Allan Appel Photo
Nelida Hernandez organizes soccer leagues for kids in New Haven. Mercy Vallejo is a successful restaurateur. They were among seven Ecuadorean immigrant women in Connecticut who were honored by their consulate Saturday for exemplary achievements as citizens and entrepreneurs.
The honors marked the upcoming Dia Internacional de la Mujer. The event drew 75 proud Ecuadoreans to the consulate on Church Street in downtown New Haven.
The Ecuadorean government used the occasion to offer gratitude and concrete new help to their productive cousins who have immigrated to Connecticut and other Northeastern states.
The consulate honored New Jersey Ecuadoreans on Friday. Sunday a similar ceremony was scheduled for New York.
Ecuadoreans in Connecticut alone number about 45,000, with approximately 5,000 of those in Greater New Haven, clustered primarily in the Fair Haven/East Haven area.
A consulate staffer, Ivan Salvador, greeted Hernandez (left in photo), Vallejo, and the other honorees and their families. He said a remarkable three- fifths of area Ecuadoreans become homeowners after several years’ residence.
He said many are in construction and after several years open their own small enterprises, often while working other jobs. Most work 12 hours a day, many two jobs straight for 16 hours in order to support homes both here and in Ecuador.
The second most popular area of work for Ecuadoreans is in restaurants. Mercy Vallejo owns and operates Charcoal Chicken restaurant in West Haven.
In addition to their paying American income taxes, money, of course, also flows home. Members of the Ecuadorean Constituent Assembly Linda Machuka (pictured with the current consul general, Raul Erazo) and Francisco Hugo came bearing the gratitude of the home country.
In a press conference prior to the ceremony, they emphasized a sea change in the appreciation of immigrants on the part of the government of President Rafael Correa.
As a result of recent constitutional changes, immigrants abroad now can vote and have representation in the legislature. Two represent Ecuadoreans from the U.S. and Canada, two from Europe, and two from South America.
With more than three million immigrants living outside Ecuador, Machuka praised President Correa — and said it was about time to make that change.
Also in the works for Elm City Ecuadoreans: new laws creating an online registry for access to more documents in the home country; permission to participate via distance learning in the Ecuadorean public education system; and participation in Ecuador’s social security system.
“All these things are possible because we have representatives [now],” said Machuka.
“If it were not for immigrants’ contribution to Ecuador, our country would not have been able to survive,” Hugo said.
Machuka said she was particularly proud that of the national Assembly’s 124 legislators, 45 are women.
There was also pride for local heroes such as Hernandez, a New Havener for ten years who lives near Middletown Avenue in Fair Haven. The mother of little kids, she has been the secretary and a principal organizer of youth soccer leagues through the Virgen del Cisne, the Ecuadorean self-help and cultural organization that has grown out of the St. Rose of Lima church on Blatchley Avenue.
Two other women associated with Virgen were also cited: Carmen Zambrano, its president, and Esperanza Zambrano who is the coordinator of the Ecuadorean folk dance troupe.
Mercy Vallejo was hailed for being a successful restauranteur for 20 years, most recently operating the Charcoal Chicken on Elm Street in West Haven. Another West Havener, Rita Quezada, runs a multi-service travel agency. Two media achievers, Hartford magazine publisher Lorena Mindiola and Stamford-based reporter Maricarmen Godoy of La Voz Hispana, filled out the list of seven honorees.
Next challenge on the horizon for Nelida Hernandez: To start a support group at Virgen del Cisne for kids with disabilities.