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González Perezchica, Ed.D., is the executive director of MANA de San Diego and lives in University Heights.
It is valuable to know our history. MANA de San Diego, a local community organization mainly composed of Latinas, is celebrating its 35th anniversary this week. Nuestra historia, our story, is the theme of our 23rd brindis gala. MANA is a national organization of Latinas founded in 1974. Their mission is to empower Latinas through leadership development, community service, and advocacy, and MANA de San Diego is the largest chapter. It was Josie Silva, a MANA member in Texas, who came up with the idea of starting a MANA chapter in San Diego. After Josie arrived in San Diego from El Paso, she went looking for the Chicanas. Through her work, Josie found a handful of Latinas to start the chapter with. One of them was Mary Cruz Campo.
In order to make a difference in the community, MANA members initially volunteered at community events. They would show up at lunch at the Spirit of the Barrio to serve food and sell tickets for the raffle. MANA has also volunteered for KPBS promise promotions. During this time the chapter had no specific goals. This made it difficult to keep the members engaged. Josie and Mary remember that they were often the only two members who showed up for members’ meetings.
It took tenacity to build the chapter. One day Josie would be disappointed and sad. Mary would encourage them. Then it was Mary’s turn to lie down, and Josie encouraged Mary. As fate would have it, Elisa Sanchez, a founding member of MANA National, moved to San Diego. Through MANA National and her career, Elisa had developed strong leadership skills and played a critical role in mentoring multiple chapter leaders.
After a national MANA conference in Washington DC in 1988, the San Diego chapter decided to start a Hermanitas program. It would start in middle school as it would be a more effective intervention than waiting until high school. At the time, research showed that young Latinas were at risk of conceiving and dropping out of school. The aim was to work with the “total” family, but concentrate on the young women. Local educators suggested that Hermanitas start at Pacific Beach Middle School because the students there were busy with buses and the integration programs weren’t working. Students were recruited at Pacific Beach Middle School, and the program supported its seminars at the Sherman Heights Community Center. National City Junior High was later selected as the second school location.
The mission statement for the first chapter read: “The primary goal of MANA of San Diego County is to reduce teenage pregnancy and encourage more young women to graduate from high school and continue their higher education. We have a Hermanitas project that focuses on mentoring components. We also support and work with many community organizations addressing these and other concerns related to Hispanic women. “
MANA de San Diego, which is composed mostly of Latinas, recognized the importance of higher education and its challenges. They had been discussing raising funds for scholarships when Sylvia Chavez, a devoted member of the Chapter, passed away unexpectedly. Her family donated money to serve as seed capital for the Sylvia Chavez Scholarship Fund. A US $ 1,000 scholarship was awarded to a health sciences student at San Diego State University in 1990. As the mentoring and scholarship programs developed, the small group of members knew they needed to recruit more members. It was a gift when Julie Rocha, editor and publisher of El Sol newspaper, agreed to publish MANA articles on a regular basis. The newspaper would publish announcements about the general meeting. El Sol became an important resource in spreading the news from MANA de San Diego. In 1990 the first Brindis took place at the Kingston Hotel in downtown San Diego. The Brindis looked very different then than the Brindis today. It was much smaller and Hermanitas and their families would be attending too. With the established Hermanitas and scholarship programs, the members felt more committed than ever to their chapter and its mission.
By its fifth anniversary, the chapter had grown in number, leadership and vision. The women understood the importance of representation and encouraged MANA members to apply for local boards and commissions. That year, Mary Salas was appointed to the Chula Vista Civil Service Commission. Mary credits this as an appointment that drove her into politics. Mary became the first Latina to serve on Chula Vista City Council and the first Latina to serve as mayor of that city. She also served in the state assembly.
The early women of MANA de San Diego were advocacy workers. They opposed Proposition 187 in 1994 and worked with other organizations to defeat it, but were unsuccessful. By 1995, the chapter had grown to 140 members, thanks in part to Olivia Puentes-Reynolds, who was a great recruiter.
MANA de San Diego members are committed to addressing the injustices of Latinas in San Diego County. Sisterhood created the organization. So strong were its foundations that 35 years later, the organization now has six full-time employees and a budget of nearly $ 1 million. MANA de San Diego has served thousands of Latinas and paved the way for a better future – and empowered local Latinas at every stage of their lives.
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