FROM BECKER, WITH LOVE: BE P-R-I-D-E-FUL
As a gay Ecuadorian immigrant coming to America, I didn’t have a simple path to success. My dad got me a job at the prestigious Greenwich Country Club in Connecticut, first cleaning toilets and then quickly achieving a promotion to bus boy. I’d travel quite a distance to do this work, often remembering how it felt to style some of the most glamorous women in Paris with my mentor, Alexandre de Paris. But every day, as I walked to work and passed Greenwich Avenue, I thought, “One day I’m going to have a salon with my name on it right here.”
That dream didn’t come easy. It took a lot of hard work, skill and talent. It required perseverance and a belief in myself. And, I had to find people who would believe in me, too. When you are in the LGBTQIA+ community, that alone can be a challenge—not to mention being a Latin immigrant. But, once the door opens for you, it is up to you to make your path.
I took a piece of advice from my mentor, Alexandre: “You never try to be better than anyone else; give the best you have. Never let your ego guide you.” With this advice I was able to grow a clientele and eventually strike out on my own.
I became the first Latin LGBTQIA+ salon owner on Greenwich Avenue, one of the most prestigious shopping avenues in all the world. It was a dream I kept focused on and worked incredibly hard to achieve. I hope I’ve helped others in the LGBTQIA+ community see that they can realize their dreams through hard work, determination and, above all, believing in themselves. My mantra has always been to “BE YOU, BE CHIC,” and I will always spread this to others as well as be the person who will open the door for my LGBTQIA+ family so they can create their own incredibly chic paths.
