Abstract
Gladys Martinez, originally from Guatemala, describes how she made a life for herself in Cleveland after arriving in the United States when she was only ten. Martinez took advantage of the educational opportunities that the United States offered. Her traditional cultural and family values kept her focused on the future and her personal betterment. Martinez's story highlights how education transforms lives regardless of ethnic backgrounds.
Interviewee
Martinez, Gladys (interviewee)
Interviewer
Dubelko, Jim (interviewer)
Project
Project Team
Date
1-16-2014
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
51 minutes
Recommended Citation
"Gladys Martinez interview, 16 January 2014" (2014). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 999108.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/1034
Transcript
Jim Dubelko [00:00:01] Okay, it’s January 16, 2014, and I’m at the, I’m Jim Dubelko and I’m at the Clark Fulton- Stockyards-Clark Fulton-Brooklyn Centre Community Development Office. And I’m taking the oral history of Gladys Martinez. And she’s already signed the permission form to retain her own history. Gladys, can you just identify yourself as anything you want to.
Gladys Martinez [00:00:33] Gladys Martinez.
Jim Dubelko [00:00:37] And where were you born?
Gladys Martinez [00:00:39] I was born in Guatemala.
Jim Dubelko [00:00:42] In a city?
Gladys Martinez [00:00:43] I was born in, yeah, the city of Guatemala. But I grew up like in the countryside of Guatemala, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Narango de Partamento de Santa Rosa, Guatemala.
Jim Dubelko [00:00:52] Guatemala. Because Guatemala. Guatemala is also a city?
Gladys Martinez [00:00:56] Guatemala City is, yes, Guatemala. The capital is Guatemala. That’s why you say Guatemala. Guatemala City. Very many years ago it used to be Antigua. Guatemala. And Antigua is like further, I think, 30 minutes away from the city right now. So it’s no longer, this is where the ruins that I was speaking with the Antigua in Guatemala, the ruins, and now it’s Guatemala city right in the city Guatemala. So now Antigua is just like a historical area, which is gorgeous, very touristic, although people from all over the country go visit. And I was from Santa Rosa, which is the countryside, like 45 minutes away from the city, which is where I grew up, in the wild.
Jim Dubelko [00:01:40] And what did your parents do?
Gladys Martinez [00:01:44] They were coffee growers. My father has, well, he passed away. He used to have coffee plantations and my great grandfather, my all my family there. The economy in Guatemala is based on cotton, sugar, and coffee, so it’s pretty basic.
Jim Dubelko [00:02:02] And at some point in time your family decided to come to the United States?
Gladys Martinez [00:02:06] Yes, my mother decided to move to the United States 40 some years ago, and she came with an agency. They hired her from Guatemala to come work in the US as a babysitter. And I think she came to live with them. It was a contract that she signed. And this is how she ended up in the US. She came to Maria, Ohio. She used to work there.
Jim Dubelko [00:02:38] Were you already born?
Gladys Martinez [00:02:40] Yes, I was already born.
Jim Dubelko [00:02:43] How old were you?
Gladys Martinez [00:02:44] Oh my goodness. I was like maybe three years old around there.
Jim Dubelko [00:02:48] Do you remember?
Gladys Martinez [00:02:49] No. Oh, I remember. No, no, I didn’t come with her when I was three years old. I came here when I was ten years old because I stayed with my grandmother, my great grandmother, yes.
Jim Dubelko [00:02:59] And so your mother came for work?
Gladys Martinez [00:03:03] Yes.
Jim Dubelko [00:03:03] And she lived and worked in Berea, Ohio?
Gladys Martinez [00:03:06] Correct.
Jim Dubelko [00:03:07] And you were still, you were living with your grandparents?
Gladys Martinez [00:03:10] Yes.
Jim Dubelko [00:03:12] And you said then when you were about ten years old, so about seven years after she came here, you joined her. And why did you come then? Why?
Gladys Martinez [00:03:20] Why? (laughter) I didn’t have a choice. She wanted me here. I didn’t want to come, to be honest with you, because I was so attached to my grandmother. To me, that was my mother, you know, my family, my cousins. And I cried, like, for three months after I arrived in Cleveland because I wanted my grandma, I wanted my cousins. We lived in the country where you had banana plants, these tropical fruits. You had oranges, you had limes, you had mangoes trees. You know, I would live out there. If I wanted a mango, I would go grab a mango and that kind of thing. So obviously, you come to a city. I wasn’t used to living in the city behind a fenced yard or not being able to go climb trees or going to the coffee mills, because the coffee mill was a lot of fun. It was like a pool because they used all that water to wash the coffee. So we used to go swimming there every afternoon after school with all my friends and cousins. Here it was like I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t speak English. My mom said, you’re coming, and that’s it. I didn’t have a choice, really. My grandmother did not want me to come here either. And here I am. But-
Jim Dubelko [00:04:26] You’re an only child?
Gladys Martinez [00:04:27] To my mother. Yes, because she got married here, and my father, she got married, and then she had other kids. So that was another thing. I wasn’t happy to come and to have other siblings. You know, when you’re ten years old, you can be very jealous.
Jim Dubelko [00:04:45] You didn’t speak any English when you came?
Gladys Martinez [00:04:46] No.
Jim Dubelko [00:04:47] And how did you learn English?
Gladys Martinez [00:04:49] Well, that was an interesting thing. I went to Clark elementary school that just had just opened. I remember it was a beautiful school.
Jim Dubelko [00:04:56] Let me just stop you for a second. When your mother first came, she was in Berea?
Gladys Martinez [00:05:00] In Berea.
Jim Dubelko [00:05:01] And when did she move into Cleveland?
