Rosa moved to the Bronx in 1998. Back in her country, Rosa was a skilled dressmaker with her own small boutique, she made tailored dresses and performed alterations for clothes. However, when she arrived in New York, her professional credentials didn't translate so well. To support herself, she took a job at a factory. This sudden change challenged her sense of self, she went from having her own business to having to work 12 hour shifts in a factory. But she never lost her entrepreneurial spirit. She started to save money and bough a sewing machine. She started in a corner in her apartment sewing for her neighbors, and her neighbors started to recommended her. Because of the  recommendations she got more jobs, which allowed her to quit her job at the factory. For her this sewing machine represents a tool of sacrifice and hard work that gave her and her family stability. She taught her daughter how to sew and today she is teaching her granddaughter. Even though her daughter decided not to continue the business, Rosa's legacy is still remembered in the neighborhood. Rosa was able to retire, bought a house in her home country and now resides there. 


 

– CM

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant