Multiculture, Profiles

Marysol Sánchez: Age is no obstacle when following your dream

She is a 47-year-old Mexican, and the idea of living in a city that was not her own did not scare her. Finally, because of her husband’s job, she travelled to London in 1997.

 

Paula Coll

 

Her husband worked for a chain of restaurants in Mexico, but he had to travel to England because one of the chain’s restaurants in London was making a loss.

He had to inspect the restaurant and report back on the cause of its problems.

So, the family, with three children, Marysol and her husband, decided to move and start a life away from their home. Unfortunately, the rent went up and the restaurant had to shut down, but Marysol and her family decided to stay and build a new future.

She knew that London could offer them great career opportunities and with her and her husband’s catering knowledge, they did not hesitate to open a family restaurant.

On March 17th 2005 they opened Mestizo, a Mexican restaurant made up of enterprising and enthusiastic individuals that want to work and show their country’s roots. Marysol’s dream had always been to open a restaurant and she achieved it. She considers that having achieved it has helped her understand Mexico’s reality from another point of view. Now she understands a lot more of the problems in her birthplace and she is more engaged with society. She takes part in marathons to raise money towards prostate cancer research.

Mestizo, according to Marysol, is “a cultural window to Mexico”. Through the food, they show the special colour, aromas and flavours that the country offers.

She believes that along with her workers  she can act as a tool to show London the friendliness and kindness of the Latin population, and especially Mexicans.

She has no intention of leaving London. She is a proud Mexican, but her heart is now in the English capital.

She does not think the language barrier is an inconvenience for a person that decides to move to a new and unknown country. She came without knowing English and she has managed to start a business that, although small, is very gratifying.

She has no intention of losing her accent; although she has been in England for seven years she is very proud of her roots, including her way of speaking, which makes her special.

She is fascinated by her work, how and where she does it. She knows it is a tiring job that requires a lot of dedication, but it makes her feel good and she is proud to have achieved what she has achieved.

Her children have grown up in London and she likes the education that this city can offer them, which is why she feels safe here and knows it is the best decision she could have made.

She sees the quantity of migratory flow in the city. People come and go for thousands of reasons and this makes her feel fortunate to be able to carry on being where she is and to live a happy life.

(Translated by Carina Sala – Email: anirac_82@hotmail.com) – Photos: Pixabay

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