Gladys Martinez [00:05:02] She moved. I think, from what she tells me, she moved into Cleveland after her contract was out and her contract had ended. So then she came to Cleveland for Christmas, I guess in Berea. There was nothing for her, obviously, her English and all of that. So somehow a friend of hers that came from Guatemala as well invited her to a party, and the party was in Cleveland. So this friend of hers knew somebody that spoke Spanish also. So they came to the party in Cleveland, and during Christmas time, she tells the story, you know, how cold it was, and they were stranded because of the storm. And she met all these Spanish people. And I guess in one of these adventures, they met. She met my stepfather. And that’s how it all started how she ended up in Cleveland. She needed to stay.
Jim Dubelko [00:05:55] Is your stepfather Hispanic?
Gladys Martinez [00:05:57] Yeah, he’s from Puerto Rico.
Jim Dubelko [00:06:01] Do you know about what year she moved into Cleveland?
Gladys Martinez [00:06:05] I don’t know. She came in 1965, 60- 1966, maybe. Maybe she left before that. ’66, ’68 maybe?
Jim Dubelko [00:06:19] You came in 1973?
Gladys Martinez [00:06:21] ’68, ’71, ’72, ’73. I think it was, yeah, ’72, around there.
Jim Dubelko [00:06:29] Where was she living when you came?
Gladys Martinez [00:06:31] She had purchased a house on West 44th, right off of Clark. Like [inaudible]. That’s where she was living. And that’s where she’s still living right now.
Jim Dubelko [00:06:40] Maybe that’s why she had you come. Because she had a house now?
Gladys Martinez [00:06:45] Yeah. Possibly because she told me. I hated to leave you, but I wanted a better future for you as well. And to me, I always fought her. I said, why did you leave me? That was ten years you left me. And she says, Gladys, I know it’s hard for you. I left you because she was young when she had me. She’s very ambitious and she’s like, I’m not getting anywhere here. And then the opportunity presented, and obviously she’s. And I appreciate that. Okay. Sometimes I said, okay, thank you. But yet we could have done okay in my country and as aggressive as she is, and it was a mess because my father wasn’t liked by my grandmother or what. So they kind of kept them both from getting married. It’s one of those things where parents don’t think, why didn’t they let them get married? My dad and her. Okay. Instead of, like, separating. I was already in the middle of all of this. So I always fought and argue that with my father and her and the consequences that I suffered. So she tells me, I wanted the best for you. I said, well, thank you. But now you appreciate what she did. I do have an opportunity. Not that I personally, I think I would have done well in Guatemala as well. Okay. When you are. When you identify yourself or when you really see who you really are. I see. And I did it, too in Guatemala. I could have been just as strong in Guatemala as I am here. Yes, here I got to learn English. Back then, you didn’t have, like, schools where you could go learn the language or anything like that. It has this pros and cons, but I am glad that I am here, that my kids are here. It’s just something.
Jim Dubelko [00:08:34] So when you first came, was your mother still working?
Gladys Martinez [00:08:39] Yes, she was working. She has worked all her life.
Jim Dubelko [00:08:41] Where did she work?
Gladys Martinez [00:08:42] She used to work with Hugo Boss, sewing. She used to work.
Jim Dubelko [00:08:49] On Memphis? Or was that Tiedemann, maybe?
Gladys Martinez [00:08:50] There was one in Tiedemann. I think there was one another or something, I don’t know. But she talks all her jobs. She used to work in sewing? Yes, he worked when I first came. He used to work somewhere on Ridge Road, and then he got a job with SMP in Wickliffe, Ohio, doing some airplane moldings or something like that. And after that he got laid off there, and then he just became a mechanic, working in cars and stuff like that.
Jim Dubelko [00:09:22] So when you first came, you went to Clark Elementary School?
Gladys Martinez [00:09:24] Yeah.
Jim Dubelko [00:09:25] How far away was Clark Elementary from?
Gladys Martinez [00:09:28] West 44th?
Jim Dubelko [00:09:29] Yeah, just a couple.
Gladys Martinez [00:09:30] Couple of blocks. I used to walk to school. Yeah.
Jim Dubelko [00:09:33] And was it, was there a hispanic community with other Hispanic kids?
Gladys Martinez [00:09:38] When I first came here? There were a few, yeah, a few Cubans, a few Puerto Ricans, and most of them were from Puerto Rico. I think I was the only one from Guatemala because you couldn’t find many people from Guatemala here.
Jim Dubelko [00:09:53] Did you have any formal instruction in English?
Gladys Martinez [00:09:56] Yes, I did, to learn the English language when I first came.
Jim Dubelko [00:09:59] Okay, where did you go for that?
Gladys Martinez [00:10:01] Clark elementary School. And they had a tutor, Mr. Rivera. I’ll never forget this guy’s name. He made a difference in my life. After school, he would take me like an hour every day, and he started me from the vowels all the way in English, Aeoaeiou. And he taught me how the a had two different sounds, because you have the long and the short vowels. He’s the way for you to learn the pronunciation is when you get this. This is the secret to learning the good English. This is the secret to writing English. He was from Puerto Rico, and, you know, here I am just like, staring at him like this when he’s teaching me. And I learned that the basics, like apple and ape and how you write, because I was, what, in the fourth grade or something? And then I’m like, when am I going to be able to just speak the English language and write it without stopping to think? And how am I going to say this? Because I used to do that. I want to say something, but I would say it in Spanish and then English, and I would organize the sequence of my words, the order, and then finally, okay, after, I think by the 6th grade, I was able to pretty much communicate a little bit more fluent. I hit the 7th grade, and then here I am, which I think with his help, I learned it very quickly. In three months, I was already expressing myself more, you know, but when it came to writing and speaking the language more like, just say it, don’t think about it. I think it was six or seven. But I was able to understand within those three months and what my friends were trying to say, let’s go play. Or, you know, it’s not like I’m just sitting there like, you know. So he had me really well, the instruction he gave me was super.
Jim Dubelko [00:12:01] Was there a church you went to?
Gladys Martinez [00:12:02] San Juan Baptista. I think it was on West 32nd off of Lorain or somewhere there by St. Ignatius High School.
Jim Dubelko [00:12:11] Alright. Juan- Juan Batista?
Gladys Martinez [00:12:13] Juan Baptista. Yeah, San Juan Baptista.
