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Leonila Vega: The Making of an Advocate
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The following was excerpted from a biography compiled by Maureen Traverse from a series of interviews conducted with Leonila Vega over several months.
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Leonila in her 20s
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Leonila Bautista Vega was born in the rural town of Ezequiel Montes, in the central Mexican state of Queretaro. "When my parents came together," she said, "It was like the meeting of two universes." Her mother was a young woman, just 25 when she married Leonila's father, and descended from native Aztec heritage. Leonila's father was of Spanish descent, 50 years old and already retired from the Mexican military. It was her father who named her, picking the name for the strength it conveyed. While she spent her first years in the United States going by the nickname Lanny, she would eventually return to introducing herself as Leonila. Read more.
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Leonila believed in me before I believed in myself. I remember the first time I met her. I was in awe of her confidence and knowledge of the issues direct care workers face. I sat quietly in that meeting. I kept seeing her at meetings and I kept sitting quietly. Then I attended the first Voices Institute. I can remember having to write a speech, and I was scared to death. I was fortunate enough to be in the group who gave our speeches to Leonila. She planted a seed that day and continued to encourage me at every opportunity.
