INTERVIEW BY ANIKA KALRA
Photographed by Ari Espinal.
ZULEYMA PEÑA, NOMINEE OF NYS ASSEMBLYWOMAN ARI ESPINAL, DISTRICT 39
Place of Special Meaning: A place of special meaning for me is Corona Plaza. It's located right off the seven train on 103rd Street, Corona Plaza. For me, that's a special place because it's a place that I remember throughout my childhood. We used to move around a lot when I was younger, so anytime the rent went up in any of the apartments we lived in, we moved somewhere else. But, Corona Plaza was always a place that we went to… A lot of my memories consist of my dad taking me there for ice cream or just to clear our heads or to go check out the latest Harry Potter movie. It was our place of outing… Now as I'm older, every time I pass by that spot, it reminds me of my father. It reminds me of our community.
“How can I be a resource to my folks?”
Advice to Younger Women: I would say to my younger self, but also women that are looking to enter these fields, [is] we need to be in more spaces that we aren’t in yet. It’s crazy the decisions that are made by folks who don’t know what we live through… Especially as first generation, as [a] daughter of immigrants, we are creating these stories because there was never anyone like us before… It wasn’t until 3 years ago that I connected with my Mexican culture and was proud to be Mexican. I feel for me, my parents were always looked down upon because we were immigrants… all the stigma around it doesn’t make you want to associate with it… Once I was able to connect, and I wish I was able to connect sooner…that really is powerful, and inspiring and empowering to other people that look like us, that speak like us, and share the same experience as us.
Her Relationship with Assemblywoman Ari Espinal: I learned a lot about connecting with community based organizations, working with constituents [and] hosting events… Just getting to know who she was as a person and the work that she's doing and how much people admired her was truly amazing. I knew that she was someone that just wanted to do better. And she just wanted to see how she can help, and she much reminded me of myself where we're not the type of people that want to be out there taking credit for the work that's being done— we’re the people that want to do the work. The credit will come— that's not what we're searching for. It's more ‘how can I be better for my people and how can I help my people?’ … I feel all this time I had to look out for myself. And right here, I have someone that truly believes in me and sees things in me that I don't see in myself. And I think that's super powerful and that's so important in being a woman and being someone that doesn't have those connections…So I've always been someone that [believes] we have to pay it forward.
“I see myself as someone that just wants to be able to create a meaningful impact, but an impact that has a domino effect all over.
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