Jim Dubelko [00:12:15] That was Roman Catholic. Was it named something else before, renamed for the expanded population?
Gladys Martinez [00:12:24] Not to my knowledge. That’s all I remember.
Jim Dubelko [00:12:26] How long did you go to church there?
Gladys Martinez [00:12:28] I think we went there for about one, two, three, four, about five, six years, maybe more. Five to eight years. Because then they moved to Clark until they were building the church. Somehow we stopped going there. And then they opened a building right where Rite Aid is right now. It was right where Rite Aid is. It was a brick building where they had the church until they moved to the Sagrada Familia. West 85th and Detroit.
Jim Dubelko [00:13:04] Is that the largest Hispanic Roman Catholic church in west of Cleveland?
Gladys Martinez [00:13:09] Actually, yeah. Maybe because St. Michaels does have a- It could be, yeah, I think so. Because it’s all Spanish.
Jim Dubelko [00:13:17] Did you go to Roman Catholic churches when you were in Guatemala?
Gladys Martinez [00:13:20] Yes.
Jim Dubelko [00:13:21] And how were the churches here different, if they were at all, or were they the same?
Gladys Martinez [00:13:26] No, no, absolutely not. In Guatemala, the Catholic- The buildings, the structures are all churches. You know, the whole works and definition are what a church is here. I could see churches, any building. This is why when San Juan Bautista, it wasn’t like. Like St. Michael’s. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to St. Michael’s Church. Beautiful church in Guatemala, you have the same. Okay? Pretty much when you walk into a church, it’s not just a building. And here I see a lot of that modern churches. All of the churches there are very, very nice. And you can feel like, again, the Spanish that- The structure, the architecture. Architecture, it’s all there in the churches, especially.
Jim Dubelko [00:14:10] What ethnicity were the priests here?
Gladys Martinez [00:14:15] Puerto Rico, some- In fact, one was from Wickliffe. He was born in the US, but he learned Spanish. He went to San Salvador to learn. And Father David, super, he passed away, like five years ago. Wonderful priest. And he- Who else? San Padre Domingo, who was from Puerto Rico, and some from San Salvador.
Jim Dubelko [00:14:44] Is there any kind of language barrier? But is there any difference in Spanish that’s spoken by somebody from Guatemala as opposed to somebody from Cuba? As opposed to Puerto Rico?
Gladys Martinez [00:14:55] Yeah, definitely.
Jim Dubelko [00:14:57] So how do they deal with that, like, in churches or gathering places?
Gladys Martinez [00:15:04] No, no, no. In churches. Churches or any organizations. Mostly, I think when you deal with professional individuals, they all come to the same language. Okay. You’re going to find this when you speak to people that are not well educated, that speak their own language dialogue. As far as Puerto Rico and then Guatemala, and then you have Cuba. To me, an orange is una naranja. Puerto Rico is a china. Okay, what is the correct word? China or Naranja. A China is a lady from China and an orange is an orange. So when professional individuals learn the Spanish language, they learn the proper language. Some Guatemala to Antigua, like I said before, because, because there’s many schools for Spanish doctors from Metro. Everyone I speak to there go to Antigua to learn Spanish.
Jim Dubelko [00:15:56] What is Castilian Spanish?
Gladys Martinez [00:15:58] Castellano is from Spain. They said it’s the perfect language. El Castellano is just a Spanish language, but the perfection. Okay. And there’s certain countries that try to get as close to El Castellano. So there is Guatemala, Costa Rica, and I think Salvador, I’m not sure. But even San Salvador, Costa Rica, all of those countries in Central America also have different names for different. Whatever, how can I say this? Objects, they don’t call like a map, for example. We call it trapiador. The Puerto Ricans call it mapo. And then again, the mapo, I think, is like spanglish type of thing, because it’s a map. And a mapo, like when you’re going to fill up your tank of gasoline. Sometimes in my country they say, fulelo, fill it up. So here’s a little bit of English saying full fill it up. But because under gas tank, you see f u l l, they go, fulelo.
Jim Dubelko [00:17:00] Growing up now. So you’re here when you’re ten years old and son, and you have a Puerto rican stepfather, your mother’s Guatemalan. Did they ever. I don’t want to say fights, but did they joke with each other about how you.
Gladys Martinez [00:17:14] What a word. Yeah, I remember Cabron. It’s a very bad word for Puerto Ricans. And one day we were playing out and we were playing with water, the hose, and there was a little pool, and I said to my brother, because he wet me. And I’m like, cabron, you know? And my stepfather said, what did you just say? I said, cabron, so you don’t have to say that word. I said, why not? Cabron means like you mean or someone like. Because in my country has two meanings, cabron meaning like, man, he’s so good at something. Like he’s tough. He’s a good student. That’s a Cavronte, like, top student. Okay. And then Cabron could also mean a bad word as to, like, que cavron. Why did he do that? He didn’t have to. But to the Puerto Ricans, Cavron means that my, let’s say if I call you Cabron or my husband calls you Cavron, that he’s sleeping with your wife. That’s how bad it was to Puerto Rico. But I had no idea. And he explained to me, you don’t use that word here. I said, oh, okay. Like, my son, just now that they were in Guatemala for Christmas, they were cooking with my daughter, and he called Maldita to my daughter. In my house, we don’t use that word, Maldita. It’s like this ‘damn you’ kind of thing. So Melissa comes home and complains to me, mom, you know what Manny called me in Guatemala? I said, what? He called me Maldita for no reason. We weren’t fighting. I’m like, were you fighting? He said, no, nothing. We were eating. I was making him pupusas, and I brought it to the table, and he said, maldita. I said immediately to myself, that’s not a vocabulary word for Manuel. We don’t use it in my house. And I said, you sure you’re not fighting? Because when you fight, you can say or maldita them or whatever. And I said, if you’re not fighting and if you’re not this and that, everything okay? So I called my son because he was still in Guatemala, and I said, manny, why did you call Melissa Maldita? I didn’t do that, ma’am. I said, yes, you did. And he had no memories, like. And I said, you called her. What were you doing? And, Melissa, can you remind my son what happened? She said, remember, we were eating, I was making you food, and then you call me Maldita. And Manny was like, mom. Then I said, look, Maldita is not a word that you used or that we use or that the family Guatemala use. And he said, well, at Cornell we do, because I have a whole group of people from Puerto Rico. And then he gave me all these words that they’re using. I said, whoa, Manuel, you need to see, maybe get yourself a new set of friends here. Because Maldita, Cabron, [quietly] Puta you know, to him, it was normal. I said, no, no, no. When you’re with the same circle of friends, use it if you want to, but not when you go away to live with another culture, because that’s not part of our culture. So be careful how you use that because you hurt your sister very much. Plus, you look very terrible in front of the family, calling you Sister Maldita and being like, nothing happened, you know? So this is how you can also run into situations when it comes to language barriers, Spanish and cultures. Different cultures and customs.
