Where I Come From
I was born in Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas on the US-Mexico border on July 16, 1953. My parents, Diamantina (Nena) and Jose Rivera were first generation Texans. Neither of them went to school beyond the 5th grade. As a boy, my father worked on a small dairy farm early in the morning hours and after school. Even at that early age, he brought home something to contribute to the family, milk and butter. My mother was 16 when she married my father, who then was 19. Before starting a family, my parents moved to San Antonio so that my mother could attend beauty college. They lived in an aunt’s apartment and my father found work building caskets while my mother attended classes.
When my parents returned to Del Rio, my mother became an entrepreneur. She opened Nena’s Beauty Shop, housed in a building next door to our modest two-bedroom house. She built a successful business, with clients in both the Hispanic and Anglo communities of Del Rio, including clients affiliated with nearby Laughlin Air Force Base.
My parents were wonderful role models to their four daughters. In spite of the challenges they faced every day, they encouraged us to continue our education beyond high school. Indeed, all four daughters have completed education and training that led us in various directions. Our parents showed us that hard work, faith, and determination would take us far. My father, who suffered from bad vision all of his life, worked at various jobs. He was a cook at the Air Force Base Officer’s Club, a ditch digger for the local gas company, even a janitor in the elementary school where my sisters and I attended. Our parents stressed that all work is honorable work.
I thank my parents every day for the encouragement they provided. This helped me in my pursuit of a formal education which led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology from Texas A & I (now Texas A & M-Kingsville), a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Texas Tech and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Who would have thought that I could accomplish this coming from Del Rio and parents without any formal education of their own?!
Read more about Carmen's life, about meeting her husband and building a family.
