Hispanic Heritage Month Profile: MariaTaide Maldonado

by | Sep 21, 2023 | Lifestyle | 0 comments

As a first generation Mexican American MariaTaide Maldonado was born and raised in San Francisco by immigrant parents. “Taide” is an energetic, expressive woman with a beautiful smile.  It is a joy to get to know her story of coming of age, facing challenges and triumph as a Mexican American woman in the United States.

What is in a name?

We will unfold the story of her name as we talk about her life.  MariaTaide’s name holds some very important threads throughout the tapestry of her life.  But before she was a sparkle in her parents’ eyes, her parents worked hard to set up her life.  They immigrated from Mexico to San Francisco separately with different motivations.  Her Dad, Raul, began by working in the agricultural fields, then in restaurants in San Francisco.  He even worked as a chef in the prestigious Fairmont Hotel.  Her mother, Maria Celfia, also worked in restaurants where they met and married 5 months later.  They had big plans for their success in America and waited 3 years to have a baby so they could implement their plans of owning a restaurant.  They eventually purchased and operated 3 Mexican restaurants in San Francisco where their 3 children worked growing up.  “We would each work in a different restaurant and worked all the jobs there were, but none of us wanted to continue in the restaurant business as we became adults,” states Taide.

MariaTaide is named after her paternal and maternal grandmothers.  Her paternal grandmother is Taide, but her mother told her “we added Maria on to it so that the American people at school and your friends will be able to pronounce your name.”  Once she started school she went by the name Maria, which was the name of her maternal grandmother.

MariaTaide became “Maria” to the world outside of her family. She went to elementary school at a private catholic school and longed for public school.  So as a freshman her parents gave in to her pleas but as a sophomore, she landed at St. Paul’s High School in San Francisco.  It is famous for being the location of the movie “Sister Act.”  Her parents chose this private catholic school because it was close to their restaurants in the city.  “It was a great experience and I’m glad my parents only let me go to public school for a year.  The freedom of it was not benefiting me and I was relieved they sent me back to private school,” said Taide.

Summer trips to Mexico…

As their children grew her parents took them back every summer to Mexico.  “There were times as I got older, I didn’t want to go,” recalls Taide. “But once I was there, I was always so happy to spend time with all my family on my mother and father’s sides.” Her father’s family called her Taide and her mother’s side called her Maria and Mariquita, aka Maria. So, she always knew which side of the family they were from the name that they would address her as.  The kids learned English in school, even though both her parents spoke English.  Her Dad insisted that they know their roots in Mexico and could converse with their Mexican family.  “It has been such a blessing to know all of my Mexican family,” says Taide.  “There was such a diversity of culture to go from Dad’s roots in the ranching country to my Mom’s family in the city.  I think I always enjoyed the country more.”
Raul and Taide at the Restaurant
Father Raul and Mother Maria Celfia

On becoming an adult…

Taide went to the local community college while living at home and became pregnant with her son.  She decided with the support of her parents that a year of cosmetology school might be the way to go forward with schooling. She put her dream of architecture and fashion design on hold to be a mom. “I wasn’t afraid to have a baby, but I was afraid to get married,” says Taide. She dissolved the relationship with her son’s father but still co-parents with him today.  Once she started cosmetology, she fell in love with it.  “It took me a while to realize that this was a real gift from God that I had,” said Taide.

Working 3 jobs, going to school, and trying to raise a baby is when Taide came to a realization. “My parents had worked so hard to do everything the right way. I didn’t realize until my son was born that I’d been fighting everything my parents tried to give me as a U.S. citizen,” states Taide. That’s when she graduated with honors and landed her dream job with Yosh for Hair, a San Francisco salon. She was hired on her 23rd birthday!

Her father had enticed her with a salon of her own and she declined his offer.  Taide says, “I have always had an inner drive to do things the right way.  Even when I wasn’t, I wanted to work my way up through the ranks.” She quickly worked her way up the ranks at the salon and stayed there for 18 years.

I’m Mexican…

“The people at the salon became my family.  We lived life together,” says Taide.  Her salon family called her Maria.  She attended many prestigious hair shows and was most comfortable backstage until one day she was coaxed on stage to cut a model’s hair.  She told her supervisor “don’t ask me any questions and I’ll do it.” Her supervisor proceeded to ask her questions with a faulty mike of hers.  Her nerves got the best of her, and she blurted out “I’m Mexican!  I don’t need a mike!”  The Texas crowd laughed and applauded this statement.  “My candid remarks gave me a new realization of my gifts of personality on stage,” chuckles Taide.  “I have learned to trust what you know you can do.”

Faith…

Taide has always had faith in God to direct her but, as she has gotten older, she says, “I know God gives me the ability to get through any challenges.  It took me a while to figure out that I could do anything with God.”  She says she is now much more intentional with her relationship to God now.

On moving to Arizona…

Taide met and married Ronal in 5 months like her parents. Their wedding took place the week after her dad passed away, so Tiade decided to keep her last name.  She had to part with her Dad but couldn’t bear to part with his name too.  And as the name thread meanders through her life, she is considering changing her last name to her husband’s! They have a son named Ronal also.  A year before Covid hit her and her family lived in the house she grew up in. She says, “I was always fighting to be independent, but I just didn’t want to leave it all.”  When her husband presented her with the opportunity to move to Arizona Taide said “I knew I needed to take a chance and move here.  My parents moved from a different country, and I was afraid to move to a different state. When we moved to Arizona, I felt the country calling me!”

Airplane Commuter…

And now that Taide is an Arizona girl she commutes back and forth twice a month to San Francisco to continue her craft as a master stylist.  She enjoys the lifestyle here but has a wonderful clientele there that she didn’t want to give up.  Her and her husband share in the duties of raising their son in Arizona.

Grateful to her parents…

When Taide reflects on her life she says, “Everything I’ve done goes back to my parents.”  Her Mexican Heritage has given her a richly diverse set of experiences in her life.  Her parents immigrated to the United States yet made sure their kids knew and loved the Mexican culture. They ran Mexican food restaurants but allowed their children to thrive in other areas of work.  They continued to speak Spanish to their children so they could be fluent in both English and Spanish.  All gifts that Taide is passing along to the next generation of Mexican Americans in her circle of influence.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Taide.  She was a joy to sit and chat with.  There are so many other interesting things about her life that I couldn’t get into the article.  She has inspired me by her love of her parents and her gratitude and appreciation of their vision of a life in America!  I also love that she is so thankful to be a first generation American but always thankful for her Mexican Heritage.

I’ll be bringing you a few more profiles this month as we continue to celebrate Mexican Heritage Month!

Adios and Blessings,

Carrie

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