New Women New Yorkers

Tagged: jahaida jesurum

Portraits & interviews

An appointment with Maritza Jiménez, an uptown Manhattan manicurist

Written by Jahaida Hernandez Jesurum   Ever wondered how immigrants land in certain career paths? Or what they may have been doing before leaving their home countries? Often, these two things don’t necessarily coincide. For Maritza Jiménez, coming to New York City was a tough and very personal decision. Born in the province of Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic, Jiménez’s last job before migrating ten years ago was as the head director of a government office. But after the...

Portraits & interviews

Meet Anabella Lenzu: Dancer, Teacher, Writer, Mother, and Immigrant

Written by Jahaida Hernandez Jesurum   Before Anabella Lenzu  first went to New York City in 1999, she had a heart-to-heart with her father. He told her that she could be one of two things: a rat’s head at home, in a place that’s trusted and familiar, or a lion’s tail abroad, in a place she didn’t know and where no one knew her. That difficult decision — and her father’s words of wisdom — put Anabella on a path...

Portraits & interviews

Meet with Hsuan-Yu Pan, a NY-based woman documentary filmmaker originally from Taiwan

Interview conducted and written by Jahaida Hernandez Jesurum   On a cold April morning in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, I meet with Hsuan-Yu Pan. She opens the door with a warm, charismatic smile that seems to be a permanent feature of her face. We take the elevator to the apartment of one of her friends in the basement where, she explains, she is working on a film segment for BRIC, a Brooklyn-based art and media nonprofit. We are welcomed into the...