[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1192-E1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF GUADALUPE DUARTE GONZALEZ

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 6, 2016

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute Guadalupe Duarte 
Gonzalez, a beloved Angelena who turns 100 years old on September 15th. 
Lupe, as she is known, has lived in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of 
Los Angeles since 1958. She is blessed with a sharp mind and good 
health, and I speak for her family and friends in expressing the hope 
that she will continue to grace Boyle Heights with her wisdom, energy, 
and cheer for many years to come.
  Lupe was born Guadalupe Duarte on September 15, 1916, in the coal 
mining town of Morenci, Arizona. When she was five, she moved with her 
parents, Maria Esparza Duarte and Ausencio Duarte, to their hometown of 
Villa Hidalgo, Mexico. At age nine, she moved again, this time to 
Aguascalientes, Mexico, with her mother, Aunt Feliz, and younger 
siblings Panchito and Isabel, while her father worked in the United 
States. As Lupe grew up, she helped raise her siblings, and supported 
her family through sewing and factory work.
  Lupe married Juan Salazar Gonzalez when she was 21, and gave birth to 
Jose Luis, Rebecca, Juan Jr., and Imelda. Juan had his own business as 
a carpenter and cabinet maker. When he had every tool stolen from his 
shop in a robbery, the Gonzalez family

[[Page E1193]]

moved to the United States, the land of Lupe's birth. After Lupe and 
Juan both worked at various jobs for a few years, Juan finally secured 
a permanent position as a cabinet maker.
  By 1954, their family had grown to eight, with the births of Alicia 
Maria and Ricardo. Through struggles and sacrifices, Lupe and Juan saw 
to it that their children could attend private Catholic school.
  After her children grew up, Lupe served the Boyle Heights community 
as president of the Saint Isabel Church Senior Citizens Club. In 2004, 
she lost her beloved 95-year-old husband, Juan, after more than 66 
years of marriage.
  Today, Lupe is the proud mother of six, grandmother of eight, great-
grandmother of eleven, and great-great-grandmother of six. When not 
tending to her family, she is also a voracious reader of history, art 
books, and novels.
  Lupe's indomitable spirit, quick wit, and love of life are an 
inspiration to all who know her. I hope my colleagues will join me in 
congratulating Guadalupe Duarte Gonzalez on her first 100 years of a 
life well lived.

                          ____________________