Jim Dubelko [00:20:25] Okay, so you were at Clark Elementary School. Where did you go to? How long were you there?
Gladys Martinez [00:20:31] I was there from four, fifth, sixth. Three years.
Jim Dubelko [00:20:34] Is it the same building there?
Gladys Martinez [00:20:36] Same building.
Jim Dubelko [00:20:37] Okay, and where’d you go next?
Gladys Martinez [00:20:39] Thomas Jefferson.
Jim Dubelko [00:20:40] Was that junior high school?
Gladys Martinez [00:20:41] Yeah.
Jim Dubelko [00:20:42] Any interesting experiences there?
Gladys Martinez [00:20:46] Interesting? Well, I was still trying to- I was able to communicate better. I had more friends, and I got to, I think I learned more because obviously I was able to understand English a lot more. I enjoyed my classes because, again, I was able to communicate. Science was always my favorite, and the teachers.
Jim Dubelko [00:21:12] Was there bussing in Cleveland at the time?
Gladys Martinez [00:21:13] No.
Jim Dubelko [00:21:14] Not yet?
Gladys Martinez [00:21:15] Not till I hit to high school. High school. 8th, 9th, 10th. When I hit the 10th grade, I was going to Lincoln West High School. The busing started.
Jim Dubelko [00:21:28] Was it Lincoln already called Lincoln West?
Gladys Martinez [00:21:30] Yeah, on West 32nd.
Jim Dubelko [00:21:32] Okay. Alright, so you’re going there.
Gladys Martinez [00:21:34] I’m going there. And then the bussing started. I got transferred. I only lived at West 44th. I could walk to Lincoln West. All Spanish school, pretty much.
Jim Dubelko [00:21:45] Did you go to the same house this whole time? From the time you came?
Gladys Martinez [00:21:47] Yeah, when I came and I went to high school and all. Then I got bused to Glenville High School on the east side. Oh, my gosh. All of us, pretty much. They took all of the students from this school and sent us to the east side. And then they brought all these other kids over here. Everybody was so unhappy, because why would they want to take you? You’re so close to your house, and yet you got to be on the bus for two hours to all that time you could have used for doing homework or resting or meanwhile, you got to get up. 7:00 a.m. I had to catch my bus by a cemetery where it was all dark, and I didn’t feel safe, you know, walking- It was still dark.
Jim Dubelko [00:22:26] What cemetery?
Gladys Martinez [00:22:27] Right here on West 44th. On 41st.
Jim Dubelko [00:22:29] St. Mary’s?
Gladys Martinez [00:22:30] Yes. Right here, it was 41st. And I’m like, why do I have to do this?
Jim Dubelko [00:22:35] So what was the route the bus took to get you?
Gladys Martinez [00:22:37] The freeway, right there on 41st. You get on 90 East. Got off on-
Jim Dubelko [00:22:42] What year did you start high school?
Gladys Martinez [00:22:46] 1982? 1980, I think it was. Yeah. 1980, ’80. No, no, no. I graduated in 1982. Okay? Yeah, I graduated in 1982, so I started in 1980- ’79, right? 1978. ’78.
Jim Dubelko [00:23:08] High school for you started in 10th grade?
Gladys Martinez [00:23:09] Yeah, okay. Yeah. ’78. ’78–79. The year of ’78–79.
Jim Dubelko [00:23:18] I think probably ’79.
Gladys Martinez [00:23:19] Yeah, ’79.
Jim Dubelko [00:23:20] ’80, then ’80, ’81, ’82.
Gladys Martinez [00:23:21] Yeah. But because it start, like, the year, you know, in August, so you pretty much get part of that.
Jim Dubelko [00:23:29] Did you go to Glenville? How long?
Gladys Martinez [00:23:31] I was there for two months. I got out of it, and I applied to this health career center, high school for nursing and the whole. In the medical field. And it was like you had to apply into it because it could only take so many students.
Jim Dubelko [00:23:52] Where was that located at?
