100 Latina Birthdays

Excerpt... A pioneer in the community health network, Ilda considers her advocacy and community building as part of her life’s purpose. "Now it’s my turn. I say, they helped me and now it is my time to help the community." In 2024, she won a Community Health Worker of the year award. The glass trophy is featured near a caricature of her and another promotora. Their nickname: “Las Sunshines” – which would be a great name for a Tejano music group.  As an advocate, Ilda has gone to the state house to demand that Illinois expand medical assistance for immigrants, regardless of legal status.

Beatriz "I know they called me a lesbian. They actually looked at me and said, oh, you are a lesbian. That just helped me bury it. And of course then after that I was over the top boy. Crazy. Partly because I was boy crazy, but also because I needed to show everybody that No, no, no, no, no. I wasn't a lesbian. I definitely liked boys." Carmen "How did this affect your mental health in those early years?" Beatriz "I hated myself. I mentioned I developed an eating disorder when I was 15. I wasn't diagnosed with anything, but I remember I ate quite a bit and I was overweight. I think now the therapist in me now thinks I was burying my feelings and I was eating my feelings."

She served for almost six years. The work was hard on her body, and the physical labor hurt her back, much of it due to her need to fit in. "Especially being a female, I think we have to kind of prove ourselves to be at the level of the guys. … I feel that I definitely had to grow a thick skin." Carolina recalls the jeering from male sailors, and the unwanted attention she received simply for being a woman. But she believed she had to endure it all. The push to power through is common, says Dr. Pamela Fullerton, a bicultural clinical counselor with Puerto Rican and German heritage. "We see this story line in us Latinas … constantly trying to prove our worth." 100LatinaBirthdays.com

Excerpt... Celina’s office in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood is a studio loft, with high ceilings and an open, airy feel. It’s clear that this is a place where healing begins. It’s bright, filled with plants, and has a peaceful ambiance. Celina Huerta: A lot of women are also learning that if they don’t want to have sex, and you know, their partner still wants to they’re learning like oh that’s sexual assault, I didn’t know that. Even with that, that's domestic violence. You were forced or you were pressured and now they’re feeling guilty and shameful for not wanting to have sex. Johanna found herself trapped by overthinking. "I'm the problem. This is why he sleeps around. This is why he cheats. Because, porque si no, que necesidad tiene to look for it somewhere else, right? If it was good, he would be here at home. Getting it from me." 100LatinaBirthdays.com

Excerpt... Hilda mostly works in neighborhoods with higher Latino concentrations, such as Cicero, Pilsen and Berwyn. Half of the work is driving around the city to talk to people about what they have, where to go and to help people make the appointments. The other half is learning.  "O sea, tengo muchas actividades." ("In other words, I have a lot of activities.") Add to all that — caring for her family. Hilda is the mother of four. She is among the 86,000 community health workers in the U.S. and part of the 1,200 in Chicago. Nearly a quarter of these frontline workers in Chicago are Latina. Many of them between 40 and 60. Health navigators like her build trust across all areas related to health, she says.  100LatinaBirthdays.com