By Reynaldo Mena
Since she was a child, Zulema Rosas admired well-dressed people and paid attention to the ladies who showcased their clothing. “I obtained that admiration from my mother; my grandmother was very beautiful, but I always said I wanted to be like my mother. I even asked her to save her clothes for me when I grew up,” says the owner of the clothing store Moniso Boutique, famous for the Chingona t-shirts and a fashion expert.
As a teenager, in her hometown of Huatabampo, Sonora in Mexico, she always tried to be a little different. She didn’t want to look like her friends, nor did she care about people’s criticism.
“I always defended my right to dress however I wanted and liked, regardless of what people said. If I wanted to wear a very colorful dress, I wore it. If I wanted a short t-shirt, I did it. A loose dress, a hat, whatever I wanted,” says Zulema Rosas.
The only thing that held her back was her body. From a very young age, she developed quickly and had to be careful about how clothes fit her curves.
The success she has achieved with her business and the impact she has had on the community did not come for free. From a young age, she had to fight for her dreams, to obtain resources to contribute to the household and acquire things she desired.
“There have been many occasions when I wanted to embrace the little Zulema Rosas, when I was a child. I thank God for making me strong and being able to withstand all those challenges I went through,” she says.
“I have always been my mother’s right hand. Since I was 17 years old, I have taken care of her, looked after another brother and a nephew. I remember that at 7 or 8 years old, I cooked pancakes and made Doritos to sell them to the neighbors. That helped in the house. At 13, I had to work in a toy store to help buy Christmas gifts. At 14, I asked my mom for permission to go with a group of women from the town to buy merchandise in Guadalajara.
My mother, with all her effort, managed to give me two thousand pesos at that time, which wasn’t much, but that experience was important. I managed to buy some blouses and sold them in the town. I don’t remember exactly, but I’m sure I sold them for twice the price,” she recalls excitedly.
What stands out about Zulema Rosas are her firm convictions, how determined she is to achieve her goals, but also her humanity, how emotional she is, and the love she shows for others.
“I perceive beauty in a person’s eyes; they lead me to their inner self, to their feelings. You can have a great body, but if there’s no window to the interior, it’s useless. Clothing is an accessory that can help build self-confidence, to feel more secure,” she adds.
Zulema Rosas lived with her grandmother as a child and teenager. At 17, she traveled to Los Angeles to work for three months and saved money to return to study law at the university in Hermosillo, Mexico.
During those trips to L.A., she realized that the clothing she always wore had been influenced by the trends of that city.
“I always longed to live in Los Angeles, and I asked God for it. Well, I realized that you have to be very careful with what you ask God for because within a few years, I found myself with my husband in Los Angeles.
After working in various jobs, she decided to stay at home during her second pregnancy. She now had to take care of her two daughters. That’s how a few years went by, and when the eldest started attending kindergarten, she decided to launch her line of t-shirts.
“I was looking for something that would make women feel good. I came to the conclusion that a t-shirt with excellent fabric would achieve those goals,” that’s how the sale of t-shirts started. Her success was such that she soon opened her clothing store.
She doesn’t see any distinction among her clients, among the women who come to her store.
“All women are beautiful, and that’s where they should feel comfortable and secure. When someone comes to the store, we ask about their needs, what they are going to do, what time they have an event. And that’s how we put together our wardrobe offering. A woman’s body has nothing to do with it; we can adjust everything. We are different, but not less beautiful,” she says.
For example, when she started with the message of Chingonas, she wanted to motivate women. To elevate their emotional state and value themselves.
She is very aware of the economic situation that many people are going through, but she thinks that there is a solution for everything.
“You don’t need to have a closet full of clothes, you can go to the basics. A pair of jeans, a dress pants, a black dress, a jacket and a few other things. It’s everything,” she says.
Zulema is a woman who devotes most of her life to the impact she can have on others, to how she can help, and make others feel good. That’s why I ask her if there is a time when she thinks about herself, when she is alone with herself.
“In day-to-day life, I don’t stop to think about myself, about how I am. For me, my daughters and my clients are everything. I know it’s important to be with myself; it’s something I have to do,” she says.
She is a strong woman who has made herself, who has fought on her own to achieve her goals.
“No one has given me anything; I have had to figure everything out myself. Dreams are built; no one gives them to you, no one hands them to you. I am the only one responsible for building a dream,” she adds.
And that’s why she doesn’t stop. As soon as one project ends, she’s already thinking about the next one. At the moment, she is considering going back to study her master’s degree in Political Image; continue raising women’s self-esteem; and build her own clothing brand that considers the different body types of all women.
“I try to find the beauty in everyone,” she says. “But I am my own general. I have experienced disappointments, betrayals, but we have to turn the page, we have to allow ourselves to live those experiences. ‘Chingona’ should be used for good things, for yourself, for your people,” says Zulema.
And she ends by expressing something she deeply desires.
“I want to mentor and empower girls from low-income backgrounds, ask them how I can help, share with them that they have to fight and that everything can be achieved with discipline,” she concludes.
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Follow Zulema Rosas, Entreprenuer & Fashion Stylist on Instagram:
Zulema Rosas @zulemarosas
Moniso Boutique @monisoboutique
