"[My mother] used to have a 10-gallon pickle tub from work that she would fill up with water,"
"We would get a little cup and we would fill the cup with water and then pour it on our bodies. And that's how we showered in the winter."
"I was helping my mom with budget, household things my entire life,"
"When I was in high school, I wallpapered our house while other people were going to prom, going to school dances."
Cristela Alonzo spent her first seven years living in an abandoned diner in a south Texas border town. Her mother, a Mexican immigrant, left an abusive marriage and supported four children on about $150 a week working in a Mexican restaurant. The family used an extension cord for electricity and warmed water in a 10-gallon pickle tub for winter bathing. Alonzo translated for her mother, handled paperwork, and managed budgets without a bank account. She studied theater, paused college twice to care for family, then pursued stand-up comedy focused on class, childhood, and politics. She created and starred in Cristela and released three Netflix specials: Lower Classy, Middle Classy, and Upper Classy. She lives in Los Angeles.
Read at www.npr.org
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