Gladys Martinez [00:23:54] East 32nd and Payne, downtown. And I got accepted, and I was very happy because I rather catch the bus from here to there, then all the way to Glenville and being fighting riots because the blacks and the whites would fight, and then it came to the whites and the Hispanics. So, yeah, we had a few riots. It was so funny because, you know, you’re so nice and peaceful and never got into a fight in my life. I go on the bus, and then we’re getting attacked by all this. It was mainly, like, Spanish. I mean, Puerto Ricans. And the white people, they would call each other spicks, I guess. The white people would call the puerto rican spicks, and the Puerto Ricans would call the whites. Oh, gosh. I forget what they would call, but they would insult each other, and there they were. I didn’t feel like part of that, but because I spoke Spanish, they thought I was Puerto Rican, and I was part of the- So whenever there was a fight, I had to protect myself. I’m like, oh, my gosh, I’m gonna get attacked. And whenever we got off the bus, like the buses from Store, I was the last one to be dropped off because the bus would come off the freeway and go all the way to Store avenue and those areas. My friends will get off there. My friend got off that bus, and there was a whole bunch of white people waiting on that bus for these people to get out, okay. With bats in the whole works to attack the students. So, Sarita, you know, once you get out of that bus, which wasn’t fair, because we’re not even talking student to student anymore, these students parents and friends and cousins would be waiting at the bus stop to attack the students. And I’m glad. I’m like, oh, my gosh, thank God my bus stop is not here. It was all the way by the cemetery. Well, one of them got hit really hard. I remember that they attacked on Tito. So when that happened, Sarita, my friend, she took off running from Store all the way to the cemetery. Okay. Trying to find out. Gladys, be careful. They’re gonna attack you, too. And there was nobody where, like, your parents are waiting for you to get off that bus. It’s okay. We were in high school, so I was already walking by. Back then it was People Savings bank on Clark. I was already crossing, and I saw Sarita running. I’m like, what’s the matter? Oh, my gosh, you’re okay. Because I heard there was another group of people waiting for you to get off the bus, and so they couldn’t beat you up. I’m like, why? So, you know, all of these things, we had to live, all because of the busing and who knows what else happened, the fighting between the other neighborhoods and the schools. But I got out of Glenville High School, and I would, when I was still being bussed, all these riots, I would go into my mom’s jewelry box and take as big as rings as she had and take her jewelry to protect them if I have to punch somebody. And she used to have, like, this watch ring and which was like, this real big thing. I took that. I’m like, if anyone is going to attack me here, I am being totally more in the learning mode where I wanted to succeed and be somebody. Meanwhile, we get interrupted by all this mess. I think it was devastating. A lot of people moved away from this area, all the Anglo Saxons, and it was people that I went to, Clark elementary school. All my friends there never saw again. Their parents moved away, who knows? Parma or further, Brook Park, running away from the- A lot of people accused them of being racial, and I don’t think that was the case. Again. Parents know, if I would have been a parent, I think I would have moved away as well, because no one wanted to see that. And it’s not like you have to be racial not to want to see people coming and going, but alone, just us. It wasn’t even blacks and whites or Hispanics. It was whites and Hispanics, and I’m sure blacks, whatever. I never had problems with the black people, but the idea is that they wanted us to mingle, okay? Which is, I’m all for it. I’m not racial at all. It was a good thing, but they didn’t have to send us. I think they could have done something different if they wanted us to get along with the people that lived on the east side because they were separated. You know, blacks here, whites there, and then you have the Hispanics and whites in different areas. They could have maybe had, like, games, sports, more sports, where you have all these activities and you exchanging. I don’t know. So I think something better could have been done.
Jim Dubelko [00:28:32] How did you do as far as grades and everything?
Gladys Martinez [00:28:34] I used to. Well, and that’s another thing. Like you asked me before. What experiences did you have from Clark Elementary, Thomas Jefferson, Lincoln West. Super. Because as I got older again, I understood the language better, my grades were better, and I did wonderful. When I graduated from high school, I was very good. I got the scholarship from the medical Kaiser Foundation because I used to want to be a doctor. But in health career center, you had to do, like, an internship. Like, I was in a nursing lab, and I went to Aristocrat Lakewood nursing home to do my internship. And instead of volunteering, they actually gave me a job. So I was working and going to school for a whole year. I needed a thousand hours. And I’m glad I did that internship because I learned that the medical field is not what I wanted to do. I love people. I love working with people, but not sick people. And they gave me that opportunity to actually say, hey, I do love people, but I don’t want to see people dying. And I saw that happen, you know, and I was taught to treat people with dignity even after they die, you know, how to treat them before rigor mortis sets in and the. The whole. And I also saw how these nurses at Aristocrat were not following the code as to what I was being taught at health careers. You know, they were treating people like dirt even when they died. Just shoved them in the bag. And I went back to my teacher and I said, miss west, in this place, in this nursing home, the nurses are not doing what you’re teaching us. I mean, I can see when they put a catheter in, we were taught differently, and I’m not in high school, okay? Learning all of these nursing techniques and procedures. When I go there, I expect to see that you don’t see that. So therefore, she told me, you know, why you’re doing an internship. This is why we want to make sure that you’re there because you have the vocation to be a nurse, not because you just want to go and have a job or to make money. You have to have that vocation where it’s in your heart that you care for these people, and those are the good nurses and the good doctors. I said, well, okay, I know I could do what you teach me, but that’s not what I want. I don’t want to deal with sick people, and I think I can do better than they’re doing because I’m not going to disrespect this elderly. I have a soft heart for the elderly and the children. And it bothered me so much to see these nurses mistreating these elderly individuals there. Oh, my gosh. So I said, no, I don’t want to go in the medical field.
Jim Dubelko [00:31:13] So when you graduated in ’82, what did you do?
Gladys Martinez [00:31:17] I went to Kent State University.
Jim Dubelko [00:31:18] And did you live down there?
Gladys Martinez [00:31:20] Yeah, I stayed at Allen hall at Kent and also there. And I still try to pursue to go in the medical field. Okay. I still tried. And all my friends were like, in business administration from. What is this place? They were from Asia. I forget the other country. But I enjoyed it because I’m like, wow, you know, there are books. And then I got involved. I’m like, here I am with chemistry and biology and all of that. And I told my parents, you know what, if you want to help me, not in the medical field, I want to go into business or do something where I can do better or something that I like working with people.
Jim Dubelko [00:32:02] At this point in time, your parents are still living on West 44th?
Gladys Martinez [00:32:05] Yeah, all their life. They’re still there. My mom. My mom is still there, and my mom, I guess, well, why don’t you go to Guatemala and study nursing? I said, I don’t want to be a nurse.
Jim Dubelko [00:32:15] Let me ask you a question, too, because you’re at this point now you’re a college age. I talked to a man who was telling me about the Puerto Rican social clubs. Did you go to social clubs?
