\n
\nMarilyn Alverio\/Special to CTLatinoNews.com
\nMany Latinos in Connecticut may not have known Do\u00f1a Mercedes Ramos, also known as Mama Mercedes, but we all\u00a0 know her story. It is the story of so many of our Latino families.\u00a0 When you entered her home, you were welcomed with a huge sonrisa (smile) and the all-important question;\u00a0 Ya comiste? Have you already eaten? Her warm and huge heart reminded you of your own Mama. She loved m\u00fasica t\u00edpica de los dias de ante (music from the old days) and often belted out the words she had memorized over the years.\u00a0 She first came to Connecticut from Puerto Rico in the early 1950’s and worked as a housekeeper until she met her husband Domingo, who had also left the island to work in the tobacco fields in Windsor.
\nThey eventually moved to Hartford where church and family were central in the family’s life.\u00a0 Her son Will Ramos recalls, “She was a woman of great faith, esperanza y amor. \u00a0 We always had a solid base, it was a good foundation, we had church, we had family and we had hope.”
\nMildred, one of the three sisters\u00a0 said, ” When I think of my Mom, I think of strength, family, love.\u00a0 I think of what she represents as a Hispanic mother.\u00a0 She did not work outside the home, but I can tell you she worked\u00a0 harder at home than if she had worked outside; she gave 100 percent of herself.\u00a0 She gave unselfishly, unconditionally of herself. ”
\nDo\u00f1a Mercedes, 91,\u00a0 passed away last week.\u00a0 She was the matriarch of her family, and they say they were\u00a0 genuinely blessed to have had her in their lives.\u00a0 She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.\u00a0 Due to Maria’s strong convictions of faith and family, she became an active member of Saint Peter’s Church and Las Senoras de la Milagrosa for many years, as well as becoming the First Madre Ejemplar in 1989.
\nAt home, her family says she was the glue that kept six children, twenty grandchildren, twenty-seven great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren together. \u00a0 In addition to Will and Mildred, the Ramos siblings include Hector, Zulma,\u00a0 Sonia\u00a0 and Geraldo.
\nThroughout the years, as their family grew, she and her late husband were sure to instill in them,\u00a0 ‘orgullo’ (pride) in their culture, language and sense of community.\u00a0 Daughter Mildred adds, “My parents came here to the mainland and left everything they knew behind, but not their culture; they made sure to plant it here in us, their family.”
\nBorn in Orocovis, Puerto Rico, Maria Mercedes Ramos was extraordinary in the way so many of the women and mothers\u00a0 function, in their own quiet but determined way.\u00a0 They are the backbone of\u00a0 our families, who in turn help make our communities stronger.\u00a0 Their special contributions to the Latino community of Connecticut are a lasting legacy.\u00a0 Gracias Maria Mercedes Ramos.
\n
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Marilyn Alverio\/Special to CTLatinoNews.com Many Latinos in Connecticut may not have known Do\u00f1a Mercedes Ramos, also known as 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