by Saraí Jiménez

Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Jackie Ponce spent a lot of time playing outside, surrounded by nature. She went to a German school where she learned about respect for nature and culture, and praise for the land-values that she has passed on to younger generations through her work. Her mother went to New York when Jackie was in 2nd grade because she was a struggling single mother who needed more money. During the time that she was away, Jackie’s grandma and aunt took care of her. Her mom worked in a variety of jobs including sewing, making General Motors’ car parts, assembling guitar chords, and making John Romaine leather handbags.

Jackie moved to Jackson Heights, Queens when she was 9 years old. She lived in apartments where most people were Jewish and European. She and her mom would go two streets down to a part of town where Latinos from all over the world lived. She still remembers the delicious treats of the famous Columbian bakery they would often walk past. Unfortunately, she had very negative school experience due to the racism of other students. She was bullied for being Latina and felt that many white students looked at Latinos with “eyes of hate.” She became close friends with other Latino students from diverse countries, who became a strong source of support and community.

After a couple of semesters at Hunter College in New York, she decided to return to Ecuador with her mom because she missed it and was tired of her life in the US. Because her family was heavily involved in the Communist arty, she was restricted from working in certain jobs. That’s when she decided to join the party officially, to fight against the injustice she others around her faced. Jackie went all over the country selling books and opening up bookshops with Communist literature. She did not see her work during this time as a job, but rather a way she practiced her “conviction.” After the fall of the party she started teaching English to adults, professionals, and private high school students. This work lasted for a couple of years, during which she had a son.

Around the time that she was fired from her job for allowing a student to sit in on her class after he had been kicked out of another teacher’s classroom, some of her friends in the US warned her that her immigration papers were going to be voided if she did not come back soon. She decided to come back to the US to work for a couple of months. Some of her first jobs included working as a nanny, a secretary, in retail, as a driver, and working on commission as a solicitor. Jackie left her son with her family in Ecuador, and the time away from him was very difficult. She remembers:

taking care of another family’s child, I mean I was giving that love to that child and I was like ‘Oh my gosh I am giving love to a child that is not mine. I know that my child is okay,’ but it’s a weird feeling in your heart that it hurts so much, its deep hurt…

Jackie worked for over ten years with an elementary school near her apartment. Some of her fondest memories include working in the afterschool program. For a couple of years it was just her and 3 other staff members working with around 130 kids. The kids grew to respect and love “Miss Jackie.” After a conference on self love that she went to, she organized a project about unconditional love for oneself. She said this was a 3-4 week project in which each student produced a poster about themselves. When she asked if the posters could be displayed, the students asked if they could just take them home because they loved their posters so much.

She has invested a lot of outside time into her work with the local community. She mostly worked with Mexican and Chicano parents and students, and learned a lot about Mexican culture through her invitations to posadas, processions, and eating delicious foods. Many people have come to her with problems regarding deportations, worker’s compensation, and health insurance problems. Her husband told her to cut back because she was doing too much, but she reflected that she “[didn’t] feel tired…when you follow what you love, it just comes with you.”