Chic Tanglewood mom comes from humble roots
You would never know April Salazar’s blue dress was a $10 find at a thrift shop.
The crystal chandelier hanging over the winding stairs in her home was another bargain.
Salazar’s ability to sniff out deals comes from humble beginnings — her life story is ripe for Netflix’s “Cheer.”
A native of San Antonio and competitive cheerleader, Salazar, 35, grew up on the city’s south side. She wore pants that were too short and shoes too big because that’s all her family could afford. She was bullied at school because she was poor, she says.
“There were girls spitting in my hair because I was poor. As I got older, I figured if I was to survive, I had to have a tough skin,” Salazar said. “My mom told me to let it go and be strong.”
Cheerleading became her emotional outlet in high school while her twin brother played football. She practiced up to two hours each day. She even broke her nose a couple of times and tore a hole in a lung after catching a fellow cheerleader. Though her injuries kept her out of the team’s big competition, she earned an academic and cheerleading scholarship to St. Mary’s University.
Salazar was the first person in her family to graduate from college. She had hopes of becoming a broadcast journalist; then she met and fell in love with her husband, Dr.
Jorge Salazar, who is now head of pediatric surgery at Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital. The couple has four children, ages 4, 5, 7 and 9. (She also has three adult stepchildren.)
“When you come from a place where you have nothing to a place where you don’t, you tend to look at things more beautifully,” the stay-at-home mother said. One of her “beautiful” things is a deep-green pied-a-terre sofa; another is a string of pearls her husband gave her after their engagement.
After having four children in less than six years, Salazar is now taking on another role — as a children’s book author.
She recently self-published her first book, “The Night the Stars Fell,” and two more are soon to be published, a rhyming comic book, “Alebrije,” and a Spanish-English children’s book, “Super Boy Maximo.” She is also writing a novel.
“I want to tell the stories of my childhood for people who are like me and might need inspiration,” she said.