Gladys Martinez [00:32:24] Are you kidding? (laughter) I wasn’t allowed out of my house until I was 22. And I’m also grateful for that because the life in the US is so liberal, okay. And our culture in Guatemala, my parents are like, you’re not going anywhere.
Jim Dubelko [00:32:40] You didn’t go to any dances or anything at your schools?
Gladys Martinez [00:32:42] No, no, no. I could go to dances if it was during school hours, but after, no. Bike riding, I couldn’t go out in the street. They used to- They bought me at ten speed from the driveway. I’m like, I don’t want that bike. Why do I want a ten-speed going back and forth in my driveway?
Jim Dubelko [00:32:59] When you’re not at home, did you go to any of the social clubs?
Gladys Martinez [00:33:02] No.
Jim Dubelko [00:33:03] I heard that’s a big deal in the Puerto Rican communities.
Gladys Martinez [00:33:05] Maybe to the Puerto Ricans. We’re from Guatemala, not to- You know, my mom is from Guatemala, and that kind of saved me. I think it saved me from not becoming a single mom because a lot of that- Okay, again, order. We believe in order in your life. Like I told my kids right now, your life right now should be about educating yourself. Forget the boyfriend thing. Forget the girlfriend thing. Right now you finish school all the way, college, you graduate, you go get a job, you get experience. If possibly go open your own business, then get married, have your family. Okay? And get a wife or in my son’s case, or a husband for my daughter that thinks and believes the same, same way. Very difficult. I could not find anybody here. I had very, very high standards for the man that I wanted to marry. I could not take anything less. And I said this to myself.
Jim Dubelko [00:33:59] Are you married?
Gladys Martinez [00:34:00] Yes.
Jim Dubelko [00:34:01] When did you meet your husband?
Gladys Martinez [00:34:03] I met my husband in 1989, ’99. 1998? Wait, ’89, 1998, ’94. No, 1989. Yeah. Because I got, we got married three years after and my son was born in 1994. So I had to go to my country to find a husband. I couldn’t find one here.
Jim Dubelko [00:34:26] Oh, that’s right. You told me you went back to Guatemala for about five years, ’84 to ’89?
Gladys Martinez [00:34:31] Yeah.
Jim Dubelko [00:34:31] So you were at Kent State?
Gladys Martinez [00:34:33] No to ’94.
Jim Dubelko [00:34:33] ’89 to ’94?
Gladys Martinez [00:34:34] Yes, to ’94.
Jim Dubelko [00:34:36] So you were in, you were at Kent State for how long?
Gladys Martinez [00:34:41] Oh, Kent State. I was there for one year. Okay? One, because I couldn’t afford it. I was working. I had a scholarship, but that wasn’t enough. I learned that the education from high school has a lot to do as far as also the success that any student is going to have. I told my parents, if I’m going to be a doctor, I want to go into the six year program that they used to have. I think it was Northeast Ohio Medical School. It had just started. It was a new school, and they were giving the students that opportunity. And I told my mom and myself, I said, I’m willing to take a beating all year long, summer, winter, and just to do it in six years. But to me, nine and twelve and 13 years didn’t sound. So. I said, six years I can do. But once I met Kent, I learned that you had to apply into that school before you got out of there when you were still in high school. Instead, I ended up at Kent doing pre med. And that was, you know, so that was a miscommunication. But either way, I got to learn that it wasn’t that I wanted. I wanted business, even though going to Kent helped me a great deal because I live there independency, it made me different from all the other people. I came back and I went to Tri-C and obviously that was- Yes, the Metro, that was a lot less expensive. And I was able to work. I pretty much put myself through school. Okay?
Jim Dubelko [00:36:16] What type of jobs did you do?
Gladys Martinez [00:36:18] When I was at here, I was at Holiday Inn as a front desk receptionist. Because I used to work during high school at the nursing home.
Jim Dubelko [00:36:25] The Holiday Inn over on Euclid?
Gladys Martinez [00:36:27] Lakeside. Lakeside.
Jim Dubelko [00:36:27] Oh Lakeside? Okay.
Gladys Martinez [00:36:28] That used to be a Holiday [Inn], and now it’s a tree, something [Doubletree Hotel]. Yeah, next to the water. That’s where I worked. And then from there, I got a job at KeyBank as a teller.
Jim Dubelko [00:36:40] Where did you work at? What branch?
Gladys Martinez [00:36:43] On the east 30th, that branch is still there. Yeah, East 30th. And I got trained at the downtown one, the beautiful, where the main headquarters are.
Jim Dubelko [00:36:51] Yeah, the old Society Building.
Gladys Martinez [00:36:52] Oh, it’s gorgeous. I got trained there. Then I got transferred to East 30th. Then from there I got a job at CSU. When I was going to CSU at the bookstore, I was a bookkeeper there. Most boring job I ever had. So, you know, then from there.
Jim Dubelko [00:37:13] Did you graduate from Cleveland State?
Gladys Martinez [00:37:15] No, I did not graduate from CSU, but I will, because again, here’s Gladys putting herself to school. I am not getting funds. And this is what I tell my kids today. I said, guys, I put myself and I got to where I got, thank God, I got to graduate, but I got an associate’s in business. Okay. Even though I have done the best and the most wonderful things with that little bit of knowledge, which I know someday I’m going to go back to CSU, because I tell you, I have done stuff that people with masters and doctors have not done. From an exports manager, from management, the whole works. I’m very proud to say that because, again, character, you can be a doctor and whatever in business, have a doctorate, but you gotta have character to succeed. And personality. I’ve done it all. I traveled throughout Latin America. I was an exports coordinator for Kichler Lighting. I was in charge of the latin American market.
Jim Dubelko [00:38:10] You worked as a manager at Kmart?
Gladys Martinez [00:38:12] At Kmart, yeah, I was a manager for 15 some years in management. And then from there is when I-
Jim Dubelko [00:38:20] So you started at Kmart, you worked there several years, and then you decided to go back to Guatemala?
