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Rosalina Jovel, 66, gets teary-eyed as memories flood back to when, in her mid-20s, she and her 2 ½-year-old daughter settled in Marion.
She holds up an old, crumbling Spanish-English dictionary and remembers how she relied on it, along with a pen and a notebook, to learn English from the woman she was housekeeping for.
“This dictionary was my machete, not only to put food on the table but also to raise my children,” she says, alluding to the traditional Salvadoran cutting tool used in agriculture.
Jovel arrived in New Bedford’s South End in 1987, one of the first Central American women to do so in the city. Although her journey reflects that of many immigrants, her unwavering determination to move forward with her family distinguishes her. She initially landed in Los Angeles in 1982, following an older brother of hers, prompted by her decision to help her parents who remained in El Salvador in the midst of a brutal civil war.
Her destiny led her to Marion when she replaced a friend who had abandoned her plans to travel to Massachusetts. Jovel traded the familiarity of the Los Angeles Hispanic community for a daring adventure, a decision she now considers with pride.
“I cried, but you also have to be brave,” she says. “I originally planned to stay here only two years, but 41 have already passed. I have spent more time of my life here than in El Salvador. [I’m] happy to be here today” in New Bedford.
Email Gerardo Beltrán Salinas at gerardo@newbedfordlight.org
Rosalina was one of my favorite patients in my medical practice. If you see her, please tell her hello, that the interview was fantastic, and that I have high regards for her
Rosalina is one of a kind. A VERY special person, loyal to her core.
I knew & worked with her Marion.
I feel blessed to have known her.