Nicaraguan finds opportunities in U.S.

• Arauz

Aaron Hagen/Daily globe Maritza Arauz, a native of Nicaragua, poses in her store, El Horizonte, Monday morning in Worthington.

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WORTHINGTON — Maritza Arauz has always wanted to keep moving forward and doing better.

A native of Nicaragua, Arauz has been making a better life for her and her family.

“Since I was small, I’ve always had that will to keep going forward and do better for myself,” Arauz said.

Arauz grew up in the Central American country of Nicaragua, but came to the United States 18 years ago.

She left the country “for better opportunities, working opportunities and that way I could help out my family that lives in Nicaragua,” Arauz said.

At the time, she left two children in Nicaragua, but both joined Arauz in the U.S. later. She and her husband, Carmelo Sanchez, now have three children.

Erick lives in Nicaragua, while Yuricza is a student at St. Cloud State University and will graduate in December. Aimee is currently in third grade.

It’s a small family compared to what Arauz grew up with. Along with her parents and her grandma, Arauz was raised with 11 siblings. There were six boys and six girls all together and a total of 15 people in one house.

In Worthington, Arauz and her husband bought their own house, with plenty of room.

“We even have a spare bedroom,” Arauz said.

When she first moved to the U.S., Arauz settled in Miami, Fla.

“My husband had family in Miami, so that’s how we decided on Miami first,” she said. “My husband would go to stores and be a merchant (at home). But that wasn’t making enough money. Besides not making enough, he decided to stop because there were wars going on and he would have to travel to different places.

“He had a brother in Miami and his brother told him there were job opportunities over here so he said, ‘Let’s try and see what happens.’”

But Sanchez heard of work in Worthington, so he moved to town first. For three years, Arauz was in Miami while her husband settled in Minnesota.

“It was hard, but the work kept me busy,” Arauz said. “I wanted to keep a good record, so when I moved here I had a good work record. I didn’t want to be hopping from one job to another.”

She eventually moved to Worthington, where she started exploring her options to own her own business.

“My husband was the only one working, so I started talking to him to see if it was something we could do,” Arauz said. “We went in and tried to apply for a small business loan.

“The first two years were hard. Later things were good, but now with the economy, it’s not the greatest. If things don’t sell, you can’t pay the bills.”

She owns El Horizonte, a market on 12th Street in Worthington.

The store carries a variety of goods, including items from Sanchez’s home country of El Salvador.

Despite being from separate countries, the two met and have been married for 21 years.

“He has a sister that lives (in Nicaragua),” she said of how they met.

Now, Sanchez helps around the store.

“He keeps me company,” Arauz said.

Arauz has spent many years in the education system, including three years of college.

“My parents did send me to school,” she explained. “I went to high school and went to three years of college and I went for secretary and accountant. I would work and go to school to help my family.

“There are some kids who don’t go to school, but not very many. A lot of them go up to sixth grade. It depended on the parents. A lot of them would have to help work to help the family out.”

Her family also has different levels of education, with one sister who is now a doctor and two who are teachers.

“My dad was a truck driver for 40 years,” she said. “My mom was a stay-at-home mom, maintaining the big family.

“All of my siblings went to school, but not all reached my level of going to college.”

Arauz has lived in Worthington for 12 years, but the rest of her family still resides in Nicaragua.

She goes and sees her family when she can, most recently in November. It’s those trips that help instill the culture into her children.

In September, she overcame another hurdle and became an American citizen.

“I studied very hard,” she said. “I came to the citizenship class and studied, so that helped a lot.

“There are two reasons I got my citizenship. ... I wanted to be a citizen and I’m learning English right now in hopes I can get a better job. The second is now that I’m a citizen, I want to see what I can do for my mom to bring my mom over. And I can vote here, too, now.”

She is also taking classes to learn English.

“It’s hard,” Arauz said. “I can read it and write it, but to communicate is hard for me.”

Growing up in Estelí, Nicaragua, Arauz describes her home as “a very calm and a beautiful place. There’s not a lot of violence, like in other countries, thank God.”

But, she estimates 50 percent of the people live in poverty.

Now, many years later, Arauz is truly living the American dream.

“It was worth the wait,” Arauz said. “I went through a lot because I had questions and to get the answers and how to get things started for me and my family. Then I found a guy and he’s the one who helped us start a business and help get us started.”

Daily Globe Community Content Coordinator Aaron Hagen can be reached at 376-7323.

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