Gladys Martinez [00:38:25] Yes. Why did I go to Guatemala? Because my family, my grandparents were passing away and I thought it was important that I spend some time with them. And again, we don’t believe in sending our elderly to nursing homes or anything. To me, that’s not acceptable. So all my family were there. Here I was working. I said, no, I gotta go back. And I resigned from Kmart. I went to Guatemala, and over there I got a job, a wonderful job, well paid.
Jim Dubelko [00:38:57] What did you do?
Gladys Martinez [00:38:58] I was over there. I started with the experience I had here. I went to Guatemala and I was like district manager type of thing for a home and sporting goods department. Siraza. It’s a very big company. The guy is from Germany, very aggressive man. Thank God. I see him like a father in Guatemala, and we still keep in touch. He’s like, whenever you want to come back, Laris Sidaza has a field for you. You can fit anywhere you want. He’s doing all this stuff, and we talked. Every time I go, he’s like, come and see me, and I go visit him. Now he’s exporting plants because I started as a- I opened stores for him. I ran the division of the sporting goods section, and then I took over the manufacturing because he’s an exclusive distributor for the companies in the US. So they’re producing some of the products, like the Fairbanks scales. Then I did that for four years. Then he promoted me to export manager, and which was the exciting part, because that’s when I got to do what I really wanted to do all my life, to travel and this and that. And he said, I said, well, you know, I haven’t done that. And at Tri-C, I did take some courses in import and exports. I said, I do know a little bit. But you know what, ‘Gladys? Don’t worry. I will teach you. And if I have to travel with you, then I will’. I’m like, well, thank you for believing in me. And he’s like, I’m not taking you from what you’re doing now because you, you’re not doing the job properly. I’m taking you because I think you’re the one that has the potential and the capacity to develop this department. For me, I’m like, whoa. Thank you. If you believe in me, why shouldn’t I believe in myself? And believe me, I took and started from scratch, and I did all my research. I did the catalogs. I went to customs in Guatemala, and I studied as to exports to San Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the whole works. As far as the freight forwarding, the whole process is the documentation. And three months later, I was already exporting. Okay, I got to visit every country. I got to visit and find all the potential customers in each country. It was just awesome. He gave me that wonderful opportunity to go back to see my grandparents and to live there and to provide for them, which is since I came here, I always said that one day I want to go back to Guatemala, and I’m going to provide because they gave me so much, and I wanted to be able to give back to them. And I did it those five years.
Jim Dubelko [00:41:27] Did both of your grandparents pass on while you were down there?
Gladys Martinez [00:41:30] Actually, I left a year before they passed. My grandma, she was the last one. And, yeah, like, almost a year right after I left, she passed away.
Jim Dubelko [00:41:41] How old was she?
Gladys Martinez [00:41:43] She was in the 89s already. Yeah, but I loved her dearly, like a mom. Everything she gave me, she spoiled me to death and I went back and spoiled her.
Jim Dubelko [00:41:56] How did you meet your husband when you were down there?
Gladys Martinez [00:41:58] When we were down there, I went the same town. Okay, the same town. I went to Guatemala and we’re from Santa Cruz. My husband came to my house with my dad. I was with my father and my father was his father’s friend because they were, since they both grew coffee, they were in the same cooperative and my father was the president, the president of the cooperative and for the coffee. And she’s out.
Jim Dubelko [00:42:34] My part should move a little faster. Okay. So you meet your husband and you decide to come back to the United States.
Gladys Martinez [00:42:43] Yeah. Five years later. I worked over there. He worked, I had my son, and.
Jim Dubelko [00:42:51] I think you told me on the phone you came back for support.
Gladys Martinez [00:42:54] Yeah, well, I was pregnant and I had to come and have him here because I wanted him to be born here so I didn’t have to go through the whole, the paperwork and offer him for his visa. So three months before he was born, I came here. He was born in March. Then I went back 40 days later to Guatemala, stayed another year there because I couldn’t find a babysitter and I couldn’t trust anybody. So then I decided to come back to the US so that my uncle babysit him. He did not want to come. He’s an agronomist, engineer, like a soil scientist, they call him here. He’s like, what am I going to do there? I’m like, just three years, that’s all I need because I had to come and get my citizenship here so that I could be in Guatemala, because with a green card you can’t be out of the country for so long. So then the consulate in my country told me, go back to the US, become a US citizen, then come back to Guatemala and become a resident in Guatemala. So you have a dual residency and you don’t have to worry about how long you can be out. And because you work in Guatemala, you don’t need the green card. I mean, you’re doing great here. You’re, you’re, you’re doing fine. So people normally get green cards when they want to go work to the US. That’s not your case. You can stay in Guatemala all you want with your family. So we come here three years and it turned out that it was more than three, was five. So in those five years, here’s Gladys. I started to invest in real estate and do you still work in a Kmart? No, actually. Yeah, yeah. No, here’s what happened. Kmart, I left in 1997 when my daughter was born, and then I went to work with Rite Aid in management there. From Rite Aid I went to the Cuyahoga county.
Jim Dubelko [00:44:38] Where is the Rite Aid located?
Gladys Martinez [00:44:39] Right on the corner of Fulton, right here, corner of Clark. But I was at the 117th Rite Aid, and then from there I went to the Cuyahoga county as a self sufficiency coach with the welfare department. I worked there for like maybe three, four months. And then I got recruited by Kichler Lighting, because again, we were importing in Guatemala with the company I work with, and the owner, Mr. Resenhoff, told them that I lived in Cleveland because their company is an independent Kichler Lighting. So Kichler Lighting called me that they needed an important exports coordinator and that they had a good reference on me from Guatemala. I’m like, whoa. And they asked me to go in for an interview and so forth. So I did, and I’m like, oh, my gosh. It’s just the whole thing.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:29] You bought a house in the neighborhood, right?
Gladys Martinez [00:45:31] West 44th.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:33] And when did you buy your house?
Gladys Martinez [00:45:34] I bought the house in the year 2000. Yeah. And I just moved out of this house three years ago.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:42] How close is it to your parents’ house?
