REFINERY29 | How 10 Latinx Beauty Founders Honor Their Roots Through Their Brands
"My parents both moved from Chile to Los Angeles in the mid-'60s and started their lives over from scratch. As the child of immigrants, I have always been so aware of their sacrifices and how they've shaped my life path—it still strikes me in the most unexpected moments. Recently, while driving to a lunch meeting to meet with my European Union distributor at the Hotel Bel Air, I recalled that my mom worked in that very hotel as a housekeeper when she first moved to Los Angeles. Fast forward more than 55 years since she first landed in the U.S., her daughter has a beauty brand sold globally and selling in countries we only dreamed of going to when I was a child. My mom has always been my strongest connection to my heritage, and now that I am losing her to advanced dementia, carrying forward these traditions takes on a renewed significance with me."