Latinas Celebrate Gains, Focus on Future

Recalling the loneliness of her teenage years growing up in East Los Angeles during the 1970s, Suzanna Guzman said she would think to herself, “I’m a bother to my father, mother, brother and two sisters. If I smothered, they’d be glad.”

That was before she grew up to become a Mexican American opera star, and before she met her best friend, Alba Quezada, also a rising stage diva.

The two women reenacted in song Friday the start of a lifelong friendship that gave them the courage to seek a life in theater before a mesmerized crowd of 500 guests at the Regal Biltmore Hotel.

Guzman said Quezada sparked her passion for music. When she first heard opera, Guzman recalls telling her friend: “Yeah, but what are they saying? They’re all talking French, German and Italian. I can’t understand that.”

It was Quezada who taught her to feel the emotion behind the foreign words, she said. And her friend was there when she nearly lost her singing voice, then kept her focused while she struggled and worked as a waitress to support her dreams.

Their soaring voices--and the story of their friendship--launched a celebration of the strides taken by Latinas in the arts, politics, education and business. The HOPE Education & Leadership Fund sponsored the event to honor the spirit of comadres, literally godmothers but also meaning close female friends.

Such companionship in the Latina community of nearly 5 million in California is treasured, many said, especially in a society that has in the past shown prejudice against them.

“Being a comadre is the ultimate honor and ultimate responsibility among Latinas,” said Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, president of the HOPE foundation.

To further progress of Latinas in California, “we all need to be comadres to one another,” Aszkenazy said. “We need to break stereotypes that persist in our society and emerge in business and the arts and to effectively address issues, like health, that affect Latinas.”

Along those lines, the event featured a workshop for Latina teenagers on school and career options and a panel discussion on Latina health care issues.

At the health discussion, state Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier) encouraged Latinas to be more vigilant about breast and gynecological exams.

Latinas suffer illnesses like cervical cancer and diabetes at higher rates than any other group, according to the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.

Escutia said the lack of health insurance among Latino families and the low doctor per patient ratio in heavily Latino communities contribute to the problem.

In addition, she said, “Latinas tend to avoid things like health care” because of cultural misconceptions or preoccupation with work and families.

At the seminar on school and career opportunities for teenagers, a group of high school students learned about internship programs, then compared Latina role models they find inspiring.

Like the two opera singers--who told the group about their own high school experiences--Oralia Rodriguez, 14, said her role model is her best friend, Brenda Gonzalez.

“She gives me ambition” in school and sports, the Lincoln High School freshman said.

When the two are together, it’s like “que viva las mujeres,” Rodriquez said, praising her gender. “She’s like my sister.”