Gladys Martinez [00:45:44] A block and a half.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:45] Block and a half?
Gladys Martinez [00:45:46] Yeah.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:46] That’s nice. It’s convenient.
Gladys Martinez [00:45:48] Yeah, block and a half. But now we moved to Parma three years ago.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:53] Where do you live in Parma?
Gladys Martinez [00:45:54] On Ridge Road, right by the golf course in Parma.
Jim Dubelko [00:45:57] Parma Circle?
Gladys Martinez [00:45:58] Yeah, right by Ridgewood Drive. Yeah. Right on Ridge. I love it. It’s close to everything there. And at least I know my kids are safe because I own real estate. Right here, where I used to stay, is right off the freeway. So all my tenants know where I lived. And when you do evictions, at that point, your tenants are no longer your friends. They become your enemies. And I wasn’t happy that they knew where I lived. Someone get upset and I had to move out to protect my kids. Because every time.
Jim Dubelko [00:46:32] You still own the house on West 44th?
Gladys Martinez [00:46:34] Oh, yes, I still own.
Jim Dubelko [00:46:35] How many properties do you own?
Gladys Martinez [00:46:36] About eight.
Jim Dubelko [00:46:38] Yeah, that’s where you use your full-time business now? And your kids go to school?
Gladys Martinez [00:46:43] Melissa’s going to Cleveland State University. But the high school is. Yes, the high school is called MC[Squared] STEM High School. Science, technology, engineering, and math. And my son-
Jim Dubelko [00:46:54] Where was it located at?
Gladys Martinez [00:46:56] Actually, right now when you’re in the 9th grade, you go to the Science Center. That’s where the school is in the science center downstairs? Yes. The 9th graders. The 10th graders go to GE. Do you know where GE is? In Cleveland Heights, by South Cleveland [East Cleveland]?
Jim Dubelko [00:47:17] Yeah, I think I know what you’re talking about. What’s the name of it?
Gladys Martinez [00:47:20] It’s Nela Park. [crosstalk] Okay? That’s where the 10th graders are. After 10th, they come to CSU. Now, the new school. They just opened it this August. Just three months ago, they opened a new school there, the new location for these high school students within CSU. And my son. Yeah, my daughter is at CSU, and now my son is doing his second year at Cornell.
Jim Dubelko [00:47:44] Let me ask you some questions just about the Guatemala community.
Gladys Martinez [00:47:49] There isn’t much, at least not in this area. I heard there are more people from Guatemala in West 130th, in that area. That’s where they remain.
Jim Dubelko [00:48:00] There’s not- You don’t really get together with people?
Gladys Martinez [00:48:04] I don’t.
Jim Dubelko [00:48:08] Do you associate people in the Hispanic community in Cleveland?
Gladys Martinez [00:48:13] What do you mean?
Jim Dubelko [00:48:17] As far as go to particular restaurants or go to social- You said you don’t go to social clubs.
Gladys Martinez [00:48:20] No. That’s one thing I never did. Believe it or not, I always used to want to be 21 so I could go out and have fun. It never happened because I started school, I was working. I never had time when I was really on my own. I just, you know, I would get home, be tired, never went anywhere. I guess I was happy with what I had. And when I could, I go out to my country on vacation or something. But I wasn’t a party person.
Jim Dubelko [00:48:48] Was there- The West 44th Street area. Was there a name for the neighborhood, how people refer to them?
Gladys Martinez [00:48:54] No.
Jim Dubelko [00:48:55] Do they call it the West Side or Near West Side?
Gladys Martinez [00:48:57] Well, now they call it the Near West Side.
Jim Dubelko [00:48:58] Were you ever called to talk about the Stockyards?
Gladys Martinez [00:59] Just recently. I never knew about the Stockyard myself until just a few years, maybe, when I- In 2000, when I bought the house.
Jim Dubelko [00:49:09] Did you ever hear of the neighborhood being called Little Cuba?
Gladys Martinez [00:49:13] No. No, not at all. But I don’t know.
Jim Dubelko [00:49:20] Is there anything else you want to mention about your experience of coming, immigrating to Cleveland?
Gladys Martinez [00:49:24] I think anyone. Anyone that has the will of power, anyone that wants to be better, okay. That wants to do better, anyone that has ambition, no matter what country they go to. But I always say I love the US. I grew up here. I love the country. I respect it for all the opportunities. And again, the opportunities are there. People don’t take them. When I first came to the US, I could see all these young kids my age cutting school. Cutting school. I mean, here I am, sitting in class and you look out the window, you see all these kids out there back and forth, smoking and doing marijuana. And I said, why are they doing that? And it was so sad because when I, at least in my family, we believe in education. I believe in education. What you put in is what you get out, okay? It is what it is, and it’s a fact. All these kids are out there. And then they would tell me, oh, you guys come from another country and you take the better jobs and you take this and then, and this and that. I said, okay, when I- My English definitely got better when I was in high school, okay? I said, look, I didn’t come and take anything from you. It’s right there. It’s sitting right there waiting for you to go take it. You’re not taking it. You’re cutting class. You’re out there causing trouble. You’re not respecting the teachers because they had no respect. I said, I’m here. I’m learning. I’m in class, okay? So don’t you tell me I come and take anything away from you.
Jim Dubelko [00:51:01] When did you become a citizen?
Gladys Martinez [00:51:02] I became a citizen when I was, what, ten years ago? Yeah.
Jim Dubelko [00:51:08] Does your husband become a citizen?
Gladys Martinez [00:51:10] No, he’s still a resident.
Jim Dubelko [00:51:11] So you have dual citizenship though, right?
Gladys Martinez [00:51:14] Not yet. Not yet. I’m still here. I gotta move back to Guatemala and give my residency, but until my kids finish college, maybe that’s going to happen. I’m not ready. Eventually, if I ever, if I don’t die before that.
Jim Dubelko [00:51:26] I think that’s all the questions I have. Thank you very much.
Gladys Martinez [00:51:29] Thanks!
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