, selling the product and she still had time to make breakfast every morning at 5 am before I left to school. Reading it, I easily recognize these strengths that Latinas have and I agree with the necessity of exploding these qualities in Latinas.

Narrative essay:A moment that changed my view of the world

06/25/07

Many times, life in an undeveloped country is difficult and complicated. It creates in you many conflicts and discourages the desire to succeed. I am from Ecuador , a country known for its resources' diversity, which are wasted or used unproductively. The lack of honest politicians has led to negligent governments that have used their power for their own benefit. My family and i were shaken by a strong economic crisis in 2001 where my mother had to migrate to Italy to support our expenses. I was left with my father and my two sisters, Tania and Ericka,who were fourteen and twelve respectively at the time. My mother was , like most Hispanic mothers,the one who held my family in balance.

Six months later, I left my house because of the intense discussions with my father about money and how he was disrespecting my mother. My concept of life and family were built in that house. This event marked the beginning of what I call my awaking time. Like a little chick breaks the shell, I broke that shell where I had been living for all those years. With no money, no high school diploma, and no idea of how real life was, I left that house to look for peace and love.

After this event, I went to live with my grandfather, and then with couple of aunts, and finally by myself . I started becoming more solitary emotionally and empty as a person. Before this, I was a disinterested, innocent, spontaneous person without any sense of egoism. I had to learn how to survive in the streets, where anybody does anything for free. I met hunger, desperation, and loneliness. This loneliness was not because I did not have people around me . It was because my emotions were blocked and i did not feel affection for all of those people who I met in the streets using drugs, drinking alcohol, having sex and destroying our lives. I did not feel a real emotional attachment for anybody. To care and to look out for people were erased from my mind during this time.

The need for my mother was subconsciously building in me the desire to form my own family. Looking the real facts, i was far too young to form a family. Two years after I left home, I finished high school and neither my father nor my mother were there, my mother, because she was in Italy, and my father, I just do not know. I started medical school and i felt amoral because I did not want my mother working as a dishwasher in a restaurant to pay for my university tuition. I did not want her to invest in me. I could not understand why she was mistreating herself to do something for me, even though she was my mother because I would not do this for anybody. . I would not do something so altruistic like that. Before I dropped out of school, i had the opportunity to come to the United States through an English as a Second Language program discount (ESL). I told my mother about this trip a week before my departure. She almost had a heart attack but later she understood that I needed a change. I needed this change to look for the meaning of my life, which I could not find in Ecuador.

I arrived to Los Angeles, California the morning of the twenty-eighth of January, 2005. I had my "extensive" three word vocabulary in English. I went to school for three months, where i learned a lot more English. For many circumstances, I went back to Ecuador the fourth of March. My former girlfriend was waiting for me and she got pregnant a few months later. I had the selfish desire for her to get an abortion at the beginning but we could not even talk about it. We decided to have the baby, even though i was already coming back to New York, where any hope for this relationship to survive died. Diego,my son, was born the first of February of 2006. He was a beautiful, healthy eight-pound baby whom I have not met yet. This is the most selfish thing that a father can do to a son; I left him in the middle of the pregnancy to pursue a personal dream. He will have a life without the physical presence of a father. Even though I have always blamed myself for that decision, I stayed to pursue my dream of studying in the United States.

When i returned from Ecuador, I moved to New York and I went to look for a job. Brazil Brazil was one of the restaurants where I went to ask for a server position. The first person who I saw after I opened the door was a beautiful, radiant blond girl, who with her petite body and friendly smile, welcomed me in Spanish to the bar. She was Sarah, who I later would fall in love with . I felt that we had that strong bond that hooks people together forever. We went out for several months, I met her parents, she met my family, and we decided to move in together. We rented a small apartment in Brooklyn, New York and she got pregnant. After many conflicts between us, we decided to have the baby.

During the pregnancy, I was in a kind of limbo. I was committed to her and willing to formalize something but as a person I did not understand how serious it was to have a baby. I kept drinking, smoking, and spending money unnecessarily. My fiancée at the point,Sarah, was freaking out and complaining about almost everything. I was annoyed by our fighting about money, my absences in school, and many other important reasons. I just thought of how she already had a difficult personality; it was just the result of the hormonal changes typical of the pregnancy. My lack of affection produced by my life circumstances, was making it difficult for me to seriously understand how important a baby was. Later I would realize that Sarah acted like that because she was worrying about the future of our baby.

The morning of the first of March, after more than a week passed her due day, Sarah was losing her patience and her conviction to have a completely natural birth. We went to check her amniotic fluid. Everything was normal and the baby was not at risk. The doctors could not do anything to induce labor because our baby was still healthy and secure. We went back home where Susan, Sarah's mom, was waiting anxiously for some good news but everything was the same as we left, no baby! Hours later, she told me about some secretion coming out but she said that it was not important. I told her to mention this to her mother but her mother thought that we should call the doctor's office to ask if we should worry about that. They told us to go to the hospital to do a check up and they would decide to induce labor or not.

Once in the hospital, they assigned Sarah a temporary room where they put a contraction monitor and a heart monitor for her. Our first contact with the baby was through the fetal heart monitor that was reading a 100 to 160 heartbeat per minute. I was out of place, like a monkey in a cage full of chickens. My whole life was passing through my head like flashes in a night club. Even though I already had a child, I had not felt all of the psychological , and emotional changes that this moment causes. For me, it was more than just that, it was my affection coming back to life. My hope and reason for living was getting set in a direction. After a couple of exams, they decided to induce her with Pitocin, a drug derived from hormones. We were going to sleep trough the night in the hospital and see how the cervix developed the next morning. It was like camping on Christmas Eve to see what Santa Claus would give us. I was amazed by the desire of Sarah to give birth because many women feel scared of the pain.

At six-thirty in the morning, I heard Sarah calling me. She told me that she could not sleep all night because the contractions were more frequent and stronger. The hours passed and the contractions were becoming stronger and stronger. I saw Sarah getting into a trance where she went away, trying to bear the intensity of the pain. I could not do or say anything; it was her moment to feel the greatness of being a mother. By eleven-thirty, she had four out of ten centimeters of dilation that she needed to start pushing the baby out. The nurse said that in order to do that she needed six or seven hours minimum. By one-fifty, the nurse came to check her cervix before going to lunch, but little Zoe(name that we picked for her) would not let her have lunch that early. Sarah had ten centimeters of dilation and she was ready to give birth. The preparations started and many people were running around for this unexpected event. The nurses started the labor without the doctor. Sarah started breathing and pushing as directed by her mom and one nurse. I was holding her hand and trying to be as calm as i could be. Finally, a little bald head was showing up. Sarah started crying and they let her touch the little head while she was still inside. The doctor finally came and with three more pushes her arms, chest and torso came out. She was completely out. She was alive, breathing, and ready to go through life, making everybody happy in her way, as she has done until now.

When i cut her umbilical cord, it was like cutting the cord that I had with my past of disillusions and problems. I understood that what I was looking was not specifically a family to form. I was looking for a family to live for. I could not understand why I had to wait until she was born in front of my eyes to know this. This little angel gives me the strength and reason to live. I could understand why my mother would work as a dishwasher to give me a education. I could understand my fiancée going crazy about money and my irresponsibility in the school. I would do anything to make my daughter happy and safe. To be a father made me understand that the change that i was looking for was not the feeling of being in a family. It was the feeling of being able to give my life for somebody,my daughter.