Hispanic roofing specialist reflects on succes

ENGLISH

Saúl Peña moved to Tulsa from Chihuahua, Mexico, 15 years ago and since then has been in the roofing industry. Today he owns a very successful commercial roofing company, Saul's Roofing.

ENGLISH

Roofing is a very risky job, the workers have to climb roofs in the cold, in the heat, with all the risk the job entails: you can fall, you can slip, you can burn yourself, and apparently the only ones ready to assume the risk are Hispanics, highly valued for their work ethics and resistance.

“We face many risks, some of my men have been hurt, they have fallen, they have burned themselves. We live with danger, that is why motivation is everything,” said Peña. “I never get mad at my employees, I am always trying to encourage them and pay them high wages cause they really deserve it, we need to give our people what they deserve.”

“My crew has people from El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, we are all a great family, we do the same work. I have previously hired Americans, but they are nothing like us, they get tired, they don’t want to do certain things. For us there are no excuses,” said the builder.

As a kid Peña was an itinerant worker -- he crossed the border whenever he wanted for seasonal jobs, and 15 years ago something permanent popped up and he decided to move to Tulsa. He was working in the roofing industry when his bossed died and left him the business. “I spoke only 5% English, but I had a strong will,” Peña recalled. Some people believe I’m blessed because I did everything with no papers, and I’m only now about to become a resident.”

In times of Donald Trump we may argue Peña is quite audacious with his industry, still he believes no wrong can harm him if he works diligently and respects the laws of America. “Laws make us equal and are here to be respected. In this country nobody will arrest you unless you do something wrong. I have never encountered a racist policemen in my life, we don’t have to be afraid of law enforcement, they are there to protect us from evil.”

The triumph of this Mexican man is to work, live, breath and make money in this country, despite all obstacles.

“You can live here if you really want to, if you love what you do and are a good person, that is why we need to be grateful to America. The American Dream is possible for those who have the strength to make it through the process,” concluded Peña. (La Semana)