Dispatch Tribune - May 28, 2003
Woman's Dream Realized After Family's Long Journey, Sacrifice
by Amy Newport
When Sonia Schwerert-Brown looks around her newly opened Parkville spa and salon, she sees the American dream come true. Schwerert-Brown immigrated to the United States from Orente, Cuba, with her parents at the age of six. Her father abandoned a career as the head chemist at a sugar plant to create a new life for his family. Resettling was not new for the Schwerert family. Her father's grandparents had immigrated to Cuba from Germany decades before. However, before they could immigrate to America, they had to obtain visas from the Cuban and United States governments. They also had to find a sponsor willing to support them when they arrived.
During the two years it took to make the arrangements, her father was fired from his job at the sugar plant as punishment for wanting to leave the country. The once-wealthy family with servants was now nearly destitute. When the Schwerert family arrived in the United States in 1967, it had little more than a change of underwear. It is here where Schwerert- Brown's earliest memories begin as a frightened little girl at a busy inter-national Florida airport.
She and her sisters were separated from their parents and questioned by unfamiliar adult women. The girls were given several painful shots meant to bring their immunizations current, then reunited with their parents. The family moved on to Dallas where her father's sister and brother-in-law had re-established their family.
Living with extended family in a new country was not easy, but Schwerert-Brown said her parents worked hard to make sure their children had every opportunity. Despite his advanced degree in chemistry, without proof of his education and limited English skills, her father could only find work as bus boy while her mother became a seamstress paid by the piece. After months of scraping by her, father got a phone call from a friend.
The friend, another Cuban ex-patriot, was working as a laboratory technician for Ralston-Purina. The animal feed company was hiring more technicians and would be willing to overlook her father's lack of credentials. The family packed up, moved and started over again.
Her father chose not to live in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood and insisted his children become "Americanized." Schwerert-Brown and her sister still did not speak much English, and when they started school they were assigned to a set of twin girls who acted as interpreters.
"I remember always being glued to one of them," said Schwerert-Brown. "If I lost sight of them, I would panic. It was also like living in a goldfish bowl. Hispanic families that only spoke Spanish were still somewhat rare in the late 1960s and the other children would stare at us."
The job at Ralston-Purina proved a good fit for her father and her mother found work at Mendell's as a seamstress. Life was getting easier and they began to settle into a routine. Soon the family moved again to a Northland neighborhood in search of better schools and neighborhoods.
The culture clashes outside of home became minimal as Schwerert-Brown and her family learned to speak English and became accustomed to life in the Midwest. As a young adult, Schwerert-Brown was not sure what she wanted to do with her life. An average student, college did not appeal to her. Her parents insisted she find something. She had always loved hair and make up, often experimenting with her and her sister's hair. She decided to make it a career and went to beauty school.
After graduating, she worked in several area salons. After a few years, she began to consider opening her own salon. With a loan from her in-laws, she and her husband remodeled a space on N. Oak Trafficway. Business was good and she was able to pay back her in-laws with interest. After 10 years of operating in the same spot, she started toying with the idea of opening another salon. The new one would be bigger and better, offering multiple services such as massages and waxing.
She began looking for a new location, but had little success finding a place she could afford. Most places wanted too much rent for Sonia's taste, while others took a percentage of her profits along with a monthly fee. She found a Parkville developer who was planning vintage-style buildings in downtown Parkville. He offered her a flat rental fee and let her design the space. Armed with another loan from her in-laws, she settled upon a design that evoked memories of Cuba and Latin America. Using a simple color pallet of black, beige, and potted palms then piping in Latin music, she opened her dream salon and spa earlier this year.
She credits her success to her parents who taught her to work hard and sacrificed everything to ensure their daughters would have chance to live out their own dreams.