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Latinas at Home

Like many other American women, modern Latinas struggle to balance work, home, family and love. Unlike many other Americans,Latinas struggle.

No matter how busy salon owner Alex Martinez gets, she makes sure she has time for her regular culinary ritual.

“I try to have a fresh pot of beans on all the time,” says the 26-year-old owner of abloom Salon in Phoenix. “I try to keep that tradition going.”

And while Martinez, who is expecting her first child this spring with her longtime boyfriend, relishes cooking and putting her vegetarian spin on enchiladas and other traditional Mexican dishes, that’s pretty much where tradition in her household ends.

Martinez recalls being raised in a home where women primarily took on the cooking, cleaning, child-rearing and other small but key household tasks that men never had to think twice about.

But in her home, she splits cleaning duties with her boyfriend. She also brings home the bigger paycheck, and it is expected that he chip in when it comes to taking care of their child.

“Growing up and seeing my mom every day and being around at home, I found that to be very special. I would love to not put my child in daycare, but I have to have someone watch my baby while I go to work,” says Martinez.

With more Latinas are earning college degrees than ever (and having careers instead of jobs) the traditional female role held for generations has changed and evolved. Many Latinas now make their own money, have disposable income and take on larger responsibilities outside of the home – all of which leaves them with less time in the home.

According to California-based Great Financial Mortgage, Inc., Hispanics, fueled by Latinas, are expected to buy between 1.5 million to 2.2 million homes in the nation within the next five years. Latinas make up the fastest-growing first-time home buyers segment in the United States, equipped with the cash, work stability and sense of empowerment to make the American Dream happen for themselves.

But modern professional Latinas like Martinez work to make sure they have more than just a presence in their home.

“I work seven, eight hours a day, but I also do yoga, garden at night and take weekend trips.  I’m not this intimidating career women, I can mix it up and play,” she says. “I think it’s possible to have everything you want. You can be a mother, a business owner and an amazing wife or partner to someone. You can do it all and maintain calmness in your life.”

By day, Gina Ramos Montes, 37, takes on her duties as the neighborhood and family services director for the city of Avondale. At night, she puts on her mommy hat for her new daughter Cecily, 5 months.

The New Mexico native with bachelor’s degrees in history and political science, and a master’s degree in public affairs, is still adjusting to going back to work after maternity leave.

“Not staying home does feel right, but leaving her doesn’t feel right. I’m torn either way,” says Montes.

What does work is the equal division of labor in her home, a concept that was practically nonexistent in past generations.

“I think the roles are very different. I expect a partnership, a sharing of the household duties. We’re both working full-time, and we both have responsible positions, but I expect that Greg will carry his weight,” Montes says of her husband of seven years.

However, Montes knows that certain responsibilities default to her. Housecleaning, for instance. She says it took a lot to finally convince her husband to hire someone to clean the house.

“That is something that would fall to me, even though he wouldn’t intend it to. Our time is valued on the weekends. Now he thinks it’s the best thing,” she says.

Arizona State University professor of Chicano and Chicana Studies Marta Sanchez says the role the modern Latina chooses to play in the home depends on a combination of factors such as age, social class and time spent in the United States. Assimilation and absorption of mainstream American culture impact not only what Latinas want for themselves and their futures, but also what they believe is within reach.

“There weren’t many models of professional Latinas [in the past],” says Sanchez, 41. Our foremothers “mostly worked in the factories. Today, they are raising children and going out into the world and working as professionals. My mother and grandmother worked because they had to. The thing that drove them is caring for the children. For me, I’m driven by my profession. The modern Latina works because there’s some kind of personal fulfillment.”

Sanchez says traditional Latino cultures often expect women to have children, and that the extended family unit is typically stronger and more prevalent than for non-Latinos.

Sanchez credits the mainstream women’s movement of the 1960’s with having a positive impact on Latinos as well. She says that her Hispanic male students are willing to help out in the home more than their fathers and grandfathers did.

“They say they are not going to be the traditional Hispanic man,” she says. “There is more flexibility in men because women speak out more, too. They are more likely to consider getting out of a relationship, whereas our mothers before were less likely to do that because they had less options. This world is a different world.”

Memories of her mother slaving over a hot stove and picking up after her nine children, made Alicia S. Cardellini sure of one thing - that life was not for her.

“I did not want to be the housewife. I did not want that role. But when I became pregnant, I totally took on that role my mother was in,” says the AGE stay-at-home mother of two. “Growing up I knew no different. It wasn’t until my freshman year in high school, when we moved into a mostly White neighborhood, and I saw different. That’s when I saw it wasn’t traditional for everyone and that I loved coming home and seeing my mom there.”

Myra Irizarry, 32, deputy director for Municipal Affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, says she gets questions as to why she does not have children yet. Sometimes she has to defend herself and let others know that nothing is wrong with her.

“Traditionally, in the Latino culture, not many are given that independence before settling down. You may fall into (having a family at a young age) because no one has had a discussion about anything different,” says Irizarry.

However, sage words from her late nana continue to echo in her head. And over the years, she has taken this advice to heart.