At 70, Rubiela Facundo is unwavering in her commitment to helping East End immigrants make the difficult climb toward the elusive American dream.

“I am service,” she said after being recognized for her volunteer work and success as a business owner at last weekend’s 15th annual Congreso de la Mujer Latina [Latina Women’s Congress], at the Hotel Indigo in Riverhead. She and four other local women were honored for their accomplishments as immigrants from Central and South America who have worked demanding jobs to raise their families and give their children a better life.

Facundo seemed born to give to others.

“We were poor. But my mother always had us share the little we had. I had to bring food to neighbors who did not have enough before we sat down to eat. I am like my mother,” she said, clearly proud to honor a mother who died when Facundo was 10.

At 22, Facundo arrived from Cali, Colombia, to care for her sister’s children in Hampton Bays. Her sister’s marriage broke up, and she returned to Colombia. Facundo chose to remain.

“I decided to stay,” she said. “I was alone but I liked it here. I loved the farms, the snow … the fall and its changing colors.”

Riding her bicycle from Hampton Bays to the North Fork each day, she worked on vegetable farms, in strawberry fields and at flower nurseries. She cleaned horse stables in Southampton and washed dishes at restaurants.

Eventually, she met “una Americana” — an American woman — who taught her how to clean houses.

“I cleaned her home for many years,” Facundo recalled.

Today, Facundo runs her own housekeeping business, Ruby’s Cleaning Service, cleaning homes alongside two to four other women, depending on the season.

“I do my work with love,” she said.

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Along the way, she has become a mentor to newly arrived immigrants, helping them find their footing and build new lives in an unfamiliar country.

Facundo purchased conference tickets for several of the women she mentors, hoping they would find inspiration at the annual Latina gathering, where about 250 women spent the day discussing life’s challenges and possibilities.

“I want to wake them up,” Facundo said. “Empower them because if I can do it they can.”

The conference brought together a sisterhood of working women whose contributions often go unseen and unrecognized. They took time away from their jobs to focus on themselves, celebrate their accomplishments, envision their futures and consider their health and well-being.

‘We are born to evolve’

The daylong program featured presentations by a doctor, nutritionist, psychologist and life coaches, with discussions ranging from emotional self-care to entrepreneurship.

“See this baby? She was born smiling,” said life coach Cleydis González de Regalado, standing before a movie-size screen displaying a photograph of a smiling infant.

“We can smile too. It’s our tool to ‘renacer’ [rebirth]. This baby is me.”

González encouraged the women to embrace their identities and acknowledge their own needs.

“We need to say what we feel and what we want … We are all in the same situation. We can be open to our vulnerabilities. Breathe, smile … think more about yourself,” she told the packed banquet hall, where women smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Raise hands if you are a mother,” Dr. Mirna Umanzor de Girón asked the crowd.

Arms shot up across the room.

The doctor then showed a video celebrating women’s role in creating and sustaining life, from conception and the formation of the placenta, which nourishes a developing baby, to the body’s preparation for childbirth.

“We win the battle of longevity,” she declared. “Who do we see at church? Women. All women. This is fabulous.”

“We are born to evolve and reach our full potential,” she continued, her infectious smile lighting up the room as she turned to a subject that often goes undiscussed: women’s sexual health.

“It’s not over. The clock does not stop at menopause. An orgasm is good for your health. Your heart beats fast and rushes blood through your body.

“We are taught that passion is for the young. How sad … Orgasm liberates us of stress. This is part of our life — part of your health. Do not deny your happiness,” Girón advised.

She also discussed ways to manage hormonal changes through sex, exercise, weight training to build muscle and a diet emphasizing natural foods.

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Chris Francescani photos

‘The woman on the mountain’

Psychologist Paola Quiceno then challenged the audience with a question.

“Who is the happier woman?”

On the screen were two contrasting images. The first showed a woman’s bare back adorned with blossoming flowers. Her face was hidden, her head bowed into darkness.

The second showed a woman standing at the edge of a mountain, her face lifted toward the sky and her arms outstretched into the wind.

“Who is the happier woman?” Quiceno asked again.

The audience hesitated.

“What kind of woman do you want to be?” she pressed.

“The woman on the mountain,” came the response from the room.

“We want to be a woman who is empowered, who can face what is before her. It is not easy … We must cut the chains that told us ‘No eres capaz’ [you are not capable]. Be in the present. Be the woman you always wanted to be.”

Her words brought tears to the eyes of some of the women.

Finally, Quiceno asked everyone to repeat a declaration aloud:

“Quiero ser una mujer feliz” — I want to be a happy woman.

Then she asked them to say it again, louder.

For Facundo, whose own journey has been marked by years of hard work and sacrifice, the message resonated.

Life has not been easy, she acknowledged, but she still believes in the American dream.

“I’m still working to pay the bills,” she said. “But my heart is filled with love. I am always here to help my people.”

She is especially grateful for her grown children, Shirley, Stephanie and Christian, and her 11-year-old grandson, Wesley, whom she calls the joy of her life.

Struggles to attain the American Dream have eased. Facundo’s family shares a home in Westhampton where the generosity she learned from her mother is being passed down to the next generation.

Lee esta historia en español: https://northforksun.com/de-trabajadora-agricola-a-propietaria-de-un-negocio-el-sueno-americano-de-una-mujer-latina-del-east-end/