María Teresa Mejía
I met Tere 16 years ago at The Women’s Building where a mutual friend had arranged for us – Tere, her daughter, Nadia, and myself – to meet in order for me to help Nadia with a paper she was writing on Haiti. After that we became friends and our association gave me the opportunity to know her well. It became obvious to me that Tere was determined to get ahead at The Women’s Building where she started as a receptionist. Methodically and with discipline, she moved up in the organization where she ended up as executive director in relatively short order. The Women’s Building was the perfect fit for her given her university education and experience in social work in Puerto Rico and her passion to work in a field where she could serve people, especially Spanish-speaking immigrant women. This passion to help others she inherited from her late mother who was a devoted, respected teacher in Puerto Rico also active in progressive politics. It also became obvious to me that her great passion was Nadia whom she raised alone with undivided attention, loving care and the determination that she would follow in the footsteps of her late grandmother and aunt, her mother and father. One incident in particular revealed to me how deeply she cared for her daughter: one afternoon at Carnival in San Francisco, we were strolling on Harrison Street where the crowds congregate after the parade, looking at the crafts on sale, appreciating the ethnic food and enjoying the wonderful Latin music, when all of a sudden, Nadia disappeared. Tere became frantic –histérica as she reluctantly admitted later-- in her search for her missing daughter who at the time was 10 years old and, from my perspective, quite capable of taking care of herself. Nothing Luis, a friend, and I could say to calm and reassure her would do. She enrolled us in a methodical search of Harrison Street until we found Nadia to Tere’s great relief. Nadia for her part was as cool as one could be. Another attribute of hers was her great elegance for she was always impeccably dressed and made up, with a certain Puerto Rican panache that made her stand out and noticed in any crowd. She was particularly noticeable when she went to clubs to dance to Latin music –the salsa, meringue, regetón and timba-- and would outperform and outlast men and women half her age. I must also mention her intellectual curiosity, always reading many books on her passion of the moment, be it Turkey as she prepared to go there on vacation with friends, wanting to know about Kemal Ataturk, the plight of the Armenians, the Ottoman empire or the Egypt of King Tut as she prepared to go to the exposition in San Francisco. Last but not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention her deep love for the enchanted islita, la bonita bandera, la bomba y plena, el lechón, la confitura de guava, and lately, of course, Justice Sotomayor. Written by Maximiliano Honored by The Women's Building |
