My Family: Delia And Segundo Lugo

Straight from the island of Puerto Rico, my great-grandmother Alba, or as I call her “Nana” was born. She was the youngest child of her parents Delia and Segundo Lugo. Nana has 1 older sister and two older brothers. She lived in a town called Ponce. When she was 7 years old her parents moved to New York because her father felt he would provide his family with a better life.

They lived on Delancey Street in a 2 bedroom apartment, there her father worked at a doll factory while she and her siblings attended school. She didn’t know any english, which caused her to struggle in school. When Nana was 12 years old her mother adopted her five year old cousin,Ralphy, his parents died in a car accident. Her father died the same year and things got really tough for her family. Eventually, it was just her and Ralphy at home. Her older siblings moved out and her mother worked as a nurse assistant. Since no one was ever home she took care of Ralphy. Things within the household got very hectic so Nana took over the “mom” role, because of this she was not able to finish High school.

When she was 20 years old she was pregnant with her first child which is my grandma,Katy. She worked as a construction worker since that was the only place that would hire her without a Highschool Diploma. She moved out on her own into a small 1 bedroom apartment. Two years later she had her second child, another girl. Her relationship with Valentin did not work out so she became a single mom who worked 2 jobs, she was grateful for her mom who helped her tremendously. Her second job was at the same doll factory her father worked at. There she met her second husband with whom she had 3 more children with, 2 boys and 1 girl. Nana was the best mother that she could be, her children did well for